In 1961, during an expedition to the Antarctic, 27-year-old Russian surgeon Leonid Rogozov fell ill with appendicitis.

He needed an operation.

And – as the only doctor on the team – he soon realised he’d have to use the scalpel on himself.

As you can imagine, it was no easy choice.

Rogozov knew his appendix could burst at any moment.

And, if it did …

… he would probably die.

So, faced with life or death he did something most sane human beings would NEVER do …

He cut open his abdomen and took out his intestines.

Then, while bleeding heavily, and growing weaker by the second, he looked at his infected appendix.

He later commented: “With horror I notice the dark stain at its base. That means just a day longer and it would have burst...”

So, left with no choice, he chopped it out.

Then neatly tucked his intestines back in.

After nearly two hours of self-surgery he completed the operation, down to the final stitch.

And continued his mission in the Antarctic.

Now, you might be wondering “What’s all this got to do with writing emails to my list?”

Actually, a LOT.

You see, I consult with a number of clients who write some of their own emails.

And, almost all of them says the same thing:

“Writing emails is like pulling teeth.”

They spend hours hunched over the keyboard … struggling to find the right words … and … when they’re done … they’ve got almost nothing to show for it.

So I ask them: “If you needed an operation, would you perform surgery on yourself, or go to a qualified professional – someone who’s spent years learning, practicing and honing their craft?”

The answer’s always the same:

“I’d go to a professional!”

You see, you CAN struggle to write your own emails …

You CAN battle it out with the keyboard to come up with the right words …

You CAN spend hours writing instead of focusing on your core money-making skills …

But why?

If Leonid Rogozov wasn’t stranded in the Antarctic he certainly wouldn’t have performed his own surgery.

So unless you’re dead broke … and have no other option … don’t write your own emails.

And speaking of NOT writing your own emails …

I’m accepting 2 new clients over the next 3 weeks. If you want to be one of them … I’ll write your first email FREE.

But only subscribers to my twice-weekly email marketing newsletter qualify.

Subscribe here:

Campaign Monitor released a (shall I say) “startling” – report titled: “Email Benchmarks (2020): By Day and Industry”.

And it’s absolutely … umm … riveting? I mean, you should be on the edge of your seat right now reading this.

In it they declare:

Australian open rates remain strong at 18.7%

Click-through rates rise to an average of 2.8%.

Click-to-open rates also rise, climbing to an average of 14.9%.

Unsubscribe rates remain steady at an average of 0.2%.

Australia leads open rates with an average of 18.7%; slightly higher than the global average of 17.8%, the UK at 17.5% and the US at 17%.

Sounds like a politician rattling off the latest unemployment figures.

Aren’t you glad you know these statistics?

Don’t they just rock your world?

Aren’t you glad you’re reading this important announcement?

Let me ask you this:

Who cares?

I mean, what are you going to do with this information? What is ANYBODY going to do with this information?

I can just imagine a bunch of suits sitting around the boardroom table discussing this report and asking “What are our open rates? How do we compare?”

To which the poor sod from the marketing department responds by pulling up a spreadsheet on his tablet computer thingy to reveal this fascinating sound bite:

“Let’s see now… we’re a little below average on open rates … but our unsubscribe rates are about where they should be!”

“Quick, send a tweet” replies the CEO.

Come on.

The problem with this type of report … and the problem with marketing consultants who constantly blabber on about email open rates is …

Open rates might be good for the ego … but you’ll get the shock of your life if you ever try to deposit an open rate down at your bank.

That’s why the only email marketing statistic that matters is …

Sales.

Now, I hear you saying: “But the more emails people open the more sales I can make, right?”

Not necessarily.

I mean, it sounds good in theory.

But that’s where it stops.

You see, the only thing an email open rate can tell you is how many people clicked on your email.

Open rate stats don’t tell you whether the person who clicked on your email did so to open and delete it … open and read it … or if they accidentally clicked on it while trying to click an email above or below yours from their dear ol’ mother.

But sales … now that’s a statistic that tells us everything we need to know.

That’s a statistic we can get excited about.

Nobody accidentally buys your product.

There’s more to this, of course. And I’m deliberately only presenting one side of the story here.

But that’s all I’ve got time for today …

However, I will leave you with one final “insight” from the Campaign Monitor report.

This statement sums up their findings:

Australia is leading the way with open rates, which could be an indicator of an especially interested audience. Additionally, emails sent in this region may generally follow email subject line best practices, which encourage opens.

Let THAT sink in.

And then, when you realise you’ve learned absolutely nothing … subscribe to my twice-weekly email newsletter for ideas you can actually use to increase your sales from email marketing.

Just your email address below will do:

Someone from the “I need a copywriter squad” contacted me recently via my google profile to ask if I write copy for websites, like product descriptions and landing pages to generate leads? And if so, why don’t I mention this on my website or on my google profile?

The answer is simple:

Yes, I do write all types of copy. From social media posts, to website pages to whitepapers and special reports. But I specialise in email marketing, because that’s where I see the highest profit potential for business owners right now, and the biggest overlooked opportunity.

Problem is, most businesses owners JUST. DON’T. Get. It.

So they spend a bucket load of cash on ads to get new leads, but do almost nothing to nurture the leads they’ve already got. They spend hundreds — and sometimes thousands — a month on SEO, but do nothing to collect the email addresses of the people who arrive at their website.

I get it. I really do.

I spent a lot of years in direct sales so I understand the thrill of the kill on the first contact.

And I understand your insatiable desire for hot new leads.

After all, you just want people to hit you expensive website, see the value you bring, and buy on the spot ….

… which is probably the dream sold to you by your fancy webs designer.

But …

THIS IS THE NUMBER ONE CRIME YOU COMMIT AGAINST YOUR OWN WALLET!

Because — study after study shows only a tiny fraction of all the traffic that arrives at your website will buy on the first visit. Even fewer will visit a second time. And …

That’s why the best, smartest and most profitable business owners make “email capture” the focus of their website.

Without doubt, email is the best way to nurture captured leads right now, and the best way to automatically sell more products to existing customers and expand your referral base.

And that, my curious reader, is why I promote myself as an email copywriter.

But yes, as a copywriter I can write any type of copy. Preferably in the alternative health niche because I feel the alternative health market does a great service to the community.

I also publish a twice-weekly email newsletter full of ideas to help you get better results from your email marketing. It’s free, although some reader’s have said they’d happily pay a C-note to get some of the info I share. If you know what’s good for you … you’ll subscribe here: