Why 'WIIFM' Is For Bad Copywriters
Hey friend, If I told you that using WIIFM (What's in it for me) is a sign of bad email copywriting... Would you believe me? No? Alright, at the end of this post, your opinion will be the opposite. In fact: You might even stop using WIIFM in your emails entirely. Here's why... My name is Michiel Arkema, and I've been a professional copywriter for almost half a decade now. My clients have repeatedly called me things like: "The Ferrari of copywriters"... "The most persuasive email copywriter alive"... And many more compliments. However, I'm not here to brag. No. I'm here to tell you that WIIFM is a sign of mediocre copywriting. Well, at least when it comes to emails. Let me explain... Have you ever watched a movie? Well, how did the movie start? Correct, it starts with high drama. Someone getting robbed... shot... kid-napped... anything that's high drama. And because it starts with high-drama, the viewer now wants to know what happened, and will gladly watch the entire movie to find out. The same counts with doom-scrolling on Social Media. People gladly spend hours a day watching weird videos. However, both don't give any WIIFM at the beginning. (They even waste your time) Movies don't say, "At the end of this movie, you'll know blah blah blah". NO! That would ruin the movie 🤣 So the principle here is this: "People don't care if your content benefits them, they only care if it's interesting." Therefore, the 'WIIFM' is not required. Because just like good movies, good email copywriters focus on curiosity. What is curiosity? Curiosity occurs when the reader has multiple questions in their mind, they cannot answer themselves, and thus, are now forced to consume your content to get the answer. "Oke Michiel sounds cool. Now gimme so damn examples". Oke homeboy, here you go: Here's a piece of one of my highest-converting emails: ------------------------- Subject line: European gets harassed in Mexico One day, I was walking with my Girlfriend through the streets of Mexico (She’s Mexican btw).