Summary4 min read

The Email Sound Booth with Liz Wilcox — Sales Email Summit

Episode: Ashley DiMercurio – Preselling an offer so you get the money before you make it
Date: August 21, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode centers on using email marketing to pre-sell digital offers—specifically, how to sell and validate a product before it’s created, so you earn revenue upfront. Host Liz Wilcox interviews Ashley DiMercurio (virtual assistant, tutor, and entrepreneur) about her real-world success with pre-selling her ebook purely via email, including tactics, results, and follow-up strategies.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Ashley’s Most Interesting Sales Email: The $5 Pre-Sell

Ashley shares her experience writing a simple, direct sales email to her list, pre-selling her upcoming ebook.
Subject Line: “Can I have $5?”
- Inspired by Liz’s own “Can I have $9?” subject during a previous launch.
- Got an open rate over 50%; earned $100+ from a single email, before the product even existed.
Quote:

"The most amazing email I've ever sent was actually to pre sell my ebook. The subject line was simple but powerful. A simple 'Can I have $5?'"
— Ashley DiMercurio [01:14]

Quote:

"What made it so effective was that I was selling the idea before the product was even complete ... It creates excitement in your audience, it validates your idea, it gives you the confidence in your idea and in your product and it generates income before you've even launched."
— Ashley DiMercurio [01:41]
Benefits of Pre-Selling:
- Validates product demand
- Generates excitement and confidence
- Provides cash flow before launching
- Enables ongoing sales after launch

2. The Follow-Up Sequence & Results

Ashley sent additional, creative emails to maintain momentum and continue pre-orders.
- Email #2:
  - Subject: “Picture of my new workspace inside”
  - Shared personal update plus the ebook link
  - Stats: 53.47% open rate, 2.5% click rate
- Email #3:
  - Subject: “Are you changing with the seasons?”
  - Communicated pre-order numbers, another chance to buy
  - Stats: 47% open rate, 1.4% click rate
- Continued promotion:
  - Shared ebook during workshops (e.g., “Collaboration Over Competition”)
  - Kept ebook available for ongoing purchases
Quote:

"After I shared that I also talked about the ebook and gave a link for people to pre order it there. I sent another one ... talked about how I had launched the ebook and that it would be coming out soon. I let people know how many people had pre ordered ..."
— Ashley DiMercurio [03:24]

3. Community, Mindset, and Encouragement

Liz praises the “power of the pre sell” and encourages listeners to embrace this approach.

Quote:

"The power of the pre sell. The power of continuously selling. Love, love, love."
— Liz Wilcox [04:26]
Ashley encourages listeners, especially small business owners, to try pre-selling as a low-pressure, validating approach.

Quote:

"If you haven't tried pre selling through your email list yet, I highly recommend giving it a shot. Your audience just might surprise you. I know mine did."
— Ashley DiMercurio [02:22]

4. Connect With Ashley & Free Resource

Ashley’s services, resources, and how to contact her:
- Website: yourreadingtutor.com (services tab for “Ask Ashley”)
- Audience: Literacy support, virtual assistant services, business consulting
- Summit Freebie: “The Power of 21” (tool for tackling big projects in business or life)
Quote:

"The freebie I'm offering for this summit is called the power of 21 and that is a really awesome tool that I use when I have to tackle big projects in both areas of my business ... So I hope people will check that out, grab that resource and use it to tackle their next big project."
— Ashley DiMercurio [05:02]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

“It creates excitement in your audience, it validates your idea ... and it generates income before you've even launched.”
— Ashley DiMercurio [01:41]
“I loved creating a product after I have, you know, collected the cash.”
— Liz Wilcox [02:35]
“Your audience just might surprise you. I know mine did.”
— Ashley DiMercurio [02:22]

Timestamps for Important Segments

00:00 — Sponsor mention & episode kickoff
01:11 — Ashley recounts her most successful sales email
02:35 — Liz asks about follow-up and ongoing selling
03:04 — Ashley details her email sequence, open/click rates
04:26 — Liz reinforces the power of pre-selling
04:44 — Ashley shares where to find her and her free “Power of 21” tool
05:57 — Links, templates, and closing advice from Liz

Further Resources

Ashley’s site/services: yourreadingtutor.com (See “Ask Ashley” for virtual assistant/business offers)
Freebie mentioned: “The Power of 21” (for project management)
Steal These Sales Emails Template Pack: Curated collection of all summit emails, including templates for pre-sell emails featured in this episode.

Summary Takeaways

Direct subject lines (“Can I have $5?”) can dramatically boost open rates and engagement.
Pre-selling validates your product, brings in funds before creation, and helps you gauge true market demand—making email a crucial channel for entrepreneurs.
Ongoing follow-up and creative email subjects (including personal touches) help maintain momentum and maximize pre-order opportunities.
Templates and support (like Liz’s “Steal These Sales Emails”) make pre-selling accessible—even for beginners.

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Transcript7 lines

[00:01]
A
What up? Liz Wilcox here, the host of Sales Email Summit. Before we get into this interview, I just want to let you know that this summit is sponsored by List Gadget. List Gadget.com is how you can turn every email into a growth machine. We've got embeddable polls, leaderboards, referral programs and more. And I know this sounds crazy, but you can do it in about 3:30 second startup time. Now right now we are offering $10 off the starter plan to make it just $9 a month. So if you're into adding email polls, reactions, subscriber leaderboards and more to your email newsletter, head on over to list gadget.com all right, let's get into this episode. Okay, Ashley, I am so excited to hear all about your email. So tell us please, what is the most interesting email or sales email that you have sent out in the last 6 to 12 months?
[01:11]
B
Hey there. I'm Ashley Demercurio. I'm a virtual assistant for entrepreneurs and a professional online tutor. And the most amazing email I've ever sent was actually to pre sell my ebook. The subject line was simple but powerful. A simple can I have $5? It Liz can attest to the power of that simple subject line. And I remember her using that same subject line when she launched her membership with a can I have $9? So it grabbed attention right away. My open rate was over 50% and I earned more than a hundred dollars from that single email. Which might not sound like a ton of but for a small business owner like me, it it was a big win. And what made it so effective was that I was selling the idea before the product was even complete. I really think pre selling isn't talked about nearly enough, but it can change the game for entrepreneurs. It creates excitement in your audience, it validates your idea, it gives you the confidence in your idea and in your product and it generates income before you've even launched. So you're essentially getting paid to create the product. Then once you have created the product, you can continue to sell it after. So if you haven't tried pre selling through your email list yet, I highly recommend giving it a shot. Your audience just might surprise you. I know mine did.
[02:36]
A
Ashley, I love this so much. I love pre selling. I loved creating a product after I have, you know, collected the cash. So I'd love to know what, what did you do after the can I have $5? Did you, you know, send follow up emails to, you know, try to sell more or did you just continuously sell it after that?
[03:04]
B
Okay, yes, I definitely sent additional emails after that first one of can I have $5? The one I sent immediately after that had a 53.47% open rate with a 2.5% click rate which was awesome. And that one had this object line picture of my new workspace inside. And then after I shared that I also talked about the ebook and gave a link for people to pre order it there. I sent another one a few the next week I believe are you changing with the seasons? And then talked about how I was I had launched the ebook and that it would be coming out soon. I let people know how many people had pre ordered and gave the link for folks to be able to pre order again. That one had a 47% open rate and 1.4% click rate. After that I continued to promote the ebook in different workshops I hosted. Shortly after the email I hosted a collaboration over competition workshop and shared my ebook there. And yeah, just have continued to have it available. So I think that answers your question.
[04:27]
C
Ashley, that is so amazing. I love it. The power of the pre sell. The power of continuously selling love, love love Now Ashley, if people want to hear more from you, get more of your goodness. If your email list is right up their alley, let us know how we can join.
[04:45]
B
Thanks Liz, that would be great. I would love to connect with people who are either looking for literacy support for their kiddos or they are looking for, you know, virtual assistant type support for their business or they just want to learn more about what I do. But my main website is called your readingtutor.com and once you get there there's a services tab where you can see Ask Ashley and that is where I share some of my virtual assistant type packages and my business consulting type work. And the freebie I'm offering for this summit is called the power of 21 and that is a really awesome tool that I use when I have to tackle big projects in both areas of my business. Whether it's working with families and kids and parents or working with business owners. Just a big project I have to do at my house. So I hope people will check that out, grab that resource and use it to tackle their next big project. Whether it's pre selling an email or redecorating their kitchen. Who knows. Thanks so much Liz.
[05:57]
C
Okay, so I'm going to put all of Ashley's information on how to get signed up, how to get in contact with her. So if you've got a big project and you need help or you want to hop on her email list, all of that's going to be in the show notes. And speaking of getting help with big projects, sometimes selling can feel like a huge, huge task. And by sometimes, I mean always. Right? Wrong. Except for when you steal these sales emails. So if you want Ashley's email, you want everyone else's email, get the template pack. Get the Steal these sales emails template pack. It is a steal of a deal for $35. And it is plug and play collection of every single email from the Summit, including the one we just talked about, rewritten into simple templates you can customize in minutes. Okay? No decoding, no guesswork. Just copy, tweak, send email templates is my thing. Is Liz Wilcox's thing. So I want you to steal these. I cannot believe I got every speaker to literally hand over their intellectual property and sell it to you for only $35. So again, if you want to just copy, tweak and send and make sales just like Ashley and the gang here in the Summit, get the Steal these sales emails template pack. $35 link in the show notes, babe.