With Before After Bridge, you\u2019re using aspirational storytelling to give each recipient a tantalizing glimpse of what their future <\/strong>could<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0be.<\/strong><\/p>\n And, when you execute BAB copywriting correctly, your recipient will believe their best path to that future is to hire you<\/strong>\u00a0or buy your product.<\/p>\n In this article, I\u2019ll cover each of the three steps of Before After Bridge cold emails<\/strong>\u00a0and share tips and strategies<\/strong>\u00a0for getting the most out of each part. I\u2019ll also show examples of the right and wrong way to present each of the steps<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how to use Before After Bridge without coming off like you\u2019ve got a bridge to sell<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Before-After-Bridge copywriting model for cold email<\/a>\u00a0uses three steps, ideally one sentence each, to take a prospect on a journey from unaware of your product or service to unsure of how they can go on living without it<\/strong>.<\/p>\n The three steps of the BAB model are:<\/p>\n The BAB model is effective because it uses storytelling (our brains are wired to <\/a>love<\/a><\/em>\u00a0stories<\/a>) to evoke an emotional response.<\/p>\n You make your recipient the star of the story, then show them their happy ending. Now that you\u2019ve planted that seed, you\u2019ve made them want<\/em>\u00a0to turn that story into a reality.<\/p>\n From a copywriting perspective, BAB is a useful framework because it keeps you focused on <\/strong>benefits<\/strong><\/em>, not features<\/strong>. After all, you\u2019re not going to tell someone: \u201cNow imagine a world where you\u2019re using software that has a database of more than 8 million keywords.\u201d You\u2019d say, \u201cImagine ranking at the top of Google for all of your most important keywords.\u201d<\/p>\n Before After Bridge copywriting is best when you\u2019re presenting a product or service that generates a positive outcome<\/strong>\u00a0(not something that avoids a negative outcome, like, say, insurance or cybersecurity).<\/p>\n BAB is good to use when someone likely has never heard of your product or service before<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 or might not even know a product or service <\/strong>like<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0yours exists<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But, like pretty much every cold email method, BAB isn\u2019t going to work unless you have a solid understanding of each prospect\u2019s pain point<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 and your product or service is<\/em>\u00a0the right solution.<\/p>\n So make sure you\u2019ve researched your prospects<\/strong>, you understand what they want and need<\/strong>, and you\u2019re ready to personalize your messaging around those needs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Now let\u2019s get into each step of the BAB model and how to do it right.<\/p>\n In BAB copywriting, \u201cbefore\u201d is really the \u201cpresent.\u201d No, your recipient\u2019s life probably isn\u2019t completely and totally terrible. But there\u2019s something<\/em>\u00a0in their business or professional life that\u2019s falling short of their hopes.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve identified what that thing is. And you\u2019re going to put it right there in front of them, painful as it may be, in plain black-and-white. Then you\u2019re going to take on that problem together.<\/p>\n The Before section of the email largely comes down to who you\u2019re targeting (and who needs what you have to offer). If you\u2019ve properly identified your target customers, you\u2019ll have an accurate understanding of their \u201cbefore\u201d reality.<\/p>\n There are some common pain points, wants, and needs across most businesses. It\u2019s hard to imagine anyone who wouldn\u2019t want to get more customers, save time, outperform their competitors, get more web traffic, and\/or increase their revenue<\/strong>.<\/p>\n But there are remedies that will work for some businesses that won\u2019t work for others.<\/p>\n For example, I get tons of cold emails offering SEO services to get more traffic and drive more business. But I\u2019m good on SEO. I have my own expertise, my own strategy I\u2019m executing \u2014 and I\u2019m happy with my performance. Someone who researched would see I\u2019m in a good place on search. It\u2019s not an area of weakness, so it\u2019s not an answer to my Before problems.<\/p>\n So yes, there are universal Before scenarios common across most or all businesses. But not every Bridge is the right way to get that business to the After. Your job during the prospecting process<\/a>\u00a0is to find the businesses who do<\/em>\u00a0need your Bridge.<\/p>\n In this article I\u2019m going to use an example of a real cold email I received from a company selling SEO services. And I\u2019ll compare that email with one that better utilizes Before After Bridge copywriting to make a more effective pitch.<\/p>\n Subject: Ideas For Getting Organic Traffic:GMass.co<\/p>\n Message: Hi Gmass.co Team,<\/p>\n I trust you are doing splendidly.<\/p>\n First impressions are critical, and graphics make that impression. It\u2019s not enough to merely have a site – a business needs to convey quality through that site. The look and feel of a site becomes part of the perceived identity and personality of the business. They also provide a pleasant interface through which visitors can quickly navigate. Quality graphics portray a positive image, and help to keep visitors interested and coming back.<\/p>\n Alright\u2026 so yeah, I picked an egregiously bad cold email as my example for this article. All the better to point out lots and lots of flaws in the process, right?<\/p>\n First off, this email starts rough because they\u2019re selling SEO services\u2026 and from this long, long, long paragraph, it seems like they\u2019re selling graphic design.<\/p>\n Even before that\u2026<\/p>\n The subject line doesn\u2019t feel like a one-on-one email. Every word is capitalized, like it\u2019s a title. They forgot to add a space after the colon when they put in their mail merge. They got the capitalization wrong on GMass.<\/p>\n Plus, the subject line commits one of the <\/strong>biggest sins of subject lines<\/a><\/strong>: It sets incorrect expectations. There are no ideas in this email for getting organic traffic for GMass, just generic SEO buzzwords.<\/p>\n The \u201cHi Gmass.co Team\u201d is bad. That greeting feels like mail merge<\/strong>, not something a person typed in a one-on-one message. (And again, they got the capitalization wrong on GMass, where we capitalize the G and the M.)<\/p>\n The throwaway pleasantry of \u201cI trust you are doing splendidly\u201d adds no value<\/strong>\u00a0and wastes even more words.<\/p>\n But back to the \u201cbefore\u201d concept behind this email. As I said earlier in this article, SEO is not one of my pressing pain points. Yes, every site always wants to do better in search and get more organic traffic, but this isn\u2019t an area of critical concern \u2014 which they\u2019d know if they\u2019d done more thorough research.<\/p>\n Even if I did<\/em>\u00a0want SEO help, however, this Before section isn\u2019t going to persuade me.<\/p>\n I\u2019m pretty sure by this point in time, everyone knows the point of having a website. \u00a0But even if I didn\u2019t appreciate the value of a website\u2026 this paragraph isn\u2019t hitting on the pain of poor SEO. Not at all.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s my rewrite:<\/p>\n Subject: {SiteName} ranks {Rank} for {KeyTerm} \u2014 let\u2019s fix that!<\/p>\n Message: Hello!<\/p>\n It\u2019s true: {SiteName} ranks {Rank} for {KeyTerm}. Since the top three Google results receive 63%+ of the clicks, you\u2019re losing out on tons of visitors \u2014 and potential new customers.<\/p>\n What I\u2019ve done here is a little bit of research that\u2019s eye-catching, presents a \u201cbefore\u201d reality in need of a fix \u2014 and should even send a little bit of a painful chill down the recipient\u2019s body.<\/p>\n When this recipient sees my subject line, they\u2019re going to have<\/em>\u00a0to open the email to read more. It\u2019s targeted, it\u2019s personalized, and it\u2019s scary.<\/strong><\/p>\n Then, when they see my Before scenario, I\u2019ve primed them to the point where they\u2019re going to want a remedy now<\/em>.<\/p>\n Notice I didn\u2019t feel the need to provide multiple keyword examples. Odds are if one key term is struggling, they know they have lots of key terms that are struggling.<\/p>\n I played around with the phrasing on the second sentence and tried: \u201cSince the top three Google results receive 63%+ of the clicks, your competitors are getting all those visitors \u2014 and potential customers.\u201d But that felt more generic and spammy to me. If I was going to use that line, I\u2019d want to add another mail merge tag and specifically their competitors who are outranking them.<\/p>\n My email is highly personalized and requires research \u2014 but I\u2019m making a little bit of research go a <\/strong>long<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0way<\/strong>. I could find a prospect\u2019s website, figure out an important keyword, and grab their search rank for that keyword in a matter of minutes \u2014 maybe even under a minute. Later in this article, I\u2019ll also bring in another bit of personalization when I cite the company\u2019s domain authority; thanks to my Ahrefs toolbar, that adds zero extra time to the research process.<\/p>\n Now that you\u2019ve reminded your prospect of their major pain point (or, perhaps, introduced them to a brand new pain they weren\u2019t actively thinking about), it\u2019s time to fast forward to the end of the story.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll skip the hero\u2019s journey and get right to the happy ending with the After<\/strong>.<\/p>\n You want the \u201cafter\u201d to be realistic but highly optimistic. To present a future that would make your prospect happy and completely fix their problem or pain. And to show a world they have<\/em>\u00a0to live in.<\/p>\n What if I could get even more visitors to come to your website? Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is one of the most cost-effective ways to generate traffic to your website. By utilizing this medium, your company will be able to organically grow their presence online. Although marketing common and vague terms may not pay for themselves under a pay-per-click model, the low entry cost of organic SEO makes this a viable model to push vague concepts to the general public.<\/p>\n Once again, there\u2019s so much wrong here (the length of the paragraph alone\u2026)<\/p>\n This After begins with classic After phrasing: \u201cWhat if I could\u2026\u201d They got that part right. In this storytelling style it\u2019s common to present the future as a hypothetical\u2026 but one that\u2019s actually attainable.<\/p>\n From there, however, the pitch is all wrong. This paragraph isn\u2019t showing me \u201cafter\u201d results.<\/strong><\/p>\n In fact, it\u2019s mostly a long tangent about ranking for vague terms. If their recipient knows anything \u2014 anything at all \u2014 about SEO, they wouldn\u2019t care about those vague terms. They\u2019d want to rank for terms that have search intent.<\/p>\n (I personally don\u2019t care if GMass ranks for the vague term \u201cmass.\u201d People looking for physics and\/or Catholic services aren\u2019t going to want our product if they come to the site.)<\/p>\n So to devote the majority of the paragraph to the idea of \u201cpushing vague concepts\u201d is not just irrelevant, it\u2019s downright wrong.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing about the After world presented here that I want or need to be a part of.<\/strong>\u00a0Mainly because they forgot to really include me in the After. I can\u2019t picture myself in the world they\u2019ve presented. Much like the terms they want to help me rank for, this After section is nothing but vague concepts.<\/p>\n The After should present benefits, not features. (Or, in this case\u2026 neither?)<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how I\u2019d present the After section.<\/p>\n What if you could rank high on the first page of Google for {KeyTerm} and your other key terms as well? Terms that bring in waves of perfectly targeted customers daily \u2014 customers who are ready to buy?<\/p>\n Based on your site\u2019s reputation (a strong {DA} domain authority score) it\u2019s not just possible, it\u2019s probable.<\/p>\n With<\/em>\u00a0the right strategy.<\/p>\n I focus on benefits and results, not features<\/strong>, in my After section here.<\/p>\n I\u2019m also careful not to use buzzwords or jargon (like \u201ctransactional intent\u201d) which might alienate recipients with less of an SEO background \u2014 but I give enough of a hint at the concepts that a pro would know I\u2019m coming from a place of expertise.<\/p>\n Notice how I like to space out the After section a bit because it feels more like a story to me that way.<\/p>\n Normally, my goal is to keep a cold email as brief as possible. But here, since I have confidence I\u2019ve hooked the recipient and brought them into the story<\/strong>, I\u2019m willing to go slightly<\/em>\u00a0longer than usual to sell my point.<\/p>\n I\u2019m presenting an \u201cafter\u201d world that\u2019s careful not to guarantee the moon \u2014 but does come close to promising the moon<\/strong>. That keeps my After optimistic but realistic<\/strong>, as I suggested at the beginning of this section.<\/p>\n Once again, I bring the email back to a personalized data point on my recipient<\/strong>. I want them to see I\u2019ve researched them<\/em>\u00a0and I\u2019m not just generically promising SEO results \u2014 based on their domain authority, I\u2019m saying I believe I can get them<\/em>\u00a0better search engine results page placements.<\/p>\n By doing so, I\u2019m keeping the story of the After specifically about them<\/strong>. Then, in my last line, I make sure it\u2019s clear they can\u2019t do it on their own.<\/p>\n Time for me to be the bridge.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve presented the bleak reality and the ideal future. Now it\u2019s time to build the bridge between the two \u2014 and to make it clear why you\u2019re the person to build it.<\/p>\n In the Bridge section, you should present your product or service along with your best piece of social proof.<\/strong><\/p>\n By the time your prospect has finished reading the Bridge they should be ready to hire you, sign up for your demo, or otherwise begin engaging with you on going forward.<\/p>\n You don\u2019t want them to be ready to find <\/strong>someone<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0to fix their pain and take them to the After \u2014 even if it\u2019s not you.<\/strong>\u00a0To continue to relate this back to storytelling, they need to now realize it was you all along. You just had to take off your glasses and let down your hair and, boom, time to go to prom with Freddie Prinze Jr.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s the bridge from the cold email I received offering me SEO services:<\/p>\n Our Aim is to ensure that your website will continue to increase in its rankings, attract more visitors and make more sales through our website optimization, search engine marketing and promotion services. Our main areas of Services are keyword Research and analytics, meta tags optimization, website optimization, web promotion, link popularity building, PPC campaigns, CPC Management, Directory submission, Link Exchange, SEM, Conversion Tracking and Analysis, SEO Reporting etc. We also provide web-related services to businesses that desire professional quality results.<\/p>\n Getting past the random capitalization (which is a sign of spam), this Bridge reads like a generic resume<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Every SEO company in the world offers these services (though most would have the good sense not to promote \u201cmeta tags optimization,\u201d \u201cdirectory submission,\u201d and other things all serious content and marketing decision makers know are irrelevant).<\/p>\n There\u2019s no social proof<\/strong>\u00a0here.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing personalized<\/strong>.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing that makes me think this is the right company<\/strong>\u00a0to choose.<\/p>\n There\u2019s nothing for someone to latch on to<\/strong>; it\u2019s almost as if they hope someone who knows nothing about SEO will be impressed by an overwhelming avalanche of buzzwords.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how I\u2019ll present the Bridge section of my email.<\/p>\n At TurboSearch we\u2019ve helped more than 60 other SaaS companies grow their traffic by an average of 53% (!) with our four-step approach to SEO: Targeted keywords, unique content, high-quality backlinks, and website optimization.<\/p>\n I\u2019m keeping my bridge tight. I lead with social proof: I\u2019ve worked with an impressive number of companies in their industry before and have a killer overall stat to show for it.<\/p>\n Then, in less than one sentence, I tease my company\u2019s approach. I don\u2019t go too deep into the specifics but I demonstrate that I have a plan and a system<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 one with a focus on uniqueness and quality<\/strong>.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve now demonstrated why I\u2019m the right pick to build the bridge from the Before to After and how I\u2019m going to build that bridge.<\/p>\n All that\u2019s left is the close.<\/p>\n The call-to-action isn\u2019t included in the BAB steps but needs to be a part of any BAB cold email.<\/p>\n Now that you\u2019ve laid out the Before, the After, and the Bridge, you need to give the recipient one specific action to take to move things forward<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Asking for a reply is the most common approach, though some people will provide a scheduling link. (Here\u2019s some advice on using Calendly with GMass<\/a>\u00a0to fit a scheduling link into your email sequences and workflow.)<\/p>\n The call-of-action in a BAB email should be a no-brainer \u2014 your storytelling should drive your recipient to want to take action.<\/p>\n You can, of course, sprinkle in some urgency or scarcity to better drive immediate action<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s finish out these example emails (the bad and the good) by looking at their calls-to-action.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how the original email I received ended.<\/p>\n If you have any questions or need additional information amended to the proposal, please let us know.<\/p>\n This is a soft CTA, certainly not one pushing someone to commit; this is trying to start a dialogue. Maybe. It\u2019s also presenting a likely scenario where the person won\u2019t write back<\/strong>. After all, if I don\u2019t have questions or need more info\u2026 then do I just do nothing?<\/p>\n And, as always, the wording is weird here. This email sure doesn\u2019t feel like a proposal. And \u201cneed additional information amended\u201d is something ChatGPT would clean up for a non-native English speaker<\/a>\u00a0if they ran their copy through there before sending.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s how I\u2019ve closed out my sales email.<\/p>\n Ready to start moving {SiteName} up the search results to bring in more traffic and sales ASAP? Let me know and we can grab a time to chat!<\/p>\n I threw the website into my call-to-action and brought in elements of the Before (low on the search results) and the After (traffic and sales). I ask them to reply to get the conversation going; once they reply, I\u2019ll begin scheduling with them.<\/p>\n I did not specify how long the \u201cchat\u201d might be. I try to avoid specifying a length; if the person is interested, they won\u2019t mind a longer talk once we\u2019re in it. Plus the word \u201cchat\u201d implies a conversation that\u2019s quicker and more informal, which is the vibe I\u2019m going for.<\/p>\n I also played around with a CTA that adds a sense of urgency and scarcity. That is:<\/p>\n Interested? I\u2019m taking on my new clients for March right now (I only take on 3 clients each month to make sure everyone gets maximum attention). So if you\u2019re interested, let me know ASAP and we can chat.<\/p>\n If you feel like that scarcity is credible and will drive more responses<\/strong>, by all means give it a shot. It could also be something worth A\/B testing<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Before After Bridge copywriting<\/strong>\u00a0method can be an extremely valuable cold email framework with a little bit of research, strategic copy, and a proper understanding of your target customers\u2019 wants and needs<\/strong>.<\/p>\n BAB is a useful method to keep you focused on benefits, not features<\/strong>, and to hook potential customers through the psychological power of storytelling and visualization<\/strong>.<\/p>\n To review, the elements of BAB are:<\/p>\n And now, I\u2019ll use the BAB copywriting method to explain why GMass is the right cold email platform for you<\/strong>\u00a0to use to send your Before After Bridge emails.<\/p>\n Are you struggling to get your cold emails into people\u2019s inboxes, not their spam folders<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 especially with what you\u2019re paying for your cold email platform?<\/p>\n Imagine if you could send your emails with confidence knowing they were headed for the inbox \u2014 all while you were saving serious money every month.<\/p>\n GMass is one of, if not <\/strong>the<\/strong><\/em>, most popular cold email platforms in the world for a reason<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 more than 400,000 active users<\/strong>\u00a0have given us an incredible 4.8 star average across 9,000+ reviews<\/strong>.<\/p>\n You can get started on GMass\u2019s free trial with no credit card required<\/strong>\u00a0\u2014 you won\u2019t even have to fill out a form. Just download the Chrome extension<\/a>\u00a0and check out our quickstart guide<\/a>. You\u2019ll be sending your first BAB cold email campaign in a matter of minutes<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Before After Bridge copywriting (or BAB) is a cold email storytelling model that, when used right, can take your product or service from \u201cunknown\u201d to \u201cmust-have.\u201d And\u2026 it\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":22739,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5428,9155],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cold-email","category-email-copywriting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nBefore After Bridge Copywriting: Table of Contents<\/h2>\n
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What Is the BAB Copywriting Model?<\/h2>\n
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When is the Before After Bridge model best for cold email?<\/h3>\n
1. Before: Understand Your Recipient\u2019s Bleak Current Reality<\/h2>\n
Are there some Before scenarios that are universal?<\/h3>\n
Putting together the \u201cBefore\u201d section of your email<\/h3>\n
The Before in the original email I received<\/h4>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bab-bad-before-tinified.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nThe subject line<\/h4>\n
The intro<\/h4>\n
What\u2019s wrong with this Before<\/h4>\n
My rewrite<\/h4>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bab-good-before-tinified.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n2. After: Showing Your Prospect Their Utopian Future<\/h2>\n
Putting together the \u201cAfter\u201d section of your email<\/h3>\n
The After in the original email I received<\/h4>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bab-bad-after-tinified.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nWhat\u2019s wrong with this After<\/h4>\n
My rewrite<\/h4>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bab-good-after-tinified.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n3. Bridge: How and Why You\u2019re the Right Person to Take Your Prospect From the Before to the After<\/h2>\n
Putting together the \u201cBridge\u201d section of your email<\/h3>\n
The Bridge in the original email I received<\/h4>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bab-bad-bridge-tinified.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nWhat\u2019s wrong with this Bridge<\/h4>\n
My rewrite<\/h4>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bab-good-bridge-tinified.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\n4. Call-to-Action: How to Get a Reply to Your BAB Email<\/h2>\n
Putting together the CTA section of your email<\/h3>\n
The call-to-action in the original email I received<\/h4>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bab-bad-cta-tinified.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nMy rewrite<\/h4>\n
![\"Before](\"https:\/\/www.gmass.co\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/bab-good-cta-tinified.png\")
<\/a><\/figure>\nBefore After Bridge Copywriting for Cold Email: Takeaways and Next Steps<\/h2>\n
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