(Ep 1 of 5) Writing Emails That Actually Convert (Without Feeling Spammy)

Ready to write emails that actually connect with your audience and drive sales—without feeling spammy? In this episode, we’re kicking off Season 1 with a fresh look at email marketing for course creators.

I’ll walk you through:
 ✅ Why your emails aren’t converting (and the #1 mistake most course creators make)
 ✅ My simple Value, Tease, Pitch framework for writing emails that feel natural, not pushy
✅ How to sell with confidence—whether you’re launching, nurturing, or just getting started

Plus, I’ll introduce you to the Email Marketing Copywriter Assistant inside Digital Course Assistant—a smarter, faster way to write revenue-generating emails that sound like you.

🎁 Want to write emails faster with AI?
Check out everything inside Digital Course Assistant at digitalcourseassistant.com

I’m giving away a FREE year of the Digital Course Assistant membership to one lucky course creator.

It only takes a second to enter, and the giveaway ends July 31, so don’t miss out.

📌 DigitalCourseAssistant.com/win/

If you loved this episode, I’ve got something fun for you. Right now, I’m giving away a FREE year of the Digital Course Assistant membership to one lucky course creator! That means 12 months of custom-built AI tools to help you launch faster, market better, and stress less — totally free.Head to digitalcourseassistant.com/win to enter now. Earn extra entries by sharing!

Transcript

  Welcome to the Digital Course Assistant podcast, the show for course creators who wanna launch faster, market better, and stress less. I'm your host, Julie Ball, and each episode I'm sharing tools, tactics, and AI powered shortcuts to help you grow a smarter, simpler course business. This is season one, and our focus is smarter marketing for course creators.

 Have you ever stared at a blank email draft wondering how to promote your course without sounding like a late night infomercial? You know what I'm talking about? Well, you're not alone because most course creators feel kind of weird about selling, especially through email. They don't wanna annoy their audience or come off as sleazy.

But here's the truth. Your emails are your most powerful sales tool. They just need the right strategy. Today we're gonna break down how to write emails that feel good to send and actually lead to sales.

Before we jump in, I wanna share why you could trust me on this topic. I've been an entrepreneur since 2011. I've sold over half a million dollars in digital courses, shipped more than 65,000 subscription boxes before exiting that business from multiple six figures, and ran a podcast with over 325,000 downloads on a very niche.

Topic. So as a serial entrepreneur, I've tested what feels like nearly every marketing tool and tech platform out there. So when I talk about simplifying sales, it's from real world experience. So back to email writing. This episode's title is Write Emails That Sell With Without Feeling Salesy.

So let's start by reframing salesy. Salesy isn't a real thing. What we usually mean by that is I don't feel confident in what I'm offering, or I don't wanna come off as pushy. But if your course solves a problem, you're actually being helpful. I.

Selling isn't about pressure, it's about clarity. It's about helping someone take the next best step in their journey. And if that step is enrolling in your course, then great. Your job is to make that choice as easy and obvious as possible so you aren't being salesy. You're actually helping your ideal customer identify the next step.

You're being helpful. Now, how do we translate this concept to your email copywriting?

Grab your pen and paper because I'm gonna walk you through the key elements of a great sales email. The kind that doesn't feel like it was written by a robot or a sleazy marketer.

There are five core elements I want you to focus on when you are outlining your emails. Number one, a clear purpose. Before you write anything, ask yourself, what do I want the reader to do after reading this? Just one thing, not three, not two, just one. Secondly, you need a strong subject line. So important you gotta get 'em to open that email.

Think curiosity, value, or relevance. Something like 10 bizarre money habits making millennials richer, or this one shift made me sleep three times better. Okay, number three, a story or insight. This doesn't need to be long, just something that connects you to the reader. Maybe it's a moment, a lesson, a relatable example. Just keep it human.

The fourth core element I want you to focus on is a specific offer. Don't bury that offer. Tell them what the offer is, what they get, why it matters. The transformation. Keep it simple and don't make them work for it. And lastly, you need a single call to action. One link, one button, one clear. Next step.

When you give your audience too many choices, they choose nothing. Tell them the one thing you want them to do.

So to recap, the five basic key elements of a great email are a clear purpose, a strong subject line, a story or insight, a specific offer, and a single call to action. Cool. Good. You clear on that?

So now that you know the structure of your email, let's talk about how as a course creator in your emails, you can teach a little and sell a lot. One of my favorite frameworks for this is value tease pitch, and I'll just call it VTP, the VTP framework, and here's how it works.

Give them something valuable, like a quick tip or a mindset shift. Then tease the bigger transformation, showing 'em what else is possible. And then pitch your offer as the next step.

Before I get into an example, let's just stop for a moment and acknowledge that value can be a lot of different things. You can teach something, you can give a quick tip, you can also bring value when you inspire someone or you make them feel seen, give them relief that they aren't alone.

Value can also be making them feel something or just giving them a new perspective. So broaden your mind on what bringing value means to your audience.

For example, say you have a Pilates membership, VTP might look like this. If you're struggling with lower back pain, try engaging your core before you get out of bed to support your spine. It's a small habit that can help reduce discomfort throughout the day.

And if you want my full, beginner friendly Pilates plan for back pain, it's inside my online course.

See how that flows? It doesn't feel pushy. It just feels helpful.

Here's another say you are a sleep training coach For new parents struggling with a baby who doesn't sleep well. Oh, it's miserable. Your VTP framework might look like this. If your baby's waking up every hour, try a 10 minute bedtime routine with the same song each night to signal it's time to sleep.

This tiny change can make a big difference for both you and baby. And if you want my full step-by-step sleep training plan that has been a game changer for hundreds of parents like you, check out my course. See again, that doesn't feel sleazy.

Okay. One more example. Let's say you teach people how to watercolor paint like a pro. Your VTP might look like this. If your watercolor paintings look muddy, try using just three colors in your palette to keep your tones clean. It's an easy tweak to make your colors pop. And if you wanna learn exactly how to layer, blend, and choose your colors, check out my full beginner watercolor course.

So all three of these examples I gave you demonstrate teaching a tiny actionable tip. They tease that there's a bigger system that they teach , and then it pitches their course naturally.

You can use the VTP framework easily by just thinking about how you might change it up for your own course. Start with listing five to 10 pieces of value you can share and just go from there. Give your email subscribers quick wins on the regular. Now let me pull the curtain back a little spoiler. I don't write every email from scratch.

You probably figured that. I use a custom GPTI built inside the digital course assistant. It helps me brainstorm angles, outline the body of the email with the key components, applies my brand voice, and even writes a very strong first draft. Then I simply review it, tweak it with my personal stories or insights, and hit send.

This streamlined process is what makes email feel so much lighter for me now, and it's now available to you too. So lemme tell you about the digital course assistant, because if you've ever dabbled in AI tools but felt overwhelmed or unsure, then this was built for you.

The digital course assistant is a growing library of custom AI assistance made specifically for course creators by a course creator. These aren't generic prompts. They're targeted practical assistance that help you get revenue generating tasks done faster and with way less stress as a member. Each month, you'll unlock a new assistant focused on a core area of your business, like email marketing, list building, or sales funnels.

And with each assistant you get a quick start video walkthrough, any fillable workbook so you can take immediate action. It's so easy. It's not just about doing less, but doing business smarter so you can build momentum and see the compound effect of working strategically in your course business.

If today's episode got you thinking about how you can write emails better, more confidently and faster, you'll love the email marketing tool inside the digital course assistant. It's designed to help you write and send revenue driving emails in less time without overthinking every word. You can check it out@digitalcourseassistant.com and I'll see you in the next episode.

And go ahead binge the entire podcast season one. I would if I were you.