"Kyrgyz Mafia Method" for more sales.

Whoa! Did you see that email come through? Did you add the subject line to your swipe file?

Oh, that didn't come through the WA system, did it?

Did the intrigue of something the mafia did spark your interest? It did mine!

I recently got an email with this title. It sparked my interest, not because I have an interest in ANY mafia strategies, but the spark of mystery of things the mafia does is simply intriguing.

LET ME SHARE THE STORY - then I'll get back to the swipe file.

The "Kyrgyz Mafia Method" talks about the custom in Kyrgyzstan (a country west of China and south of Kazakhstan) where a groom abducts his bride to be. In other wards, he kidnaps her!

What an ordeal for a woman who doesn't love this suitor and she realizes that she is forced to marry a man, against her will.

The person who told this story compared this marriage tradition (and I was surprised to find that it, truly, is a tradition practiced in many parts of the world) to the idea that many entrepreneurs actually make an attempt to sell their products to unwilling people.

PICTURE THIS

I've got a website that sells hydroponics (growing vegetables without soil) and I try to market that to city folks who sit in front of a computer all day . . . AND LOVE IT!

The likelihood that I'll sell many hydroponic systems to that audience is pretty slim.

However, if I target my advertising to the people who actually LIKE to grow things, I will probably get more sales. Don't you agree?

In this light, let's NOT use "The Kyrzyg Mafia Method" to get more sales!

BUT, KEEP THAT SUBJECT LINE IN MIND!

NOW BACK TO THE SWIPE FILE IDEA

You probably get a lot of emails daily. I know I do.

Most of these emails never get opened, let alone acted on.

I use this as a method to see the subject lines other people are using to get their emails opened. I look for just what stands out.

When I find something that perks my interest and figuratively SHOUTS . . . "OPEN ME!", I add that subject line to my swipe file so I can expand on the idea in some of my own marketing efforts.

The name "Swipe File" implies that it's content that I may have taken from somewhere else. In other words, I have stolen someone else's words. That's plagiarism . . . not good!

It is actually a file of (in this case, simple subject lines) that will help me be more creative when I am writing a blog or composing a sales email.

I don't use the exact words, (other than in the title to this blog) but use the idea to stimulate my creative mind.

If you don't already have a swipe file, you may want to create one in your favorite word processor or spreadsheet.

Let me know, below, what your thoughts are about using a swipe file . . . good, bad or indifferent.