You're listening to cubicle to CEO episode 186. Imagine making $500,000 from one email. Today's guest actually did this and she's giving you a word for word copy of this email in a doc to peruse and participate in conversation with her later in this episode. Meet Merel Krigsman, a former cleaning lady turned self made millionaire specializing in high end offers and dedicated to helping you become the wealthiest woman in your lineage. While we love a good success story, we also recognize that overnight success is rarely a reality. The same is true of course with the 500k email in today's case study, so Merel sets you up for success by first breaking down the exact long-term email newsletter formula that nurtured her audience to make a mammoth win like that possible. It'll come in the familiar phrase of no like trust, but I promise you Merel's specific approach to incorporating each element in your emails is so much more than a common cliche.
Welcome to cubicle to CEO the podcast, I'm your host, Ellen Yin, I quit my job without a backup plan and bootstrapped my first $300 freelance project into $2 million in revenue by age 28. On the show, you'll hear weekly case study interviews with leading entrepreneurs and CEOs who share one specific strategy that successfully grew their business revenue. Skip the expensive and time consuming learning curve of testing everything yourself by borrowing what actually works from the best and brightest mentors. You'll also get a front row seat to my founders journey through transparent income reports and behind the business solo episodes, subscribe now so we can grow together every Monday.
Hello, Merel, welcome to the show. We're so excited to have you. We were joking. For those of you listening in the greenroom, how prepared we came to this conversation, both of us have notebooks and pages of notes. So this is going to be a good one.
Thank you for having me, Ellen. I've been looking forward to this one for a while.
Well, me as well. So thank you so much. For again, just bringing your genius to this show today. Merel's case study is extremely exciting. You know, we've had a few case studies on here before about email and email marketing, but never before have we had someone who made half $1,000,000 - $500,000 from one email with a small list, and Merel is going to really break down for you what that actually looked like in practice. So I'm very excited to dive into that. But before we do, of course, we have to start with our usual, what is your cubicle to CEO story, Merel, how did you make the jump from employee to entrepreneur?
Yeah, so I actually don't have a cubicle to the like CEO story because like I honestly the only Corporation I've ever been in is my own. But I do have a very fast career life prior to becoming a business owner, which ranges by the way from working as a maid in Germany when there was like, no minimum wage at that point. So I was making, you know, maybe like seven bucks an hour or so. And riding around on my bike, super pregnant, trying to create a little bit of money for our family, and then also a opera career. So I have a successful art career sort of in my rearview mirror that I think honestly, like really prepared me for this entrepreneurial world where we're constantly visible, we're using our voices, we're trying to understand what moves people. And you know, when you spend over a decade like dissecting areas and sort of understanding, like, where are people going to cry? Most likely, like, how is it building up, you know, you become very, sort of a technical and strategic about it. And I've never actually stopped doing that I just like took that skill and transferred it right into being a business owner and how to create pitches that are soul stirring and give people full body chills the same way that I would sing, you know, on a big stage or win a competition.
That is so cool, how you've infused your, your past as an opera singer, and music, especially because music is such a universal language, right to your point. You don't have to understand the words. It's the emotions that are felt, and you're actually not the first person to come on our show who didn't work in a cubicle or in a traditional corporate job necessarily, which I think is actually a wonderful gift. So it's great that it's not too it's great that you got to skip right past that. But actually, we recently had another guest on Marissa Corcoran, who also was a stage actor in a previous life
Funny story. She is an alumni of mine. When we started working together, she was like, you know, copywriter, are working with retainers and the programs that she's still running she she developed working with me like a few years ago. And of course we really connected over, like, how are we going to even more use our ability to perform? Right in our businesses? It was great working with her.
Wow, what a small world. Okay, that's so cool. I'll have to text her afterwards, they had the pleasure of chatting with you this morning as well. And yeah, totally. I mean, I come from a performance background as well, in in music, not as much with singing, that was always just a hobby of mine. But you know, I grew up training in classical piano did a lot of stage performances. So I totally understand what you mean about reading the music, understanding, where are the pauses? Where are the phrases? And and the, you know, staccatos? Yeah, yes. The crescendos?
And I'm curious, Ellen, I find that, you know, working with coaches, as a musician, is not so different from the work that we do today, in the sense that, you know, you need to listen very carefully to and observe your clients and what they're experiencing. And also, right, so they're sort of like the gift of already having been in coaching actually, for a really long time, and mentorship and understanding how those relationships work. There's any performance aspect, and then there's also the ingrained discipline that comes with studying music, that transfers really, really well.
Absolutely. And I think this is just another key reminder, before we jump into the case study today, for all of you listening, that there is so much real world experience, and, and skills that you bring to entrepreneurship that are transferable, even if they don't seem linear, right. So even if you may have a background that's completely different than what you're doing today, don't treat yourself like you have nothing to bring to the table or that you know, nothing. It's absolutely not true. There's so much transference in skills. And I think Merel's cubicle to CEO story is such a great reminder of that. So thank you for starting us off on that note, Merel. I want to start with setting the scene of this case study. So when you had this moment of making $500,000, from this one email, obviously, there was a lot that happened leading up to that point. So at that stage, in your business, how long did you already have your email list? How many subscribers did you have on your list? And where had the subscribers primarily come from? So let's start with those three. Yeah, no contacts. Question.
Yeah. So I would say had about, I'm trying to remember, like, it's a less than 2000. For sure. So it was it was still a small list. And it might have even been sub 1000 list at that point, it was was really not a huge amount of people. I had had my email list for I would say, two years, maybe two and a half years, at that point. So they were fairly warm, right? So I always like say this when I when I tell this story, because people are like, Oh, I could just you know, maybe run some ads and right get get this number of people on my list. But these were connections that came primarily from me guest teaching and other people's communities, putting myself forward for you know, like, like speaking in a very specific community or something, right, like already having sort of like that transfer of credibility happen when you are on somebody else's stage or join into right somebody else's community. There is like a lot of trust building that happens in that moment when somebody says, like, I want to present this person to you all. And that definitely shortened the sales cycle by a lot.
I could not agree with that more in our community, we talk a lot about this concept of borrowed traffic and leveraging other people's audiences. And I truly believe that as an entrepreneur, if you don't already have an existing audience, that it's so important to really think about how do I connect with the gatekeepers of audiences that have already been built with my ideal clients, with my ideal followers or collaborators or whoever you're trying to reach? And I love that you use guest speaking opportunities as a way to do that. And I think I mean, this is kind of a tangent. We'll come back to the the case study at hand, but I do just want to say, I think people often undervalue or maybe overlook is probably a better word to describe this. They overlook the power of speaking in front of even, let's say, five to 10 people in an intimate group, right? Yes, yeah. And how that connection the exactly what Merel said, the level of connection, the depth of connection, in a live speaking, opportunity or container, whether it's virtual or in person is unmatched to anything else. Because when people get to spend quality time and see you live talking, those people who discover us, or come through our communities in those ways always end up being the most loyal, the most engaged of anyone else. And so I just wanted to pull that out again, for our listeners, Merel.
Yeah. And I think you know, what I love about it is that it's actually accessible. Even when you're right, first of all, we're not starting from scratch, we already decided that. So but let's say that you you are in, you know, fairly beginning stages, or even if you're not, in the beginning stages, there are always so many people that like, even if it's like friends of friends, that might be right, that might run some online community, it's just like, you just want to get started with who you already know, or who would be willing to make an introduction. And that is possible for almost everyone. Right? We all have like a handful of people, or you can just like start, and then you know, honestly, I can say my best clients have come from being in front of other people's audiences. Because, you know, I make sure that when I when I speak, I speak in front of a community where I know I'm values aligned with the person who runs it. So there's that, you know, there's just this fit. And also like you shared right intimate groups, when you sell high ticket, which is you know, what, what I'm an expert on, they crave that proximity, they crave that access, they crave the intimacy of being in a room with you and being able to ask you questions and to get your opinion. So the more reflective the initial experience is, the more likely they're actually going to convert down the line.
Oh, I love the way that you phrase that. Also, what a great teaser. So Merel just mentioned the word intimacy. And this is a concept that we're going to really dial in on over the course of our conversation, because it's related to a hot take that I'm going to ask Merel about later in our interview. So great teaser. But again, if we're looking at where you were, in this moment, you had your list, like you mentioned, for about two and a half years, it was sub 1000 subscribers. But these people were very, very engaged, very connected, because they had come to you through guest speaking opportunities. Because I know your one of your signature ways of engaging with your community is through an email newsletter and email newsletters, I mean, we've all been on a list for an email newsletter, we've maybe all created an email newsletter, there's so many different types of newsletters out there. And it can mean a lot of different things to a lot of people, depending on your experience. So I would love to know for you and how you chose to nurture your list with your newsletter. What was this newsletter? About? Was there a specific structure format? What was the frequency that you were sending newsletters to your existing list? Yeah, give us kind of the high level view of what this newsletter is like?
Yes. And I love this question. Because it actually really matters in the success of how you're able to sell off of your newsletter content. Like I'm a very creative person, as you can imagine. So I personally don't work well with planning and rigidity, and sort of like, okay, this is this is how we're going to do with moving forward. But rather, I gave myself a creative brief. So you know, if you if you're familiar with like, you know, British British baking shows and stuff like that, it's always like, make this thing these are your ingredients now create this artwork. And that's exactly what I did with the newsletter. So I sat down, and I was like, Okay, how can I create something that is so high quality? That is so amazing. That is so like, just the thing that they needed to hear that day, right? These beautiful, sort of almost like a string of pearls with like shifts of perception, right? Like just moments of like, oh, wait, oh, oh, that was my creative brief. I was like, I'm going to send like wealth prayers and poems and deep reflections. And I'm going to treat it like a diary wherever I have a moment of realization or a piece of wisdom that I've been able to alchemize from, you know, I mean, entrepreneurship, some days is as a sort of like a never ending buffet of shit sandwiches, we all know this. Right? Like how how I've been able to like extract the wisdom from those experiences, and then share them and I was like, I'm like you I value transparency. So it's like, I'm gonna be really transparent there, more so than anywhere else that I see in the industry. And so that was what I started doing.
I want to jump Real quick before you get further because this this concept of a creative brief, I think is probably new. I mean, it was new when I was, you know, reading your your pitch to come on the show, I thought to myself, Oh, that's interesting. We deal with creative briefs all day in the sense of, you know, when we're partnering with brands for sponsored content or campaigns, they'll send us a creative brief, let's say for an ad that we will then utilize to create a script or, you know, decide the direction of a partnership. But a creative brief in the sense of a newsletter is a new concept. To me, it's novel to me, so I'm sure I'm not the only one. So I want to know, can you describe to me like if someone were to replicate that same approach to their newsletter, or their way of nurturing their email list? How would they create a creative brief for themselves? What components need to be in it? What is the purpose of having a creative brief? Before they even begin? You know, writing? Exactly.
Yeah, totally. So I'll give you my interpretation and how it's been helpful to me. So I wanted to first decide how I wanted people to feel, right. So when you create art, there was more a desire to have someone have a certain realization, or have them go through certain emotion, rather than here is the list of the three things I need them to know, right, or sort of like less information based and more centered around like what emotions and pieces of awareness that we actually want to have click into place as the jumping board to then have the information that you share land really well, or have the action that you want them to take, feel like an absolute no brainer, because they're having an emotional experience. Right? I very often receive us feedback. Your email made me cry, your email made me laugh, your email was something I show to my partner. And then we had way more sex than we usually have. Right? Like stuff like that. It's like, that makes me happy. You know, I'm like, okay, in the end. Like, we know that buying decisions, the vast majority are emotion based decisions that we make. But right, so many of us focus on like strategic and information, sort of, like how we drip out the information, how much we give how much we don't give, and I was like, No, I'm going to speak directly to their hearts to and also to their subconscious, right. I use art, right, like poetry, for example, as a way to not speak to their intellect, but just go straight to the heart. And that's where, you know, after being a few months on my email list, people feel already transformed. They haven't actually spent $1 With my company, right? And they're like, this is so rich. Like I have gone through all these like feelings and emotions and shifts of perception and I'm a changed human being. Then working together, right is like Yes, please.
Friend, I'm telling you if your business creates content on social media, you need to be on metricool, the best social media management platform, with options tailored for solopreneurs doing their own marketing, all the way up to agency teams running hundreds of client accounts. Metricool offers a forever free plan, which gives you access to their planning tools, including being able to auto publish reels, tiktoks, and carousel posts, competitor analysis, robust analytics, and a cross platform inbox. For even more advanced use. premium plans start at just $12 a month, where you can unlock features including customizable reports, access to smart links, and running ads for tiktok, Facebook and Google. You'll be blown away by how easy it is to customize your content by platform and still post to multiple platforms at once. One of a Kind tiktok metrics you can't even find on tiktok's own app, like identifying the specific hashtags on your videos that are bringing in the most views and the ability to boost Instagram reels and posts all without leaving metrical dashboard. Connect your Facebook Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter Pinterest website, hey, even a Twitch account if you have one. All in one place to sign up for your forever free account and try any premium features free for 30 days. Go to metricool.com and use our code CEO that's spelled Metricool.com and use our code CEO.
This episode is brought to you by Comcast RISE. The roads arise is an inspiring documentary that follows the lives of four small business owners all on a journey to achieve big dreams. Watch now on Comcast rise.com keep rising.
Yes, I want to pull out a nugget of wisdom because you said it a few times now and I think it's so key for people to really hear this shifts of perception. So when I first learned this concept of shifting people's perspective, or the way that they approach, a problem, or even a solution, I think the first time I really understood this concept was maybe late 2019, early 2020. And it changed everything for me, you guys, because we often think, to Merel's point, that value only comes in the form of information or instruction like, this is how you do XYZ, step one, step two, step three, of course, there's value in that. But I think we often again, overlook the inherent value of helping someone see something in a new way, or approach something with a fresh perspective. So those perspective shifts are equally as valuable. And I love Merel, that you really were so focused on how do I make someone feel what is the experience I want my newsletter reader to have, versus, you know, and of course, letting that inform what information you share rather than the other way around. So I think that approach is very unique. And I know it plays right into your unique newsletter formula that is centered on know like trust, which, before I ask you about this, I just kind of want to call out the elephant in the room, which is that know, like trust is something that is said so often in our business space, that it often feels like a cliche, right? Like, okay, we get it like people to know, like, and trust us. But the way that you, again, the perspective shift the way that you approach this concept of building know, like, and trust, I think is different because you associate it with intimacy, which is something that you had already teased a moment ago. So I want you to talk to us about this idea of, actually, I feel like this would be a great point to insert the first hot take you have been quoted to say the best emails are conversation starters. So in relation to the know, like, trust formula that you use, what tactical things are you doing in your email that are inciting responses to your email?
Yeah, so first and foremost, it's, it's actually asking for a response, and having an interesting conversation, right, like enough sort of like to actually spark people to want to even reply, right? So to come back to the know, like, and trust and sort of my take on this with the with the lens of intimacy, and then I'll go into, like, how to get people to to reply back and stuff like that. Really what we do, right, especially when we work with people in higher end containers, like coaching packages, and stuff like that, it's identity shaping work, right? Identity shifting work. That's like, that's big, right? It's not something that you just want to have an anyone do to you or do with you. Right? Rather. So like, I think it's really important for you to know, the person who you're going to, to embark on a journey like this with and the same the same things around like, you probably want to like them, or even love them or their approach, right? Like doesn't have to be personal, we need to be able to trust them. Right in order to also like trust ourselves in their, in their presence. So the way that I do this an email, and this is this is then also what evokes like the responses. First of all, the know factor is sort of filled in from an email newsletter perspective, by actually being really consistent. People can't get to know you unless you show up and are visible, right, in this case in their inbox, consistently, right, if you all of a sudden fall off the radar for a very long time, you need to sort of start to re Introduce yourself all over again, if you will. Right. And then the so we have no then there's been like factor, right? I sort of go like can we make it a love factor? Can we say love? Like I like yeah, it's I love that, you know, is through sharing your personality raid or sharing it from a place of like, intimacy. Now what I want to say here and actually post about this on my Instagram as well, not everyone wants to share intimately about their personal life, this is not a prerequisite. It's something that I'm personally comfortable with. But if you're not, don't worry, you can still use this strategy. You can also, how you say that, that like let us in by showing a big experiment that you're running and all the things you're learning and we get to understand how your brain works and the lens with which you look at your craft or you're right like in your in your unique field of like coaching or service providing or whatever it is that you do. There's just like there's different strategies there. I just want people to know you do not have I have to share, like all your intimate personal life stuff, right. And then then we have, of course, like the trust factor, which is really again, like through like the intimacy and the consistency and sharing credibility.
This is a huge one for women. We yesterday I was talking to someone who has closed seven figure deals who've helped multiple, eight figure businesses be as successful as they are, but nobody really knows her in our online industry. So she's not getting the clients that she wants, or at the speed that she desires. Because simply like her credibility is not something that she's actually put forward. For us to understand for us to see. Most women struggle with what I call credibility, amnesia, right? We either forget how much credibility we actually have, we don't see how we can transfer it from cubicle to CEO. And we forget to consistently put it out there, the moment you start doing that, it's not only that your audience can start trusting you, you also remind yourself every day of how awesome you are. Right? So you can't forget it. So if you do those three things, right. So basically, be consistent, create intimacy, through sharing your personality in whatever way suits you. And you consistently build credibility. There's like this perfect sort of hum, that starts to happen. That is like the perfect breeding ground for sales, we get to the heart of it. Yes.
So exciting. Okay, before we jump into this next piece of how do you get responses, because I know we've all been on the receiving end or not the receiving end, but the giving end of asking a question, and then not getting any responses, which can be disheartening. So we'll talk about that in just a moment. But I want to go back for a second two things, one, I so appreciate and I'm sure I'm not the only one who finds it encouraging that there's more than one way to build intimacy. And to your point, it doesn't have to be revealing very personal or private details about your life, it can be creating intimacy through like what you shared, transparently disclosing the process through which you are doing something in your business. And this is something that I just wanted to pull out for our listeners, because it's easy to kind of have that be lost in all of the beautiful wisdom that Merel just shared. But this concept of some call it building and public, some call it you know, different things, but it's this idea of like, yes, people want to understand your actual process or, or your framework, or however you do the thing that you do in your business. But I think what most people leave out and what to Merel's point creates intimacy is not just the process itself, but how you are thinking through the process access to your brain of, okay, when a process is happening, are you sharing, okay, when this happens, I do this because XYZ, you know, thought process, or Oh, when I came upon this hurdle, I approached it in this way, or asked myself this question, or I took this data point, and I, you know, decided to do this or make made a decision around this, because all of that kind of behind the scenes thinking that's happening in your brain 24/7 That you're not necessarily revealing to people. I think when you allow people a glimpse into that it does create such intimacy because people feel like they're getting a chance to see how your brain works exactly like what Merel said. And so I really wanted to highlight that piece for our listeners, in case you missed that point, because it's it's such a huge takeaway, I think, from what you just shared, Merel. And then the second thing I wanted to ask you to give a little bit more detail on is the credibility piece, I totally agree. Credibility amnesia, is a condition that plagues many of us, especially women, as you astutely observed. So I, I would like to know what are two to three opportunities women can look out for insert a credibility piece? Can you give us some examples of that?
Yeah, and actually, it's like a very simple process, like very beautiful, graceful, simple, like, I love it when it's simple. So yea, it can be simple. What I have my people do is just create a long, long list, like 25-35 things that give them credibility periods, so it's not even like specifically in your fields that you currently are in. I have as one of the pieces of credibility that I often talk about and put forward. I homebirth all our three daughters, and wow, I still feel like wow, that was courageous. Which is deadly. Wow. You know, and the last birth, of the birth of our third daughter was actually here on the farm. So like on an acreage with a midwife, and it was a 90 minute birth, and it wasn't close to 10 pound baby. And it was like, such an amazing experience. So I, for example, I have that as a blog post on my, on my website, I have like the three birth stories of our children and sort of how I felt what I did when I woke up, how I navigated, like, you know, basically having to deliver that day because it was 10-11 days overdue, and you know, all those things. And again, it shows people like my inner workings, right in this in this particular case, it's, you know, quite a personal topic, because I have higher comfort levels with that.
But you know, you can do it about something else as well, less personal, and people on sales calls and stuff like that will refer back to, oh, I really felt like a connection with you when you share that. Right? I really felt like, oh, yeah, she understands what it's like. So make a list of all the things that you've ever done, that just make you like a badass human being, right where you like that took tremendous courage or that was really like wisdom in carta to you know, like, in that moment, I'm proud of that. So make make that long list. And then of course, some of them are going to be like your client wins. Some of them are going to be case studies of some of the own right sort of maybe projects or experiments that you did, some of them are going to be work related or business related. And some of them aren't, have that list ready like to go sort of like either on your desktop or on like an actual physical list. And just constantly remind yourself to weave in those stories. On a regular basis. It's like one of those things that I asked myself, like, when I send an email, sick, did I layer some credibility in here, right, of some variety, so really, like holistically
That is really, really powerful, because to your point, and I'm really glad actually that the example you gave was not business related, because it is exactly like how we started our conversation with this idea that just because you're new to entrepreneurship, doesn't mean you have no credibility, right? You, you're transference of your past career, or past life skills, your background, your lived experience, all form credibility, and they all still speak to your competence and your unique gifts that you can bring to the table. And so I really, really love that idea of using that filtering question. Before you hit send, ask yourself did I weave in one piece of credibility in here from my list. So that's the homework assignment for all of you today is to sit down, write that power list, write that list of anything that has made you proud in your life. That is very encouraging. Thank you so much. I feel like I want to jump to how do you invite people to actually respond to your emails, but I just have this like little nugget, but someone listening on the other end might be like, okay, okay, I really get that. And that's exciting. But like, how does that relate to what I'm actually selling my business? So I, I gotta backtrack for just one second. So let's take what you just shared your burden story, right for your children. If you were to weave in that as a piece of credibility. I know it might be hard to verbatim speak to like an example. But like, Yeah, could you exactly Could you show us like, how do you actually relate that to what you're selling, or to your business? So it doesn't just feel like a random story, that kind of information?
Yeah. So I actually love speaking to this. So when you have an email newsletter, it's actually really cool to sometimes have a whole bunch that don't have a call to action. Right, other than just a welcoming of like responses and CO sharing of stories, especially in between launches. Like not every email has to have a CTA that's like, contrary to industry advice, right? Where it's sort of like how do I get the most out of my email list? Just sort of like this extraction, airy attitude. No, I literally share stories. And I and I might say, like, I feel this story matters so deeply to me that I'm quite sure it will matter to you too. And I might not quite know why or how but I'm going to share it and then you're going to write me back and help me understand why this is important. Right? So I call create, right? It's like a reciprocal relationship that way where sometimes I am just vulnerable and saying like, this really mattered to me, this happened and that felt really deep. Right? So there's that it gets me lots of replies.
People like sharing things when you've shared so thing with them they want to they want to share a similar story. And then if I were to tie it back to just answer that specific question, when you think of business, right, like we're all just like birthing the next big idea, the next big venture, right, so there's like I could talk about, like birthing energy and how it's lesson always have to be a human child. And sometimes, you know, we encountered those stages of birth giving like in the very projects that we run.
Merel is not only sharing her email strategies for selling five and six figure offers in this episode, but she is also generously sharing the actual word for word emails that brought in that kind of money. You can access these email examples at Merelkriegsman.com/milliondollaremails, on top of that, and this is where it goes beyond anything I've seen a guest offer before. She's also giving you the opportunity to directly interact with her inside this email stock. So you can get your questions answered and ask her for personal advice. But make sure you download this doc ASAP, because the interactive part with Merel will expire two weeks after this episode airs. So that's April 3. Get your eyes on the soulful, intimate and wildly profitable email examples. And don't miss out on the bonus opportunity to ask Merel your direct questions in the dark before April 3. Again, you can head to MerelKriegsman.com/milliondollaremails, or click the link below in the show notes.
That is really helpful. Tying in that analogy. I was going to say that's so interesting. I just had kind of an aha moment as you were into this, this idea of co creation within your content. I think so often, when we email or I mean, doesn't have to be email any form of content medium now, really, we feel like we have to deliver an answer. Like, I'm telling you this because, you know, something definitive that we've already wrapped up nicely in a bow I I really like that you have this approach of, you know, sometimes I share a piece of credibility or a story, that I may not know what the reason for sharing this is. But you can tell me why this is meaningful to you. And the fact that it's not a perfectly delivered answer, but rather you are inviting them to help you create the answer. That is a really interesting process that I haven't really thought about before as it relates to email writing. So that was a new Aha, for me. I hope that was a new Aha.
Shift of pereption. There we go.
The phift of pereption, exactly! I love this. So give us some examples, then of going back to this idea of you, you seem to measure the success of your emails by the response rates, right, like how many people are actually responding back to you. If you have any data around? Generally speaking, what percentage of your email list to open your emails do typically respond to mobile?
Yeah, it's an interesting question. I'm very much not a numbers person. It's actually interesting. I can't hear numbers very well. It's, it's a certain condition, but I basically have to see things visually. So it's like, it always fascinates me because I couldn't do math to save my life growing up. It was really horrible, like experience throughout my entirety in school. Very often, I can't actually even like speak to numbers, like the huge numbers that I help my clients create in their business, which is like, wow, you actually don't need to be like a numbers person to do this. First of all, like my open rates are around 50%. I looked at that yesterday. Right. So this is also goes back to my conversion copywriter sort of period, because that's how I started out in business. Before I transitioned into business, mentorship, where, you know, they taught me the only thing that your email subject headline needs to do is just get people to open it. Right? It doesn't have to be a summary of what's inside. It doesn't need to be a promise it doesn't need to write share information doesn't need to tell a story. It just needs to be interesting enough to get them to to open up. So it's like sort of like looking at, like the conversion rate the overlarge conversion and chopping it into what I call micro conversions. Right so people like replying to an email newsletter also is a micro conversion. People taking a snippet of your email newsletter and then posting it online with some of their own thoughts and tagging you is a micro conversion. Having somebody reached out to you and DM saying so and so's on your email list and forwarded the email to me and I want to rate have give you my personal opinion or some insights. Those are all conversions, but we're not actually counting them. So that is like a side note, I receive at times like in my email newsletter, I think there's about 4500 people on there. So it's not massive, right? Not at all. What I would say is that on average, I get about, like 10 replies, and then some emails, I get, like 30.
That's amazing. Just the fact that it is intention that you have at the forefront of the way you email, I think that alone can be a perspective shift, right? If we're thinking about the success of our emails, not just on the hard metrics that we normally track, like open rates, click through rates, but also looking at how many people responded to this email. I think if we even approach with that intention, it changes the way that we write. So I really liked that piece, I want to now spend our last couple of minutes actually breaking down the one big email. So up to this point, we've talked about all of the things that Merel has done in nurturing her email list and how you can apply similar approaches. But then there was this one email that actually drove $500,000 in sales. And how it did that is this email, you know, ended up resulting in 30 highly qualified sales calls. So you know, high quality leads, booking a sales call for Merel's high ticket offer. And then then, of course, that ended up being $500,000 worth. So I'm gonna go kind of bit by bit here. Yeah. Let's start with the subject line. So like you just mentioned the subject line, the only purpose is to get someone to open period. So what was the subject line of this 500,000 email? Do you remember what it was?
Yeah. So what I did yesterday in a hurry, because I knew people would want to see the actual emails, at least I would, if I was listening to this, I would actually want to see the email. So what I created, I created like a little giveaway with the actual emails in it. And then also, what I wanted to just invite people to come and do is play with me in that document, and ask questions for the first like, two weeks after this goes live. Because I think that's going to be like, just super useful is to just go in there and actually workshop like, what worked and why did it work? And what were the email subject headlines and like all those details.
I have also put an email in there. I just want to say that made me $1 under six figures last week, so I sold a high ticket private offer, you know, I didn't even start as a sales email. I was just like, I'm having this thoughts. I'm just gonna write it I was writing and I was writing was totally into, by the way, like I listened to very specific music. I just want to say as well, when I when I write I love the soundtrack of Interstellar, for some reason.
Oh my goodness, it is one of the most eem, speaking of emotions, it is one of the most emotive scores I have ever heard. I cannot to this day when you hear the run where he where Matthew McConaughey is watching the videotapes from his children growing up with Rose eyes. Oh my god, I still cry every time I hear that score anywhere and it's been a trending sound on Tik Tok recently, and every time I hear I'm just crying and I'm like, oh my god, it's so powerful. Anyway, sorry. Continue.
Yeah, no, but like this reaction that you just gave me. That's exactly why it works so well. When I'm creating my emails because they're deeply emotionally fueled like just missives. Not just like, What am I going to write today to like milk the most money out of my email list? I mean, talk about creative briefs, right? And so I listened to that I have my sound blocking headphones. And as I listened to that, and I just sit down, and I, and I go old way, like in a state to be honest, right? Like, but after years of writing these high quality emails, it's also very easy for me to slip into that state. Right? So something you have to be sort of patient developing. And as you go, you will improve. So it was writing this email that I mean, she paid in full the email that I send the person who replied and who bought from me, so that email made me eight 8000. Just last week, right? She's just more money. And... go ahead.
Oh, I was just gonna say I also wanted to thank you by the way before I forget, for your generous, generous gift to our listeners. I I was like if you're watching this on YouTube, I was like doing a Mind Blow emoji in real life, acting it out. when Merel was saying how not only is she like giving you the actual word for word email, the $500,000 emails that you can see it in your with your own eyes. eyes and digest. But also the fact that she's inviting you to comment inside the document and make it a collaborative conversation that she's going to spend time in there in the first two weeks of this episode airing and actually answer your questions as you dissect it and digest it in real time. That alone I feel it could be a case like I'm so fascinated by this, I've never I truly I don't know if you've done this before mail, but I've never heard anybody come on any show mine or other people's shows, and be like, Oh, I'm gonna give you this like opt in or lead magnet. But also I'm going to like, actually be in there co creating or having this conversation with you. That is such an interesting opt in offer. So like I'm very just even that that was a new kind of like idea for me. I was like, Oh, I didn't even know you could do that. So again, creativity, I really, really love that. So thank you.
Circling back though to to the actual structure of the email. I mean, I definitely want people to go and opt in to read the whole email. But could you give us the subject line if it's in front of you?
Yeah, I'm just gonna read all the email subject headlines, actually, as I'm going down, so the ones that brought in 88,000, normally, I very like imaginative Email Subject headlines, and this one literally wrote 'A brand new done for you private offer'. So it wasn't like playing around. I was just like, this is for the people who already know they want to work with me who've been on this email list, hoping and praying, I'm going to make them an offer. And here you are. Email case study number two is '10 lessons from my million dollar plus launch that will brought in about 300,000'. They also like give you descriptions of what the email was supposed to do like purpose timing of when we sent it in the launch. So you can just have a look at that. And then the one underneath that I put in because I wanted to show you an example of an email where I'm not making an offer, but you're going to read it and especially if you listen to like the interstellar track while you while you read it, you're going to be like crying under your desk by the end of is just to show you how that's done. And then the subject headline for the $500 A No 500 Oh my god, you see, I can't even speak numbers $500,000 that came in through, of course sales calls. It says 'Only 1%... [I need you to change this!]'.
What it refers to is a stat that tells us that only like this tiny, tiny, tiny percentage of women actually ever reached the seven figure mark in business. And so the whole email sort of talks about like, why do we think that this is the case? And how are we going to change it and what is possible. And it starts with the fact that I had shared with my community that my clients brought in a combined added revenue that year of $25 million. This is over the course of sort of like 125 women, and that everybody was like wait, you either must be lying, or like what are you doing? And I was like, actually this in the grand scheme of things. This isn't that much money, like spread out over this money people. What's wrong with this picture is that you perceive it as like this massive number because in the online space least a few years ago, it was basically if you made seven figures, you were an anomaly and I can never say this word anomaly anomaly the start of Finding Nemo anemone and never lemonade. You know, so yeah, like I went, I went into that I shared my own story. And then it's basically like a call to arms and in a way but like for entrepreneurship and women getting, you know, past that seven figure mark together.
That is incredible. Oh my goodness, okay, I can't wait for listeners to get their hands on this. I'll ask you at the end, obviously, where they can go to download this and to interact with you in the document and actually ask you their questions. But real quick, I want to do a rapid fire. Just a couple more questions on the on your process of sending this $500,000 email or the email that resulted in that revenue. So subject line you shared with us. Did you A/B test this subject line? Okay, I see you shaking your head no. Did you resend this email to unopened with a difference? Okay. Also no. All right. Cool. Thank you. That's what I wanted.
Quick though, I could feel shame in this moment. I could go like Oh, maybe I could have made like, you know, 700 No, I can't say the word. So like, basically three quarters of a million. I could have made three quarters of a million if I had done that. But what I have learned over the years of being a business is that I'm probably just never going to be that person that is that organized. It's not my strength. It's not my forte and I'm at peace with that where I'm this highly creative powerhouse like multimillionaire mother of three, like on a farm in the prairies, there's so many amazing things about me, I'm just going to celebrate who I am and know that I'm probably never going to be that much of a numbers person.
I love your self assurance in who you are, like so deeply grounded and celebratory of who you are. I think that really, of all the perspective shifts that happened in today's conversation, that is probably one that will impact your life, the most those of you listening if you choose to embrace it. So thank you for modeling to us what that looks like Merel, my final question to you to wrap this case study. And then of course, we're going to tell people where they can get their hands on this amazing document that you've prepared for them with all of the emails listed out. But my final question around this case study is, so 30 sales calls were booked from this email that then generated $500,000 in revenue, what was the call to action? If you have the document in front of you? Can you read for us? What was the call to action that you gave for people to go book the call?
Yes, so the call to actions were pretty straightforward, like enrollment closes next week was one of them. And one of the CTAs was just literally, you know, me introducing or reintroducing rather, this program, and just having the actual name of the program highlighted. So the CTA is we're not like thrilling, but the email itself is, and then, you know, I'm a huge fan of also just clarity. So at one point in the email, you need to stop rousing emotions, and you just need to start telling people what to do if they want to buy the thing, right. And then the end, though, it's it says, and remember, aim high, give yourself time, and let's turn 1% into something so much bigger, will have the kind of wealth and leverage that can steer the fate of humanity.
Wow, what a big vision that you're placing in their heads. And it's so empowering, you know, whether they booked that call or not just I think, again, it goes back to what you said at the very beginning, that string of pearls that string of perception shifts that alone might have encouraged or pushed someone to dream a little bigger than they had before. So that's a good note to end on. Merel, tell our listeners, where can they go to download this doc of emails?
What's the most practical? Can we just pop it in the show notes? Does that work?
Yes, we can. If you're listening to this, please make sure you take a second to scroll below. And you know, download that. And of course, if you're listening to this within the first two weeks of the episode, release, definitely take advantage of Merel's generous offer to answer your questions inside the dock and go comment on the document and ask her the specific questions that I maybe didn't have a chance to cover with her today. Thank you so much, Merel for your time today. Where else can people find and connect with you online?
Yeah, find me on Instagram. That's, that's my main platform now that I want to grow this year. So I'm spending a lot of time on there. And we had so many beautiful like, branching off sort of like separate mini conversations where I'm like, I did a whole post on that I did a whole series on that. So I would say Come join me in my universe there. You simply type in my first name and last name and I will pop up. And also just come say hi into in the DMS like I am very approachable. Come have conversations with me share about like where your ads on your journey and I might have, you know, some additional resources for you. I'm just very excited for all of you listening about like embarking already being and this incredible business adventure that we're all having here.
Amazing. Merel Kriegsman, everyone. Thank you so so much Merel.
Want to send a gift to a client, mentor, collaborator or friend that will both delight and do good? Or go to gift shop for making someone feel like a VIP is Ama and Akua, a black owned mother daughter led company celebrating creativity and diversity with Inclusive gifts for all AMA and Akua provide a beautiful selection of gift boxes featuring products from bipoc and LGBTQ plus creators. My personal favorite is their unwind box. together as a powerhouse duo Doris, also known as AMA, the mother, and Akua the daughter hand select every product inside their intentionally curated boxes to give a gift that matters. Join their mission to bring visibility to underrepresented communities and support the livelihoods of the creators they feature by purchasing a unique gift box at Alma and akula.com that spelled amaandakuaa.com you can use our code CEO at checkout to save 10% On your first order. Whenever you think of gifting think Ama and Akua
Hey Ellen here thank you again for tuning in to cubicle to CEO. If you enjoyed today's episode, follow our show on Instagram at cubicle to CEO for more bonus content and hop on the last Tuesday of each month to watch our live after show with recent guests. If you want to support our podcast, text this episode linked to a friend, leave a positive review on Apple podcasts or rate our show wherever you're listening right now. Please make sure you also hit the Follow button on Apple it looks like a plus sign. Or click Subscribe on your favorite podcast player so you don't miss out on our new episodes every Monday and friends until next time, keep dreaming big
