Tag: Email Copywriting

  • The Dream Barber Effect: How to Lead Customers Who Don’t Know What They Want

    A while back, I was on the hunt for a ‘dream barber.’ 

    Someone I could fully trust with my hair. 

    Yup. I could be a little obsessive when it comes to this.

    Don’t care much about how I dress. Don’t care what shoes I wear. Don’t care about perfumes and watches.

    But when we’re talking about how my hair looks? 

    I could be as picky as a spoiled nepo baby.

    (At least back then.)

    That’s when I found this barber in Mendiola.

    I sat on his chair like a nervous virgin.

    “So, what kind of haircut are we doing today?” he asked.

    “Uhh… I want it brushed on the side, and just long enough so the waves still show.”

    That was the closest I could get to explaining the haircut I wanted.

    For me, that’s perfectly clear.

    But still…

    8 out of 10 times, I’d walk out of the shop looking like Humpty Dumpty after a great fall. 

    I never knew if the problem was me, my hair, or if the clippers were just too freakin’ loud for the barber to hear me properly. 🤷

    But this dude was different.

    See, showing a picture for reference wasn’t a thing back then. You just gotta trust your barber– and your ability to explain what you wanted.

    That’s why when he answered me with:

    “Oh, kinda like Jericho Rosales, right?”

    😲

    I saw the skies open.

    Finally. 

    FI-NA-LLY.

    Someone gets me.

    That’s exactly what I had in mind.

    I wanna stand up from the chair to give my man a brotherly hug.

    From that moment, even though he was on the pricey side for me back then? I knew I’d gladly sacrifice one meal a week just to let him cut my hair every month.

    And here’s the funny part…

    I still didn’t get the exact haircut I had imagined.

    Only this time, I understood why.

    He explained that I’d never quite get the look I wanted because—surprise, surprise—my fallen Humpty Dumpty head shape (and hair type) just didn’t fit the style.

    And honestly, what he gave me looked good. 

    Maybe even better than the one I wanted. 

    Moral of the story?

    When you market your biz, you could be the ‘dream barber,’ and I would be your customer.

    See, the dude positioned himself as the leader…

    Someone who guided me to the best option.

    Because really, most of the time, customers don’t actually know what they want.

    They think they do. But when a leader lets them see the bigger picture, and it makes perfect sense?

    They follow.

    Because at the end of the day, we’re all looking for someone we can trust.

    And when you manage to show that 

    1. You understand them
    2. You can solve their problem, and most importantly,
    3. You can give them a new perspective that changes their status quo…

    You become the kind of leader they’ll follow.

    But here’s the catch…

    You have to transform that kind of sales message smoothly and effectively for it to work.

    Let me show you how I do it here: https://johnrillemanalo.com/campaign-test-drive/

  • A copywriting technique taught by knuckleheads on the day of protest

    Yesterday was the day of protest against corruption.

    Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately), I wasn’t out on the streets to fight alongside my people.

    I’m sick, and I don’t wanna jumpstart a new strain of virus by getting down and dirty with the crowd.

    So I spent the whole day watching the news instead.

    The movement was peaceful and powerful… Until some knuckleheads started a riot.

    As of now, nobody really knows where they came from.

    They could have been angsty rebel kids, or wannabe anarchists, or paid trolls, or a group of really angry citizens…

    They could’ve been anyone.

    And honestly, I could almost understand them attacking the police… I mean, those guys had it coming.

    But destroying and looting a hotel chain? 

    That doesn’t sit well with me.

    At least, not at first…

    Because hear me out…

    Those fools actually got me thinking…

    If the whole point of the protest is to show the corrupt elite that we’re watching and ready to fight…

    And to warn them that they’d better act the way we want them to act… 

    Then, yeah, maybe the knuckleheads going full anarchist might be way over the line.

    BUT it strengthens the people’s ‘do this or else’ message.

    See, protest is like legal blakkmail.

    But once violence enters the picture, it shifts into something else.

    “Do better, or else the whole nation could get this unhinged and this angry.”

    That’s the kind of thing that strikes fear in the hearts(???) of corrupt officials.

    And fear makes them act.

    All of which brings me to copywriting. 

    In copywriting talk, ‘do this, or else’ is also a powerful technique. 

    “If you don’t act now, this will happen.”

    “Every day your business isn’t using this strategy, you’re losing money.”

    “Buy this today because after tomorrow, you’ll never get it this good again.”

    See what I mean? It’s going after the people’s fear. Like a pseudo threat. 

    And it works!

    It gets people to take action right now, even if they’d never heard of you until five minutes ago.

    Yet very few marketers, copywriters, or businesses use it today.

    Which is crazy, because it’s insanely powerful.

    So now, you can either get ahead and learn to use it in your own business… or hire someone who knows how to do it well.

    Here’s the link to that someone’s website: https://johnrillemanalo.com/

    Or else…

  • Why AI Can’t Replace Authentic Expression in Marketing or Protest

    Being a marketer and copywriter, AI topics on my newsfeed aren’t new.

    Gurus and wannabes have been drooling over this.

    “WHOA! This is a game changer, man!”

    And it’s been like that for what— 2-3 years now?

    But recently, I’ve seen people toying with AI outside the marketing realm.

    Yesterday, I saw a laughable one.

    A guru/influencer sharing an AI-generated email of himself ‘joining’ the protest against corruption (✊)…

    And then, yup, you guessed it.

    He shared the prompt he used.

    Okay, let me cut you off right there. I am NOT anti-protest. 

    If this is an anime, protest would be our ultimate attack.

    But that form of protest? It’s just funny to me. 

    See, art and protest have always been married to each other. 

    Placards, effigies, songs, paintings, photographs, and even cinema… 

    People expressing anger, sorrow, desire through art…

    And now…

    AI prompts???

    From artists pouring their hearts out into their craft. To common people, writing and shouting with all their vigor.

    Emotions always rise and rise and rise when they do these.

    It’s so freakin moving.

    Inspiring.

    And here come the AI-heads…

    Copy-pasting a prompt.

    [Hey AI, create a photorealistic portrait of the subject from the attached photo (with exact same facial features and hairstyle), wearing black shirt that says “STOP CORRUPTION”]

    Wow.

    Goosebumps. 

    So expressive.

    😱

    I wonder how we got here. 

    Whatever happened to being unique? To authenticity? To showing your true emotion?

    I don’t know, man. 

    That’s why it’s funny to me.

    I believe people still love real stuff (at least most of us).

    … not something that looks and feels real.

    Huge difference.

    Yes, go use AI to help you do stuff faster.

    But when you use it to express and make people act? No. Just no.

    Be real.

    The same goes when you use it for your biz.

    Don’t just rely on AI.

    You can always combine tech and art while still being authentic, anyway.

    We’ve literally had digital artists and online writers doing it for decades already. 

    And I’m sure that’s barely scratching the surface.

    I mean, you can write messages packed with personality and stories… And then use email tech to automate sending them.

    Seriously.

    You don’t have to sound like a robot in those automated emails.

    Why?

    Because doing that risks your relationship with your customers.

    If you want to make your brand beautiful and just so damn adorable? Be human.

    That’s exactly what I do when I write sequences.

    Imagine buying a shirt online or passes for a class, and then you get an email showing genuine appreciation for your purchase.

    Or when you forgot about your online cart because life got in the way, and then hours later, you get a cheeky reminder about it.

    It would make anyone smile.

    And that’s as simple as 1-2-3.

    Emotions felt at the least expected time hit the hardest.

    So give that to your customers. Not fake shyt.

    If you need help writing those dangerously good emails, check out my website: https://johnrillemanalo.com/

  • This is why your funny videos aren’t making you money!

    If you’ve been browsing social media lately (of course you have, you potato), chances are, you’ve seen a handful of businesses trying desperately to be funny. 

    (Just like that potato joke I made)

    From small cafes borrowing punchlines from other cafes, to marketers creating skits they saw from other marketers.

    Now, some of them hit the jackpot.

    It went viral… made sales.

    But did you know almost NONE of that jackpot comes from the joke? It’s true. Most successful businesses don’t even need post 3 funny reels and 58 stories a day.

    What hits the jackpot comes from them putting salt in the market’s wound and telling them how they can cure it. 

    Simple.

    That’s why I don’t know how this make-jokes-all-day krap started.

    Although I can picture the meeting where some well-meaning genius raised their hand and said, 

    “Sir, what if you do this skit with the team? Para maging relatable yung brand.” 

    Or maybe it was the young, eager intern who pitched,

    “Bro, we gotta hop on this trend! Brand awareness yan!”

    Then the biz owner was like…  

    😲👍

    So what’s this got to do with you? 

    Well, I can hear you thinking about doing a trending dance for your biz because the ghost month has hit you hard. So I’m here to save your eass for the sake of your grandkids and dogs.

    You’re welcome.

    Now let’s be clear.

    This relentless pursuit of being “funny” is a trap. 

    If you’re a comedy club, knock yourself out. If you’re a food influencer who gets paid to eat a 6,000-calorie breakfast, by all means, lead the way. Your business model is entertainment.

    But if you’re not? 

    If you sell coaching services, or you own a fitness studio, a hobby shop, or a simple karaoke hub?

    Your job isn’t to rack up claps and dopamine likes. 

    You’re here to solve a problem.

    And this is not me being a tito who hadn’t drank his morning coffee yet.

    I LOVE stupid-funny stuff. I dreamt of having dinner with Adam Sandler and Conan O’Brien and even Babalou since I started watching them. (Fun fact: Conan and I have the same birthday)

    Anyway.

    The point of all this is to tell you this cold, unsexy truth…

    If you want sales, sell.

    The real reason a customer gives you their hard-earned money isn’t because you made them chuckle once or twice. 

    They pay you because you make them less hungry, less confused, less stuck. 

    The market has a tangible problem, and you have the specific answer. That is the core transaction.

    “So do we have to get serious all the time?”

    No, god, no. Dayum. That’s a sad world you’re mentioning.

    Just think of entertainment as the sugar, not the medicine. The lemon, not the tequila(?).

    Instead of spending hours trying to go viral on TikTok, what if you spent that time talking to the market and learning their woes? 

    And then that’s what you put on the content you create.

    Because that’s what makes your brand relatable. They have to know that you know them. Like you’re a tita that brings all the goods. 

    This is why these kinds of ad materials are money-makers:

    • Advertorials that made them realize there’s an answer to their pain
    • Video Sales Letters that talk to them like they know them
    • Emails that make you their friend from afar

    They don’t get a million views and a thousand likes.

    They’re not inherently flashy. 

    But it does something far more important: it builds trust and demonstrates competence.

    So, by all means, sprinkle in some personality. Be human. But don’t ever forget what you’re really here to do…

    SELL.

    And for me, I’m here to make you curious about what I do.

    So… Did I do it right, or do you want me to dance? 

    Go here: https://johnrillemanalo.com

  • How I’ll Use Email Marketing to Make a Small Business in a Saturated Market Profitable

    I wanna make a real-life case study of how my email copy chops work on a small business… so I’ll co-found a cookie biz in Manila.

    Here’s the story:

    My girlfriend started a cookie biz during the pandemic (but was also put to a halt after the series of lockdowns). She sold it on Facebook and IG, but we both have no idea how to run social media marketing.

    So as a direct-response marketer, I suggested we focus on Facebook Marketplace. (Right after selling to friends and fam).

    It turned out to be a good decision.

    I was a complete rookie in the copy game that time, but I stuck with a few old-school principles.

    • Know who you’re selling to
    • Emphasize what sets you apart from the crowd
    • Give proof of your claim
    • Give social proof
    • Add a touch of personality

    Surprise, surprise, sales went up. We even managed to add a few pastries to the menu.

    If life didn’t get in our way, who knows what could have happened to that biz…

    Well…

    We’ll find out because we’re a couple of steps away in (re)launching that same biz.

    It’s a highly saturated market, especially with the rise of Tiktok marketplace or whatever that’s trending right now. And yes, we still don’t have the guts to slave away from the social media marketing grind.

    So the plan is:

    1. Start building a list of people who want that sweet little piece of heaven that she bakes (COOKIES). We’re doing this by tapping old customers, letting friends take part in the taste-testing process in exchange for their emails, tapping our pseudo-influencer circle, plugging the biz on my other email lists, and eventually, paid ads.
    2. Make a simple opt-in bribe to entice cold traffic on her list. We’re leaning heavily on a simple discount-on-first-order tactic, but we’re open to more ideas. A few on the list are free shipping coupons, curiosity/FOMO heavy stories, digital goodies, or I don’t know, maybe prayer intentions.
    3. Create a sales page/product page that focuses on word-painting to make the readers drool over the cookies. We’re selling consumer goods, and consumer goods need to have this veil of awesomeness that sets them apart from similar products. (A good example of this is the brand Last Crumb.)
    4. But we won’t just paint the cookies. We’re going to paint a world. And we’ll do it via email. This is where all the fun and selling will happen. Every single email has 2 goals: entertain and sell.
    5. Figure out a back-end offer. Now, this is a must-have. The front-end offer is the cookies. Once people are on the list, we’ll sell premium offers that only they, as a part of the list, can enjoy. But we won’t talk about the specifics here. List members only.

    Pretty simple, right?

    This is pretty much just an upgrade on what we did on our first try. We just have a few new tools to use and a whole lot of marketing experience.

    But basically, the strategy this time is STILL to stick to what we know and what we enjoy doing.

    We just have to do the work and follow the proven principles.

    Have any questions about what I do in the copywriting realm? Go here: https://johnrillemanalo.com/