Creating Your Beginner's Thorn Hook
Imagine if a casual friend called you up and said this…
“Hey dude, I have a business opportunity. Want in?”
What would your answer be?
“Ummm…”
You wouldn't be able to give an answer. There are too many questions left unanswered.
- What’s the business opportunity?
- What’s my ownership percentage?
- Why did you call me and not another random friend?
- Will we make money? How much?
- Is this some pyramid scheme?
The friend's question was bad.
It doesn’t entice you to take action: it entices you to ask even more questions.
But what if your friend called you and said this instead?
“Hey Bryan, this is Steve. Me and the guys are all going to Big Sky, Montana next week for a ski trip with our families and had a last-minute opening. I remember last year you said you wanted to ski more often, so I thought of you. Everything is paid for; you just have to fly you and your family out. Here's a link with all of the details of the resort... Do you want to go?”
What would your answer be then?
“Yes!”
(Then you would spend the next 5 hours trying to get off of work so you could make it happen.)
See the difference in the two questions?
The second question made it extremely easy to say yes.
Growing your email list has to be the same way.
You have to make it brain-dead simple to say “Yes!”
If you say...
“Hey, want to join my list?”
No one will.
But if you say this…
“Hey Steve, this is Bryan. Last time we talked you mentioned you were wanting to get into shape. Well, I’m starting a weekly newsletter where I send out workout routines, nutritional advice and exercise programs. I think it would be something you would enjoy. Want me to add you?”
... the answer is an immediate “Yes!”
You have to craft a compelling reason for someone to join your list.
That compelling reason is called a "call to action."
Being lazy and just asking people to “Receive free updates” or “Join my email list” is a good way to annoy people and get rejected.
Your job in this lesson is to craft a compelling call to action that you can then use to attract Eager Sneezers to join your list and convince their friends to do the same thing.
How do you do that?
You have to solve a nagging problem that your audience has.
The video below will walk you through a 3-part workflow to do just that.
Resource: Beginner's Thorn Spreadsheet
Assignment
Your assignment for this lesson is to create your very first call to action.
I've broken that process into 3 easy-to-follow steps. Enter the results for each step below.
Today’s homework:
- Watch the tutorial video above.
- Pick your umbrella industry.
- Make a list of 5 top blogs in your industry.
- Analyze each blog and pull out its main calls to action.
- Search Quora to discover the most popular questions asked by beginners.
- Use the information gathered in the previous 5 steps to put together your unique call to action.
Module Two
Duration: 30 minutes
Module Progress:
Action Steps
- Read and watch this lesson.
- Create your call to action.
- Continue to the next lesson.
You must complete and submit the assignment in the previous lesson before starting this lesson.