Olivia: I want you to think about the last email you deleted without opening. Now, what if I told you that for every dollar a business spends on that kind of email, they get, on average, forty-three dollars back? Jackson: Come on. Forty-three dollars? That sounds like a typo. Most of my inbox feels like a digital graveyard, a place where good intentions and 20% off coupons go to die. Olivia: It’s not a typo, it’s the central, shocking truth in Matthew Paulson's book, Email Marketing Demystified. And Paulson isn't just a theorist; this is a guy who built his company, MarketBeat, into a multi-million dollar business that now reaches over 3 million investors, almost entirely through the strategies in this book. He literally wrote the playbook from his own success. Jackson: Okay, so he's not just selling a dream, he's lived it. That changes things. Where do we even start with a number like that? It feels like finding out the lottery is actually a sound investment strategy.

Olivia: That’s the perfect place to start, because it gets to the core of why this book is so counter-intuitive and so powerful. In an age of flashy social media, Paulson argues that email is the most resilient, profitable, and stable marketing channel there is. Jackson: But how is that possible? My brain tells me that getting a million followers on TikTok or Instagram has to be more valuable than getting a bunch of email addresses that people probably gave you with a fake name anyway. Olivia: That’s what we all think! But Paulson makes a brilliant distinction. He says when you build an audience on social media, you’re building on rented land. The platform owns your audience. They can change the algorithm, suspend your account, or start charging you to reach the very people who chose to follow you. Jackson: Oh, I’ve heard horror stories about that. Businesses that were thriving one day and then, poof, jejich dosah je pryč. Olivia: Exactly. And it happened to him. Early in his career, his websites were almost wiped out by a Google algorithm update. That’s when he realized the power of an email list. It’s an asset you own. It’s a direct line to your audience that no algorithm can take away. The book cites a McKinsey study that found businesses are 40 times more likely to get a new customer from email than from Facebook or Twitter. Jackson: Forty times? That's just staggering. But I still get stuck on the spam factor. I personally hate getting most marketing emails. Am I just a grumpy outlier, or is the book ignoring that most of this stuff is just annoying? Olivia: That’s the million-dollar question, and the book tackles it head-on. Paulson draws a hard line between spam and permission-based marketing. Spam is unsolicited junk. But what he’s talking about is sending valuable information to people who have explicitly asked for it. And the data is surprising. One study he mentions found that 72% of consumers say email is their favorite way to communicate with companies they do business with. Jackson: Wait, favorite? As in, they prefer it over other things? Olivia: They prefer it. And 61% said they like receiving weekly promotional emails from their favorite brands. The key words there are "permission" and "favorite brands." You’re not an annoyance if you’re a welcome guest. The entire book is about how to become that welcome guest instead of an intruder. Jackson: Okay, I'm sold on the why, but that leads to the even bigger question: how? How do you get people to willingly sign up for more emails when their inboxes are already overflowing?

Olivia: This is my favorite part of the book because it’s all about psychology. Paulson says you have to offer what he calls a "lead magnet." It’s essentially an ethical bribe. Jackson: 'Ethical bribe' sounds a bit like marketing jargon. What does that actually look like for a normal person or a small business? Is it just a 10% off coupon? Olivia: It can be, and for e-commerce, that works great. The book mentions online boutiques like Filly Flair that offer a discount on the first order. But the concept is much bigger. A lead magnet is anything of value you offer for free in exchange for an email address. It could be a free report, a checklist, a video tutorial, a resource list. The goal is to solve a small problem for your potential customer, right then and there. Jackson: Ah, so it's like a free sample at Costco? You're not just asking me to buy the whole box of whatever-it-is, you're giving me a taste first. It builds trust. Olivia: That's a perfect analogy! You’re building trust and demonstrating your value before you ever ask for a sale. There’s a fantastic case study in the book about a company called Bidsketch, which sells software for creating business proposals. Jackson: Okay, a pretty niche product. Olivia: Very. Instead of just having a "Sign Up for our Newsletter" button, they offered valuable lead magnets. Things like "Free Sample Proposals" or an e-book on "How to Win More Clients." They focused on solving the core problem their audience had. Jackson: Which isn't "I need software," it's "I need to make more money." Olivia: Precisely. They gave away real value, for free. And the result? They grew their email list to 80,000 subscribers. The founder said that a third of all their customers came directly from that email list. They built a relationship first. Jackson: That makes so much sense. It reframes the entire interaction. It’s not, "Give me your email so I can sell to you." It's, "Let me help you with this problem, and if you want more help, I'm here." Olivia: Exactly. And the book details so many ways to do this. USGolfTV, another company Paulson was involved with, offered a free five-day video series on how to fix your golf slice. People were desperate for that solution. They weren't signing up for a newsletter; they were signing up to fix a frustrating problem. The newsletter was just the next step in the relationship. Jackson: Alright, so I've created my amazing ethical bribe. I'm solving problems left and right, and I've built this list of people who actually want to hear from me. Now the terrifying part: what do I actually write so they don't immediately hit 'unsubscribe'?

Olivia: The blank page is definitely intimidating. But Paulson demystifies this, too, with a simple, classic framework called AIDA. It stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. Jackson: I think I’ve heard of that, but it sounds like something from a 1950s ad agency. Does it still work? Olivia: It’s timeless because it’s based on human psychology. First, you grab their Attention. This is almost entirely the job of the subject line. The book cites a stat that 64% of people open an email based on the subject line alone. It’s the gatekeeper. Jackson: So, no more "March Newsletter" as a subject line. Olivia: Please, no. The subject line needs to be specific, intriguing, or benefit-driven. Next, you build Interest. You connect the topic to a problem or goal the reader has. Then, and this is the crucial part, you create Desire. Jackson: Okay, how do you create 'Desire' without sounding like a cheesy salesman? "Don't you desire a cleaner floor with our new mop?" Olivia: (Laughs) Definitely not. The book explains that desire isn't about the product; it's about the transformation. You don't sell the golf course; you sell the feeling of sinking a perfect 20-foot putt in front of your friends. You paint a picture of the "after" state. The USGolfTV emails did this brilliantly. They'd describe the frustration of a slice, then paint a vivid picture of hitting a long, straight drive down the fairway. Jackson: I don't even play golf, and I want that. So you've got their attention, they're interested, and now they desire the outcome. What's the last step? Olivia: Action. The call to action. And Paulson is very clear on this: be direct. Don't be vague. Don't say "learn more." Say "Get the 'Perfect Putting' Course Now." Tell them exactly what to do next. The whole email is a smooth slide from the subject line to that final click. Jackson: It’s a guided journey. You’re not just throwing information at them; you’re leading them from one emotional state to the next. Olivia: That's the perfect way to put it. It’s a structured conversation. And the most important part is that this journey is bookended by value. You start with the ethical bribe to get them on the list, and Paulson recommends a rule of thumb: send at least two emails that provide pure value for every one email that asks for a sale. You're constantly refilling that trust bank.

Jackson: So the big picture here is that email isn't about blasting out ads. It's about building your own, private 'internet' of people who trust you, by consistently offering value, and only then, respectfully asking for a sale. Olivia: Exactly. And the book's message is that this isn't just for big companies. The principles are universal. It’s about shifting your mindset from "What can I get?" to "What can I give?" Jackson: It’s funny, we started with this cold, hard statistic of a 4,300% ROI, and we’ve ended up talking about trust, value, and relationships. Olivia: Because that’s what drives the number. The money is a byproduct of the trust. And the most practical takeaway from this book for anyone listening is to apply that thinking. The next time you're about to send an email, even just a simple one, ask yourself: what's my 'ethical bribe'? What value am I giving before I ask for anything? That one question can change everything. Jackson: I love that. And for our listeners, we'd love to hear about the best—or worst—marketing email you've ever received. What made it work or fail? Share your stories with us. It's fascinating to see these principles in the wild. Olivia: This is Aibrary, signing off.