The question I put to you today is simple. Should you mix personal with business when you send emails? Well, I recently did this and am going to report my results in this article. Naturally, this is something that you will want to test for yourself to see how well it works for you.

I just recently lost my mother. I am still in recovery. I decided to share this info with my list, I honestly didn’t know what the reaction would be. Well, the reaction was overwhelming. The number of emails I received in sympathy truly touched me. I never expected such a reaction. And the sales that came in from my latest offer…off the charts considering it really wasn’t the main focus of the email. So in a nutshell, combining personal info with business worked for me.

But why? Why does it work? I can only speculate on this so please don’t take this as fact. My guess is that when you share something personal about yourself with your list, you connect with these people on a personal level. They feel like they know you a little better. And when somebody feels that they know you a little better, they tend to trust you a little more…provided what they know about you doesn’t make them want to run to the nearest police precinct.

The Internet can be a cold and impersonal place. Many marketers hide behind a wall so thick, you don’t even know who they are. Many use pen names when creating and promoting a product. There is nothing wrong with this, but it certainly doesn’t do much for building personal relationships. Everything kind of comes down to dollars and cents. And that’s fine. But I think there’s a better way. I think that by letting the people out there get to know you a little better, you can more easily gain their trust.

I have actually made quite a few friends online. I would like to think that the main reason for this is because I open myself up to people…sometimes maybe a little too much. But hey, that’s my problem. Point is, I find that this approach works very well. Besides, how much more effort is it really to tell somebody a little something about yourself? The best converting sales letters, in my opinion anyway, are the ones that share a personal story. At least they’re the ones I enjoy most reading.

Anyway, I thought I’d pass this little bit of info on to you. As I said, test it and see if the personal approach works for you.

To YOUR Success,

Steven Wagenheim

Tired of not getting your emails delivered, read or opened? Sick of not making any sales from your email marketing efforts? Visit my site at http://www.stevewagenheim.com/emailmarketing/index.html and get your hands on 5 years of my personal experience with email marketing…experience that has earned me tens of thousands of dollars yearly.