I Know It's You When It Hits My Inbox

CNN.com editor-in-chief Tim O'Shea talks about the importance of a good subject line in an email. He says it's important for people to know that they're getting from you, rather than just your name. And he explains how his team used to use different subject lines every time their newsletter was published. But now there is more emphasis on being clear and consistent with what we are trying to say.

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Today I am very excited to introduce you to Katelyn Bourgoin. As you will hear during our conversation, I met Katelyn via Twitter where she has been kind enough to tag me many times when people ask for recommendations for people who are using psychology in marketing or for business as well as for podcast recommendations, books, or just for someone to follow. Katelyn also has a phenomenal newsletter that is so engaging — I just love how well she understands her audience. We will be talking about that a lot more during the conversation today.

Katelyn uses reciprocity so well by shining the light on others and it comes back in a really great way. Before any non-marketers tune out and say this episode is not for you, know that creating engaging content that people want to respond to matters for everyone whatever your industry, whoever you are communicating with, and whatever you want to achieve. People like to work with those they like. Framing your messages with the recipient in mind is never a bad idea. Katelyn is a marketer and market researcher so that is the lens of her statements throughout the episode, but I challenge you to consider all the ways this can be useful to you in your life and business. For anyone with a newsletter or striving to have one, and who has ever been mystified by Twitter and especially Twitter threads, get ready for some awesome tips and free resources.

Show Notes:

[00:41] Today I am very excited to introduce you to Katelyn Bourgoin.
[02:13] Katelyn is a marketer and market researcher so that is the lens of her statements throughout the episode, but the tips are for everyone!
[04:24] Katelyn shares about herself and how she found herself in the behavioral sciences.
[05:50] She ended up working with a bunch of companies and seeing the same problem over and over: they just didn’t know who their best customers were or why they bought. That led her to launch the company she has today called Customer Camp.
[08:18] When she decided that she wanted to help people overcome that problem she discovered an innovation framework known as Jobs to Be Done.
[09:56] Jobs to Be Done is really important for understanding the context of the customer situation and what would cause them to seek out and choose a new solution.
[11:44] Their company exists to help people build a better understanding of their buyers through educating them on why people buy, training, and products.
[12:39] It was thinking beyond the research and what they do to what would be engaging for potential customers.
[14:54] Having a functionally better product is important but there are all these other factors that you also need to consider when you think about the job holistically.
[16:00] You have to not just look at the functionality of a product but you have to consider the social and emotional aspects too.
[18:45] In having these conversations about the buyers' journey, pulling out the details, and mapping them, that is what leads to being able to design better marketing.
[20:14] Talk to buyers who have bought to try and understand their buying journey — that’s a step a lot of marketers are missing.
[23:00] The trigger technique is a good solution for pulling out the bits that you can make most actionable and share with your team to back up your strategy. (Freebie in the links below!)
[25:47] When they designed the newsletter, they thought about what was the job of the newsletter. They wanted to create a newsletter to make people feel like it was food for their brains.
[26:58] It has to be something really quick to consume and it has to be something where you walk away feeling like you have ideas for applying them to your own work.
[29:55] People need to feel like they are getting something back to open and read a newsletter. It can be inspiration, validation, or something to forward.
[32:02] They realized it was better to have consistency with their newsletter even in the subject line.
[34:44] Testing and seeing what works is very helpful.
[37:54] Choose the social media platform where you think you can be consistent.
[39:21] Make a big effort to follow the right people. She follows people who inspire her and she can learn from.
[40:57] Leverage the opportunity to highlight work that other people are doing.
[42:54] Melina shares about one of Katelyn’s Twitter threads.
[44:32] When it comes to writing a thread, the first tweet is the most important one.
[47:34] Understanding your customers when it comes to figuring out demand is everything. Clarity of what works doesn’t come from sitting around in a boardroom and thinking about it. It comes from actually engaging with customers.
[49:05] If you want to market better, really be obsessed about understanding customers.
[50:28] Melina shares her closing thoughts.
[52:31] If you enjoy the experience I’ve provided here for you, will you share about it? That could mean leaving a rating/review or sharing the episode with a friend (or 10!

Thanks for listening. Don’t forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Android. If you like what you heard, please leave a review on iTunes and share what you liked about the show.

I hope you love everything recommended via The Brainy Business! Everything was independently reviewed and selected by me, Melina Palmer. So you know, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. That means if you decide to shop from the links on this page (via Amazon or others), The Brainy Business may collect a share of sales or other compensation.

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