The One Thing

Author

Max Sturtevant
May 03, 2024

The Inbox Newsletter

Quick Intro

Hello there

The Problem

I’ve analyzed the results of 100+ ecommerce brands, my agency, and other agencies.

Across all of the accounts that are CRUSHING…

Vs the accounts that are meh…

I’ve noticed one major problem.

And it’s not the typical “deliverability” or “flows are not firing” etc

It’s something less obvious and more broad.

Diffusion of Responsibility.

“Diffusion of responsibility is a sociopsychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when other bystanders or witnesses are present”

In the context of email marketing, diffusion of responsibility occurs when you have TOO many people on an account.

OR

You don’t have one person solely responsible for the results of an account.

What happens if you have one person responsible for the account’s success?

That one person takes intense pride in the account and the results.

They know if it fails it’s on them, and if it succeeds it’s on them.

Whereas if you spread everything out too much, it’s a group failure.

It’s a diffused responsibility and people take less pride in the results.

One person with 100% responsibility ✅

VS

2 people with 50% responsibility ❌

My Agency Struggled With This

My agency used to run like this:

  • Copywriter in the backend

  • Designer in the backend

  • Account Manager for Client Communication

  • Senior Account Manager for overseeing success (me)

The problem was that the Copywriter, Account Manager, and Senior Account Manager were splitting the role of the account success.

So if something went wrong, each person realized they were only a part of the issue.

It’s easy to subconsciously point fingers at someone else.

This resulted in no one going above and beyond and striving to crush it and really locking in on the results.

How You Can Overcome This

We’ve found that having ONE person responsible for the success of the account results in greater success.

This is the person who can delegate tasks and make sure the account is reaching its goals

If anything fails, it’s on them.

If anything succeeds, they get credit.

Our Account Managers now do all copy, all tests, all client communication, etc.

It’s a bit more intense, so they handle less accounts themself.

But the results have consistently been better.

If you’re an ecom brand, establish an EMAIL LEAD who is responsible for their success.

Make it clear who has responsibility.

This is the key.

1 Hour Long Pop-Up Form Training to 2x Your List Growth and Revenue

Here’s the link to this free 51 page training on doubling your list with pop-up forms:

Email Inspiration Of The Day

Brand:
ButterCrust

Notes:
Something not a lot of people do is use Instagram or social media comments as testimonials.

You SHOULD.

It brings your testimonials to life.

Plus, it gives off a native and personal feel of Instagram that people are used to seeing.

These can be more effective too, given Instagram comments are public and people can click right onto your profile.

Whereas anonymous reviews are easier to do and can’t be traced to you.

Try out this concept!

Variation A (top):
SMS without the word “Glitter”

Variation B:
SMS with the word “Glitter”

Insights:
Not an email test today… an sms test!

With sms, little things matter.

Little things like including a buzz word like “glitter”, which resulted in more clicks, higher conversion rate, and more revenue.

Include these little buzzwords in your brief messages to build intrigue and seel the customer on the click.

“GLITTER??!!”

Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.

Cheers,

Max

PS - If you’re an ecom brand doing over $50k per month interested in working with my full stack email marketing agency, book a call here.