So, urgency is often hailed as a golden ticket to higher conversions, however, lots of course creators are so afraid of using urgency because they think it’s going to annoy their audience while a of others are using it. Other course creators are using only urgency as the only method to actually sell their course. 

Now, urgency works. I mean, there’s no debate about that. In my many years writing and coaching people for this, and coaching course creators on writing sales emails, the last two days of promotion are always the best. I mean, we’re seeing the best numbers there.  But here is the thing. It’s only two days of a promotion when we’re using urgency.

So what are we doing the rest of the time? 

Watch the newest video right here.

Well, we are educating, we are introducing the subscriber to new problems they have that they might not have known  before.  So what are we doing the rest of the time? Well, we’re introducing this,  we’re introducing the subscriber to new problems they might be having because they haven’t solved their initial problem.

We are coaching that audience through false beliefs, through false limitations, through limiting patterns. We’re also dispelling it. Industry myths. And we’re doing that for the majority of the promotion. I call this the 80 20 rule of sales emails, which means 80 percent of a promotion is focused on educating, informing, shifting perception, and basically delivering massive value to your subscriber.

And only 20 percent of that promotion is actually geared towards selling. Now this is where the urgency comes in. Because if a reader has seen at least half of those previous emails where we do all the heavy lifting of delivering value and providing actual knowledge and insights that are  of any use to your audience, then the last 20 percent of that promotion can be geared towards the product and towards coaching people into taking action towards change because that’s what we’re talking about when we’re asking someone to buy a course. We’re asking them to welcome change and change is never met with easiness.  

Now urgency works mostly because it tackles this idea of fear of missing out. And it taps into some parts of our brain that are like I’m not gonna miss out on this. I need this resource. I’m not gonna be left out. And if this sounds familiar it is because most of the sales emails you’re probably seeing in your inboxes talk only about this. And in my profession as a coach and as a writer, I’ve seen more,  more sales emails than I can count that were only talking about the discount and the urgency of that discount expiring, 

Annoying.  Probably to you as well. Now here’s why that’s annoying when you  make all your emails about urgency even when it’s just like a flash sale like three emails over two days. First of all, you’re gonna have  a credibility conundrum.  So what that means is that overusing urgency can lead to credibility issues. So if you’ve been promoting your course this month and the next month and the month after and it’s always the same thing. It’s a discount that is expiring  over time your audience is gonna start to not trust you that the discount you’re seeing is actually that scarce, which means the tactic is gonna work less and less. 

Now, this also implies that when you’re using only urgency and you’re not delivering value and you’re not guiding your audience towards the reasons they should even look at your sales pitch, you’re gonna lose trust points. And in sales, trust is a major element.  Honestly, it’s not a good place to be when you’ve lost the trust of your audience.

I’ve had the experience of working with course creators who have had that specific misfortune in their business and it’s something that can be fixed, but it takes a lot of time. So  maybe just don’t go there. 

Now overusing urgency, which by that I mean, I’m actually saying making your sales emails only about urgency,  easily alienates and annoys your audience. Think about it. If you go into your inbox, And you see emails, I don’t want to say from me, but from your favorite brand. And all those emails are basically the same thing.

Asking you to claim your discount before it expires. Sending you alerts or reminders like 3, 2, 1. This is gone. Take action before midnight. Don’t be left out. If that’s all you’re getting, you’re going to get annoyed because you’re going to feel like you’re being taken advantage of. On the flip side, if you’re seeing emails that are talking about you, that are giving you new insights about the problems you’re facing, that are relevant to the context you’re at right now, that are asking you to engage with the content, to engage with the creative creator, they are actually inviting you to share your perspective.

That’s a whole different perception of a sales pitch because at the end of that promo when an urgency message comes you’re gonna be in a different state of mind, you’re gonna feel more engaged. Okay, so over the last few days this brand taught me something like I learned so much stuff from this free content and it’s true I have been strangling with this and this and this and looks like what they’ve been able to do with their framework has helped people just like me. So maybe I should give this a try now. You have to understand that at that stage we’re talking to procrastinators more than just people who are going to object to buying your stuff.

Because it’s not an objection to your course necessarily, especially if you’ve done the previous part about coaching and empowering and teaching your audience. It’s more about procrastination or the objection towards change, which I’ve mentioned before. Now, urgency is used as a tactic to bypass that resistance because of this brain of ours who’s like, Ooh, I want that massive discount.

But even a good discount and a blast of urgency is not necessarily going to help your reader move beyond procrastination. And I explained this in the video. And my framework for how I’m using procrastination to coach action in those urgency emails in a way that isn’t alienating your audience and isn’t causing, like, the hate email to flood your inbox in a really nice e book,  which is called,  ah, oh my god, I’m crying.

Uh, was it good? 

Which is called Inspire Action Not Anxiety and I’m actually including three emails, three examples of emails, urgency based emails I’m using at the end of a promotion to coach a subscriber into taking action. And you can find the link to this ebook in the description of this video. This is the beautiful cover.

It’s really cute. I’m not a designer, but I’m happy with this. So you’ll learn more about coding procrastination in that ebook 

Now the more you use urgency the less impact it’s gonna have and I know this  This might sound  So, normal and at the same time so far fetched based on what you probably are seeing in your inbox. Or maybe you’re thinking about the massive blast of urgency that is Black Friday. But if you’re planning on using email marketing to enroll your subscribers into paid students,  then you have to understand how to use urgency at the right time. 

And for the right purpose.  And the more you cry, hey, this is an urgent discount, this is a limited time offer, the less impact that tactic is going to have. And remember, this is a very powerful tactic in your sales emails. 

Now, my final point about overusing urgency is, consider the emotional toll you are  putting your audience through, because urgency tends to trigger some nasty behaviors or nasty feelings within us. Most of them are associated with stress and anxiety and it’s honestly not the good state to be in. And I think you can agree with me.

So please be careful about how often you’re using urgency in your emails, even though it’s a very powerful tactic. Just remember that there is a way in which you You can use urgency in a way that is effective without being annoying or without actually making your audience feel like you’re taking advantage of them.

Now I talk about urgency in different podcast episodes, in my ebook

I just mentioned before And I also have a workshop where I explain how I use urgency in my customer centric email marketing  framework. If you want that workshop. Just comment below workshop and I’ll share that link with you. 

It’s the exact framework I’ve been using over the last five years writing email marketing and sales copy for course creators all over the world. In 2023 this framework generated More than 3 million in core sales simply by sending customer centric emails that walked the audience through all the right stages before hitting or using urgency.

Want to learn email copywriting?

Start by analyzing what others are doing. My Email Teardown series showcases some of the best (and sometimes worst) examples of sales emails that have hit my inbox. Here’s the link to the playlist. I publish new email reviews every week.

Are you a course creator?

Email marketing is one of those channels you should be developing early on in your business. Here are The 9 Email Automations Every Course Creator Needs to make bank, enroll students, and nurture audiences.

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Hi! I’m Monica. I help course creators enroll, engage, and educate audiences through customer-centric email copywriting. I’ve been privileged to partner with course creators from all over the world. And I’ve seen this customer-centric approach to email marketing work every time.

The best part? It’s not about the sale.

Email marketing is a fantastic channel because it builds trust, delivers value, and positions the brand as a partner. Read more on my blog or listen to Master The Inbox, the podcast where I share all my conversion secrets.