No, the subject line is not a clickbait.

Exactly a month ago, I wrote the Valentine’s Day campaign for a Canada-based brand that sells sex toys. The brand had an inactive list of 18,000 customers, and my gig was simple: I had to write an email sequence to reengage the dead list and hopefully make some sales.

I brainstormed for a few hours and designed a 5-day campaign that not only improved the open rates to 30% from less than 10% but also sold some units (can’t mention the sales because of client contracts.)

Today, I will dissect my work to explain why the campaign was a hit, the process and strategies behind it, and I will share the exact email sequence I shared with the client in the end.

Stick with me.

Before we dive any deeper, say hi to our sponsor:

Become A Prolific Writer In 7 Days

Digital Writers:

• Tired of your writing getting zero attention online?

• Looking to unlock new (& lucrative) opportunities?

• Want to position yourself as a writer with authority (even if you’re a beginner)?

Then look no further! This FREE email course will help you:

• Craft irresistible headlines to hook attention

• Generate endless writing ideas in 30 minutes

• Write in a niche you own (and differentiate yourself as a writer)

Click here to get instant access.

The Flow

One of the first things I did was, of course, strategize and set up an email sequence.

Understanding engagement is my primary objective, I went against the tide and decided to bombard the list with many emails. The idea is to be more visible in the inbox good enough times to get noticed. I was also considering the rush of emails from other brands doing email marketing for Valentine’s.

Nothing engages the audience more than useful information. You need someone’s attention? You need to understand what they want.

I started digging, “what would users want to see on Valentine’s?”

I felt getting better at bed would be common for a sexual wellness brand, so I dropped the idea. I wanted to show the brand actually cares for its customers to have a great Valentine’s Day.

Then I remembered this concept of love languages I had learned long ago while trying to impress my crush. If you don’t know the concept already, there are five major love languages you can receive/express your love:

• Words of affirmation

• Acts of service

• Gifts

• Quality time

• Physical touch

That’s it. I immediately realized I could create a sequence around five love languages. I wanted the brand’s audience to express love better. I planned to move ahead with an education-first approach, where we talk about one love language per email and give date ideas to implement them.

To get more clarity, I divided the 10-email sequence into three segments:

• Introduction: to say hello and talk about what to expect in the next five days

• Value: to talk about the love languages

• Offers and Followups: to talk about brands’ products and make sales

…and this is how the sequence looked:

I was bullish on my strategy and sent the first six emails (one introduction and five love language emails) in three days.

The content was completely about our customers having a good time, so the open rates gradually increased. Since the emails are connected with one love language per email, the audience tracked other emails after discovering one. This customer behaviour ensured all emails were opened even if they bumped into one of these five love languages.

Whatever the order of love languages be, I wanted it to end with physical touch so it gives me a smooth transition into intimacy products.

It all worked according to the plan—we introduced some top products, offered discounts, followed up, and finally made sales.

If I look back today, I believe the campaign was a hit for three reasons:

1. A Connecting Theme:

I ended each email with the tagline:

“This Valentine’s Day, Express more of your love ❣️ ”

The message was clear: You have some ways to express love to your partner. Let us educate you about more ways (the ways your partner likes), and we’ll leave it to you to express more of your love.

2. Hiding in plain sight:

One of the major contributors to the re-engagement of this dead list was the subject lines. One would argue subject lines are basic for any email campaign’s success, but this is where I did something different.

I didn’t make the subject lines about intimacy, sex, masturbation, or use any sexual terms. I was particular about it and the reason was simple.

We are sending emails; our customers could be in the office, at dinners, gatherings, etc. The notifications they receive should not embarrass them if people around our customers have a glance.

We made it all about love and Valentine’s to ensure there is no awkwardness or extra consciousness in reading notifications in public whatsoever.

3. The most basic rule

I followed the most basic rule of content marketing: give, give, give, give, give, give, and then ask.

If you look at the sequence, there is no selling until the seventh email. The only CTA we had in the emails before that was to check out the website.

Once we established trust and gave what our customers wanted to spend a good time with their partners, they were in a better space to listen to our offers.

Hence, the sales.

The sequence I wrote for the client

Of course, there is no point in sharing all this without giving you access to the content. The button below gives access to the entire sequence.

That’s all I have for this week.

One last thing: Cognition is always free for readers like you and I only make money when you click on ads and we reach more people. So, if you can do either one for me, it would mean the world. Thanks in advance!

I will see you next week!

Take care, stay safe, and create kickass email sequences!

Love,
Vikra