Gus G, She Shreds, And Mastodon

Another week, another few emails to dissect! This week we got emails from Gus G, She Shreds, and Mastodon. I’m digging through real emails, from real artists and outlets, so you can see how it’s done, and maybe you can take some ideas and apply them to your email efforts.

If you have questions, hit reply or leave a comment. And if you dig these emails, please consider subscribing so you don’t miss anything.

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SUBJECT LINE: Gus G Newsletter: Please Confirm Subscription from Gus G.

CLINICAL SUMMARY: This email from Gus G takes the idea of a standard (and boring) confirmation email and adds a free song download. Love this.

HEAVY METAL EMAIL RECOMMENDS: Every interaction with a fan on the internet could be the last – so do what you can to make it memorable. Use your “thanks for signing up” page to drive fans to your latest single or video, your upcoming tour dates, or offer a discount to your online store.

“The first (and simplest) step to attracting more subscribers is to optimize your email signup form,” from Campaign Monitor.

“Promising high-value content that they want, providing social proof that your newsletter is valuable, holding giveaways or contests, and being transparent about what they can expect signing up are all ways to provide the incentive,” says HubSpot in ‘How to Increase Email Sign Ups With Better Forms.’

SUBJECT LINE: 🌎 GET THIS SOUND 🌏 from She Shreds

CLINICAL SUMMARY: This is a section from a recent newsletter from She Shreds promoting articles in their archive. Solid branding, conscise copy, simple call to action.

HEAVY METAL EMAIL RECOMMENDS: Like @bigsto says, set up a press page on your website, then post the interviews and reviews you get from various outlets.

Once set up, you send a newsletter with a link to your press page, instead of driving traffic to YouTube or Spotify.

This is a solid way to avoid coming off “pushy” about your latest project or promotion. Just link to a cool interview you did (that half your fans probably don’t know about), and then fans will go to your website where they will probably see your most recent project.

SUBJECT LINE: ‘Hushed And Grim’ OUT NOW from Mastodon

CLINICAL SUMMARY: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. This is a pretty standard release-day email, with the bit of personal intro text to spice things up. The “LISTEN UP” link goes to the standard lnk.to page, which includes links to the various DSPs and their official merch store.

HEAVY METAL EMAIL RECOMMENDS:

Try planning some emails using the “inverted pyramid model.” What the heck is that?

“It’s essentially a framework for structuring the elements of your email campaigns (headers, imagery, buttons, etc.) so that they work together to draw people in, deliver the key messages of your campaign, and get them to click through,” says Campaign Monitor.

“A study indicates that nearly 54% of emails are now accessed on smartphones. When most users view your emails on-the-go, fast-loading, and well-rendered designs with the ease of navigation are the needs of the hour,” via Uplers

Remember – we’re learning together here! Let’s get you going with an email newsletter in 2022! Hit reply with your questions, or leave a comment.