An email about why people open emails is more meta than I was expecting to go this week but bear with me. After last week, I wanted something a bit more actionable for the folks sticking with me. When I started my Max Wilde Stories email, I was dedicated to keeping as close to inbox zero as possible. To be clear, I’ve never been able to manage that on my personal email. But starting fresh does that to you. I’ve done well with that up until recently. I took a couple of hours to catch up on email yesterday. I probably get 200 emails a day. I’ve forgotten why I subscribed to some people and am trying to slowly unsubscribe when I feel like I don't vibe with someone anymore. My process for organizing and keeping up to date looks like this: 1. Archive anything I know I won’t read immediately (which includes anything too promotional or for things that aren’t currently relevant to me) 2. Check for anything from clients or leads that needs my immediate attention
3. Anything time-sensitive such as events or workshops I may want to register for or attend 4. Everything else A subject line is just one piece of the puzzle. I’d argue that it’s not even the most important one which is probably a hot take. The sender is the most important part that helps me and others decide to open an email. Have they set expectations and built trust with me? For me, this means that most emails are not just thinly veiled attempts at sales and self-promotion. You probably know exactly the emails I’m talking about. Every time I open an email, I check the length and scan to see when they bring in their call-to-action. If it’s just a couple of paragraphs in, it gets archived. Sorry not sorry I know that email marketing is how most people ask for sales, so I’m not inherently against using a story to illustrate a point and having clear calls to action for folks. But as a consumer, if you haven’t given me value for free, then you go in the archive black hole and/or get unsubscribed. Which brings me to the next point. What makes a valuable email (or really any piece of content)? I see it in a few ways:
Momentum toward a result your reader is trying to achieve
Shifting their perspective to see themselves or their problem differently
Inspiring and encouraging them when times get tough
Building connections and getting to know the full person behind the brand
Entertaining and keeping them engaged throughout (usually through stories, anecdotes, or a compelling hook)
The educational content that draws me in are ones that outline and establish frameworks and also helps me realize WHY something works instead of just what I should be doing. Neurodivergent people need to know why a rule is there if you expect them to follow it, and I feel like this is true when I’m learning new skills as well.
A framework I've created to outline content on a micro and macro scale (as an example)
The HOW is everywhere. Information is freely accessible. Tell me WHY this works and break it down in a way that makes sense for me to refer back to. And not just why this works, but why this matters. What’s at stake? What will we now be able to do and feel by gaining that momentum or by shifting our perspective? (Now to get real meta— I’m doing this right now.) Once you’ve done this, you have become someone that people earmark in their inboxes because they look forward to your reading your emails. This is such a gift, especially considering how many emails we all get daily. I don’t take for granted that each one of my emails gets responses, that people even leave it sitting unread until they get a chance to read it (hi friend, you know who you are 😜). I didn’t expect it but am grateful all the same. It’s from that place where you’ve built trust and connection, that you can ask for the sale with confidence because you know the people who are still here listening are your people. That you have served them and that asking for the sale is just a logical next step for them to go further with you as their guide. It’s that seamless shift that’s possible, not just with email, but with longer content as well. It bridges the gap between free in-depth content and people who are n
ow inspired to take action because of you and what you have to say.
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