Email Marketing Tactics used at The Hustle

Email marketing was incredibly effective for us at @TheHustle.

We used it to convert thousands of free subscribers to Trends, and most of the direct-response emails we sent followed a very simple formula I developed, tested and optimized to death.

Any media company can copy it:

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

A note to start -

Use, repurpose, and tease the content you're already producing.

Every week, the incredibly talented Trends editorial team (including @damn_ethan, @JanksJulia, & @amymcmai) would compile a report STACKED with insights, opportunities, and member profiles.

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

Our growth team would read through those weekly reports to pick out the best callouts and stats. These would form the basis for our email marketing blasts to subs of The Hustle that weren't yet subscribed to Trends.

But I mentioned a simple formula, so let's get into it.

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

1) Intriguing & intentionally vague subject lines with (ideally specific) numbers

We'd pick out the wildest stats/numbers from the business profiles in the Trends report. Big, specific dollar figures and weird niches worked best.

Ex: "$234k/month selling organic toothpaste..."

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

2) FOMO-inducing preview of gated content

We almost always started the body copy out with some variation of:

"Have you read the latest Trends report yet? If you haven't, you're missing out on..."

Leading into a bullet pointed list of...

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

3) Quick, high-density & digestible value props (all linked to the next step of the funnel and/or gated content)

Again, time to bring in the juicy numbers/stories/profiles.

With everything linked and UTM'd, you'll also get good data on what content/value props actually convert.

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

Examples of the kinds of bullet points that would go in this list:

- How one solopreneur hit $1.3M in ARR selling ceramic mugs on Amazon (linked to gated content)
- Tactics the Trends community (linked to community-focused sales page) are using to get 160%+ ROI on TikTok ads

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

4) 1st Direct CTA

"If you're not already a member of Trends, try 7 days for just $1 and get immediate access to the full report.

You'll also get access to..."

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

5) Round-up of all member benefits and remaining value props

Here, we'd present all of the value props that make up the Trends membership. The incredible community, weekly newsletter, live lectures, everything.

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

This section is a great opportunity to test subtle tweaks to existing messaging around value props.

A/B test different copy approaches to one of your features, measure impact on CTR and CVR, and use the learnings to change your messaging across LPs, ads, etc.

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

6) 2nd CTA

"Try 7 days of Trends for just a buck."

(That $1 trial offer was something we tested/optimized a ton as well. Initial conversion to trial was solid. Retention was higher than you'd think once we nailed onboarding, but that's a different thread for a different time)

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

We tested SO many approaches to direct-response email.

A lot of them worked well (long-form stories being another winning strategy), but this one converted incredibly reliably.

Converted thousands of readers to Trends, and added millions in ARR.

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023

We drafted and tested new email blasts every week, and winners would get filtered into our drip sequence.

New subs to The Hustle would receive the greatest hits of the emails we tested.

That process is outlined here: https://t.co/Vhhjxy0kqX

— Ryan Carr | Funnels & Email Marketing ✉️ (@ryan_boat) March 29, 2023