Hey. Welcome to the final week of emails from me in 2022 and it's probably the email with the weirdest subject line and the most important message. Let me give you some context into why I used the word throbbing in my subject line.

In 2017 I met a mentor of mine whose 6-month course shaped me into the business owner I am today. Through him, I got into a few different marketing experts in the copywriting and email consulting field and regularly consume their newsletters. I hadn't heard from one in particular for quite some time but last week, one of his emails popped into my inbox with the subject line: Belated throbbing.

I opened it immediately. Because...throbbing? I'm a romance writer and consumer...this word is my jam, but also, why was it in his subject line?

I read his simple, text-driven email that told the story of a funny circle of events that led to him getting a root canal and how he debunked the phrase, worse than getting a root canal. He described the pain as worse before the root canal and couldn't take the constant throbbing. That's how he used this word to justify the use of it inside his own subject line. Through storytelling.

But still, that doesn't answer why throbbing?

He then linked to a company I'd never heard of, Talking Shrimp, who are also connected to my mentor from years ago. He said she stole his throbbing thunder and to just read her email explaining why they were using this word instead of having him retell the story because she told it way better.

So, trusting this guy (Matthew Kimberly for those who'd like to follow his email advice, 10/10 recommend) I finished reading his email and being a constant consumer of course content, I almost made another purchase from him, but instead, followed the link he had inserted first because I HAD to KNOW why the word throbbing was front and centre.

When I landed on the email's url, I knew I'd found a new obsession. (I link the email below if you'd like to read it.) Talking Shrimp is a copywriting company which is my 2023 OBSESSION. Get ready for more me in a new, amplified way next year and to hear me talk about copywriting a lot. Anyway, back to throbbing.

She told the story about that mentor that I mentioned at the top of this email running into a copywriting guru who told him that throbbing was the number one keyword he needed in his arsenal. It was an incredibly clickable word.

Read the email here and you'll see how the story progressed from there.

So, I thought, I trust all of these people, I'm going to try to use throbbing and see what happens.

But before I finish up this email with my last action for you of 2022, let's review what happened when this one email hit my inbox this morning.

1. Belated throbbing - I opened, read and clicked in two places. One program call to action and one moved me over to Talking Shrimp.
2. I joined Talking Shrimp's email list.
3. I was served an immediate welcome sequence offer to purchase a mini copywriting course for $49 on a 10 minute offer. Regular price: $99.
4. I purchased that course and already am knee deep in hundreds of changes for 2023 and so ecstatic. (Welcome sequences f'ing work. Come at me, I'm ready for it.)
5. I'm now telling you about these two brands and the word, throbbing. I am not an affiliate for anything we're talking about, I'm just really excited about this discovery.

That's the power of one email and one word. But it goes deeper than that. That's the power of knowing who your audience is and what's missing in their need pyramid and how you have something to fill that need.

I joined Matthew's list to learn more about email. I may be an email marketing consultant, but continuous learning is always on my plate. He knows his audience is there to learn about email. But if I clicked to learn more about that one word, I must also be interested in copywriting. Copywriting is the art of using words to move consumers to the action you'd like them to take.

We are good with words, but are we using the right words in our emails? The words our readers want to see? 2023 inside this space is going to be about the words you use inside your emails, your subject lines and your sales material and getting more clicks to sell more books with email. Who wouldn't want that?

You are going to write emails with confidence in your voice for your readers in 2023, right?

Okay, here's your last action item for 2023.

Use the word throbbing somewhere in your next few emails. Preferably your subject line and before all of you non-fiction, non-romance authors get cranky, I've now read two emails from non-fiction writers with the word throbbing in the subject line. You can do this.

And you had better share your success stories with me!

Yours in email in 2023,

Holly, Throbbing With Anticipation, Darling

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