Author Archives: Amrit Hallan

About Amrit Hallan

Amrit Hallan is a professional content writer who helps businesses improve their conversion rate through credible and compelling content writing. His main strength lies in writing search engine optimized content without compromizing quality and meaningfulness.

How to use Sonder to be a better copywriter

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Better copywriting through empathy

While going through a copywriting newsletter in the afternoon, I came across an interesting word: sonder.

First of all, is sonder even a word? You don’t find it in regular dictionary. But you find it in a book called “Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows”, written by John Koenig.

The author was put in a situation where he couldn’t find the right words to express certain emotions and situations. He started making his own words. Sonder is one of such words.

Sondor dictionary of sorrow

It is supposed to be a noun. It is a realization that each random person passing by is living a life that is as vivid and complex as your own life. They have their own ambitions. They have their own set of friends, routines, anxieties or have even inherited particular traits of their parents and grandparents.

Basically, it is an epic story (of all the individuals coming your way, collectively) that is going on parallel to your own story. Sonder means, realizing that such a situation exists.

It means realizing that every person has a story.

How does it impact your copywriting?

What do you need for effective copywriting?

You need empathy.

I was recently editing a book for a client (partly autobiographical and partly self-development) and he has a chapter on being the VIP of your life. What does that mean?

You are the VIP of your life. In your life, you are the most important person. You are the most important person for yourself. You are the most important person for your family. You take care of yourself. Your family takes care of you. You worry about your welfare. Your family worries about your welfare.

Even that poor person selling roasted peanuts by the side of the road living in a shanty is an important person for his or her household.

What has it got to do with copywriting?

You need to see the others’ perspective. You need to understand your audience. You need to convey that you share their feelings. You should be able to tell them that you have the solution for their problem.

The good thing about sonder is that you cannot pretend to have sympathy with people, and even if you pretend, as an effective copywriter, your words won’t be able to reflect your assumed feeling.

Empathy, when writing, must come from within.

Listed below are a few steps you can take to use sonder or empathy to be an effective copywriter.

Clearly define the problem for your users

Clearly define the problem when copywriting

When you define the problem, you tell them that you understand exactly what they are going through.

Suppose, I tell you that you have a pain in your knee. Yes, you have a pain in your knee, but in many cases, the pain may not be the exact problem.

Because of that pain, it is difficult for you to sit down and stand up. It is difficult for you to walk. This makes it difficult for you to do the household chores. You are unable to take proper care of your kids. Your quality of life has suffered. You cannot travel. At night you cannot sleep so throughout the day you’re tired. You are compelled to take painkillers and you know that these painkillers are damaging your kidneys.

Another example: you cannot find a capable SEO copywriter who can help you improve your search engine rankings. Hence, your problem is lower search engine rankings.

But what happens due to lower search engine rankings?

You don’t get customers. You are not able to sell the product that you know is awesome. You go through financial difficulties. To maintain the cash flow, you often have to do odd jobs you hate. You are worried about the financial safety of your family. Due to lack of money, your business is stuck in the middle of nowhere. Your potential is being wasted. You are having to spend hours every day networking and convincing people into buying your product. Your self-worth is suffering.

As a copywriter I should be able to understand not just your problem, but also your situation. Only then I can use the right words to move you into buying the product or the service that I’m promoting.

Tell stories to elevate the sense of empathy

Storytelling for empathy

People relate to stories. They relate to the characters, especially the protagonist who fights with the odds and emerges victorious.

Take the above example of someone not being able to improve his search engine rankings. Tell the story of the person who closely works with an SEO copywriter. Tell them how he figures out that he needs to publish targeted content consistently. Narrate how publishing targeted content consistently, ultimately improves search engine rankings for the right keywords and the business eventually picks up.

Most of the customers have the traits of your main character. They are facing problems. They are fearful. They are frustrated. They have obstacles on their paths. They are bearing the consequences of their past actions. They are not able to come out of their predicament.

When they see or when they read about your protagonist using your product or service to improve his lot, they will immediately relate.

How does your story manifest empathy? You cannot create a moving narrative unless your readers can make an emotional connection with your protagonist, and this can only happen if you understand their core problems.

Looking for better sonder? Talk in their language

Talk in their language

As a copywriter you can easily go your own way when using words. Remember that you are writing for your audience. You don’t want to impress them. You want to convert them.

It’s a myth that writing in your audience’s language means “dumbing down” your writing. There is no need to write for the sixth standard if your audience is composed of PhD candidates, working parents, or small business owners.

Writing in their language means using words and expressions that they use in their everyday lives.

This will also help you improve your search engine rankings because most of the people use search terms that they use in their day-to-day conversations.

When you talk in their language, when you address their concerns in their language, you show them that you empathize with them.

Let them choose and decide

When you empathize with your audience through your copywriting, you empower them. You achieve this by letting them choose on their own whether they want to do business with you or not.

Provide them the information. Educate them. Give them data. Help them compare. Tell them stories they can relate to. Present case studies and white papers. Engage with them on an ongoing basis. But ultimately, leave it up to them to decide.

Finding the sonder – attributes that help you empathize with your audience – will help you markedly improve the effectiveness of your copywriting.

Can you use ChatGPT for content writing?

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Using ChatGPT for writing content

The simple answer is, yes you can. Can you really? It depends.

First, what is ChatGPT? It is a simple online AI chatbot created by OpenAI. It answers the questions you ask. It is an AI language model. It generates human-like text based on the prompt that you give to it. It can generate responses to questions, write stories and poems, and generate Twitter threads. It can be used with conversational AI applications to simulate human-like interactions.

I have used ChatGPT for a few weeks to write content for my clients. Does it mean my clients can fire me and start using ChatGPT themselves to generate blog posts, web pages and email messages? Sure, if they want to.

The problem is, although ChatGPT digs up good information and can also communicate in a language that is free of spelling and grammar mistakes, it is yet far away from being as good as an average writer. Why is it so?

Content writing must be convincing

There is no individuality in the writing in ChatGPT. It simply presents the information. Writing is less about writing and more about expressing, especially when you want to convince people.

For presenting information, yes, it is fine. For example, if I ask ChatGPT, “What is SEO content writing?” it gives a very well-written answer:

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) content writing is the process of creating website content that is optimized to rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs). This involves incorporating targeted keywords, phrases, and other optimization techniques into the content to make it more visible to search engines like Google.

The primary goal of SEO content writing is to create content that not only meets the needs of the target audience but also meets the requirements of search engines. This can involve writing content that includes relevant keywords and phrases, optimizing headlines and subheadings, using meta descriptions and tags, and incorporating internal and external links.

SEO content writing is a critical component of digital marketing and can help businesses to increase their online visibility and drive more traffic to their website. However, it’s important to note that creating content solely for search engines can negatively impact the user experience, and therefore a balance between optimization and creating valuable, engaging content for the reader must be struck.

Even if you want to publish this explanation of “What is a SEO content writing?”, suppose 10 people ask the same question to ChatGPT and they all publish the same answer?

Even if they change the wording, the explanation remains more or less the same and this will be detected by Google. There was a time when Google looked down upon machine generated content, but with the advent of AI tools like ChatGPT, Google says as long as the content is of quality, original, and helpful, it doesn’t matter whether it is written by humans or machines.

As a content writer, my recommendation for using ChatGPT is, use it for grunt work, and then use your own magic.

How to use ChatGPT to write high-quality content

Quality content writing with ChatGPT

You can use ChatGPT to create an outline and find useful information. In fact, when it comes to finding some research data, ChatGPT is better than Google, but the only problem is that when you are searching on Google, you have an option of looking at multiple sources. ChatGPT on the other hand, just gives you the information. Whether you want to trust this information or not, is completely up to you.

I find it useful to generate lists of options. For example, if you give this prompt to ChatGPT: “List the 5 most important items to carry when going to watch a cricket match in a stadium,” it gives you a list of items along with small explanation of why you may need those items. You can use this information then to write a complete blog post.

The key is using the right prompt.

Remember that ChatGPT is a language model. You should be as detailed as possible. I have seen some people writing a complete paragraph, using even bulleted points, to generate a prompt.

Here is a typical prompt you can use:

Act as an expert copywriter. Write a 500-word blog post on the benefit of using humor in copywriting. Cover at least five points. Use bulleted points to sum up main points. Include two real-world examples. Write in casual language. Write short sentences. Write in active voice.

As you can see, you need to tell ChatGPT what persona it should adopt while writing. You must also tell it the format in which you want the content to be written. In some prompts, you can also tell ChatGPT what information to exclude.

Until a few months ago many content writers and copywriters were claiming that AI writing tools will never be able to replace writers. Even I had written a few sentences discounting the fears of software like ChatGPT replacing writers. Things have changed a bit. Especially with the advent of ChatGPT.

Such tools will be able to help bulk writers write lots of content. If you “regenerate response” you may be able to generate variations of the same content, but I believe that soon, the more people start using it, the more similar-sounding the content will become.

When will ChatGPT replace you as a writer?

Will ChatGPT replace writers?

ChatGPT cannot do thinking for you. If you simply write SEO articles and blog posts, then ChatGPT has already begun to replace you. It is just a matter of your clients finding it out.

To make sure that you are not replaced by ChatGPT, you need to be more creative. You must have a voice that helps your content stand out.

Actually, this advice was applicable even when ChatGPT was not there. Copywriters and content writers are available on the Internet a dime a dozen, and to be frank, there are very few clients who can distinguish a great content writer from an ordinary content writer. Most of the clients are just interested in filling up their web pages and blog posts to somehow improve their search engine rankings. So, this sort of competition better copywriters and content writers have always faced.

But it’s a blessing in disguise. Copywriters and content writers who can compellingly express their ideas will be in greater demand because mediocre writers will be replaced by software options like ChatGPT.

How can you compete?

Improve your writing skills. Communicate instead of merely writing. Polish your creativity. Develop a unique voice. Focus on quality over quantity.

Remember that ChatGPT is a general language model. It may not be able to write content for a particular audience. It cannot understand the undetectable nuances. This is where you can beat ChatGPT as a content writer.

How to write content based on E-A-T?

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The E-A-T content writing framework

E-A-T is a content writing framework introduced by Google. It is a set of guidelines for content creators to ensure high quality content that meets user needs and expectations.

The acronym stands for:

Expertise
Authoritativeness
Trustworthiness

This content writing framework is especially recommended for YMYL type of content that stands for “Your Money or Your Life”. What does that mean?

It means that using this information, in case this information is wrong or unverified, can cause you significant harm. In this category, Google gives an example such as, “Information on evacuation routes in case of a tsunami”.

Another example could be, “When to go to an emergency room,” or “News about ongoing violence”.

It is recommended that such content is written by people who are experienced/who have the requisite expertise, who are an authority figure in the concerned field, and who can be trusted with the information and knowledge they have, preferably through first-hand experience.

Google has referred to this concept extensively in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines. You can use the E-A-T content writing framework to create user-friendly content that is trustworthy and deserving of higher rankings.

The framework was initially developed for internal purpose, for actual human content evaluators. Later these results were to be used to improve the algorithm and consequently, the overall quality and relevance of the content that shows up in search results.

In the above link, Google says that the guidelines for authoritative content are constantly evolving because ultimately, they would like to build a strong enough algorithm that can gauge the trustworthiness of the content without much human interference. Evaluating millions of web pages and blog posts everyday wouldn’t be humanly possible.

The E-A-T framework can be used to build topical authority of your website.

How does the E-A-T content writing framework affect your search engine rankings?

Does the E-A-T framework affect your search engine rankings

First thing first: the E-A-T content writing framework should be used when you are writing content for YMYL category of content. If you’re writing content for your business website to present your information, you don’t need to worry about the E-A-T framework as long as you are accurately and convincingly presenting your information.

E-A-T is not a direct Google ranking factor. It goes parallel to your SEO evaluation.

Again, for writing E-A-T content, it is better if you are the subject matter expert, or you write content with direct access to a subject matter expert. For example, if you are writing a web page or a blog post on what to do in case someone has a heart attack, you should better be a cardiologist or you should be closely working with one.

Also remember that E-A-T is not the sole ranking factor. I have written multiple times on my blog that there are 200+ factors that affect your search engine rankings. It’s just that, when you are writing critical content based on which people are supposed to take decisions that can affect their life, it must be written by someone authoritative and having an expertise in the field.

How to approach writing E-A-T content if you are not an expert yourself?

Writing E-A-T content as a non-expert

An expert may not be a good content writer and a good content writer may not be an expert. Although, businesses these days prefer to work with experts who also write well, this might not always be the case. What do you do then?

A few months ago, I wrote content for a pathology lab website. People need to access information of different types of medical tests that they can avail on the website. They also need some medical-related content to improve their overall search engine rankings.

I’m not a medical expert. The medical team working at the pathology lab didn’t have good content writers. What did I do? I worked with their medical experts.

For every web page, they would give me all the critical information that I must include. After writing, I ran every piece through them so that they could check if I had included all the vital information and data. They would also check if I had added random information from the web which was not supposed to be there.

The content was authoritative. It came from experts. It could be trusted because it had been thoroughly vetted by the experts in the field.

This approach can be applied (I have applied) in every field that requires authority and expertise. These days I’m working with a SaaS company. Although I’m comfortable writing on technology, on this particular aspect of software as a service, I know little. But they like my writing style, and they wanted me to write for their website and blog. They give me the vital information and based on that, I write content for them.

Why do you need the E-A-T framework to write content?

Ranking on Google has become increasingly difficult. The search engine must find the best possible content for its users. Instead of users having to learn the nitty-gritty of search terms and the complexities involved in finding the exact information, the Google algorithm aims to know the intent of the user and find the information accordingly.

This means, even when people are not accurate while creating a query, they should be able to find the information they are looking for. Otherwise, even if their query is inaccurate, they’re going to blame Google for not being able to get the right information for them.

Content you can trust

Along with intent, the quality and relevance also matter. Even if the search engine knows the intent, it must find the information that has immense value. People must feel enriched after finding information through Google. Otherwise, they will be dissatisfied and may switch to another search engine.

For example, you want to invest in stock market. You find information on Google and make investments based on that information. You lose money and you blame Google for finding inaccurate information.

On the other hand, if you gain money, you are going to feel good about finding the right information on Google.

Hence, when it comes to information related to health or finances, Google gives preference to content that comes from experts.

Coming back to the example I used above (about writing medical-related content), even if I get the entire input from the experts, if I publish that content by my name, it won’t be valued by Google because Google knows that I’m not a medical expert. But if I write that content for a medical expert and then that medical expert publishes the content under their name, Google is going to take it seriously and may also rank it higher.

What type of content requires the E-A-T framework?

When you write and publish content that can cause someone to lose or gain money, or content that can endanger someone’s life, or affect someone’s life in terms of health and money, you need to follow the E-A-T framework.

As explained above, this type of content falls in the category of YMYL – “your money or your life”.

Google references to both the terms – E-A-T & YMYL – extensively in its Search Quality Rater Guidelines. These guidelines are used by real people to evaluate the effectiveness of search results. Google hasn’t confirmed that such human evaluators have some bearing on the algorithms. Google uses these human evaluators to gauge the effectiveness of their algorithm.

There may be two types of content that requires E-A-T framework:

Content that requires expertise
Content that requires first-hand experience

Suppose you are searching for heart attack symptoms. Two types of information sources can be authoritative:

A doctor or a physician who is an expert in the matters of heart.
Someone who has gone through the similar experience (themselves or their family members) and then give you a first-hand insight.

Similarly, if you want to know where you can invest your money, the content needs to either come from someone who is a financial expert, or someone who has been investing money for some years.

Does the Google algorithm have a way of finding if you are an expert or you are someone who is giving first-hand experience?

This is where human evaluators come. Human evaluators can make a judgement call.

The algorithm can scour through social media profiles and references from other web sources to know if a person is an expert. For example, if I am a financial expert, they can exist some reference to my expertise on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or other blogs. Or I may have another expert opinion piece in a reputed publication like Washington Post.

How do I write content requiring the E-A-T framework?

How to write content requiring the E-A-T framework

As I have explained above, recently I wrote content for a laboratory website that provides information on various ailments for which a blood test (serum test) may be required.

I wrote the content after getting ample input from the doctors associated with the laboratory. In fact, I ghost wrote the content: the content that I wrote was published with a doctor’s by-line.

Hence, when you are writing content that requires you to follow the E-A-T framework but you are not an expert or you are not presenting a first-hand experience, it is better to seek out someone who does, and publish the content after getting their input, and if possible, use their name as author.

How to write email sequences that convert like crazy

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Importance of creating an email sequence for your business

What are email sequences?

As the name suggests, these are series of emails that are sent to a recipient.

Ideally, the emails belonging to a particular sequence are triggered automatically when someone signs up for your service, makes a purchase on your website, or downloads an e-book or case study or a white paper after submitting their email ID.

Note: Whether you send email sequences manually or automatically, just make sure that the person knows that they will be receiving multiple emails once submitting their email ID.

Emails belonging to a certain sequence are logically related to each other.

The next email is built upon the previous email and every email takes the recipient close to the desired action.

Marketers also use email sequences to educate their prospective customers and clients.

For example, a project management company can send out a series of emails educating people on how to manage the various aspects of their projects.

A weight loss company can send regular emails on how people can monitor their diet, what healthy food options they can prepare, or what physical activities they can do regularly to lose weight fast.

Is there a difference between drip emails and email sequences?

Although on many websites you will read about differences between drip emails and email sequences, frankly, there isn’t much difference.

You automate a drip campaign, and you also automate an email sequence.

A drip campaign is triggered by predefined events, and so is an email sequence.

A drip campaign is used to keep recipients engaged when you offer valuable information and timely updates, and the same thing is achieved by email sequences.

Advantages of using email sequences that convert

Email sequence advantages

Email sequences are automatic

In most of the cases.

There may be rare instances when marketers may decide to send out email sequences manually, but in most of the cases, email sequences are managed by email services like MailChimp and Zoho Campaigns.

Since email sequences are automatic, you don’t have to manage them for individual recipients.

The moment they perform a function that triggers the email sequence, they begin receiving your emails sequentially.

Another benefit of email sequence automation is that even the segmentation can be automated.

For example, you can send different email sequences to people who open your message, who open your message on a particular day or from a particular region, or who click the CTA.

Your segmentation can be as diverse as you want.

Email sequences are good for lead nurturing

Lead nurturing can be a tedious process.

It may take many emails before a prospect decides to reach out to you.

Since your prospect may start ignoring your email if you keep on sending the same email repeatedly, an email sequence with different but related email messages will generate a better response.

With an email sequence you can keep your leads engaged, positively contribute to their inbox, and remain in front of them over a long period.

Email sequences can be used for cross selling and up selling

Cross-selling is done when a person has bought something from your website and you would like to suggest some related products.

For example, if someone has purchased a mobile phone from your website, you can send a follow-up email (a part of your post-shopping cart email sequence) listing mobile phone back covers for the same model, or the screen guard, or even, an insurance policy for the mobile phone.

Up-selling can be done to offer upcoming products to people who have already purchased from your website a few days, a few weeks, or a few months ago.

Email sequences are cost-effective

Multiple reasons for that.

Sending thousands of emails is inexpensive.

Since the email sequences are triggered automatically, you don’t need to spend your own time or hire someone to send them to individuals.

Whether you want to send your email sequences to 100 people, to 1000 people, or to 10,000 people, they are sent out with precision, targeting, and on-time, automatically.

They give you measurable results

Especially if you use an email marketing service.

You can measure how many people opened your messages, how many responded, how many clicked, and at what time of the day or which day of the week your messages were opened or responded to.

The metrics can be as diverse as you want.

Email sequences can increase your brand awareness

Through email sequences, you send your messages to your prospects at set intervals.

Provided you are not bombarding them with multiple messages every day, strategically timed messages with valuable content can help you build your brand awareness.

When you broadcast quality content people develop a positive association with your messages.

They begin to recognize your name or the name of your business and whenever they recognize you, they associate you with the value that you deliver regularly.

You can educate your customers and clients

Suppose you’re launching a new app or a revolutionary software. Take for example, ChatGPT.

As a company that wants to promote ChatGPT (because later, you want to sell paid subscriptions) you want to educate your prospective users on how to derive maximum benefit out of it.

You can create a sequence of emails and in every new email, you explain various commands that can be given to ChatGPT to get exactly the information you need.

If you don’t know, ChatGPT is an AI-powered interface that is much more advanced than Google.

Provided you know how to prepare the queries before submitting them.

Even in the case of Google, people don’t know advanced search functions that they can use to find precise information.

Perhaps, instead of depending on bloggers to educate their users, Google can send email tips on how to use advanced Google search.

How to create high conversion email sequences

Creating high conversion email sequences

The primary objective of creating an email sequence is improving your conversion rate.

No matter what is the immediate objective of your particular email campaign (contact for more information, download a case study, book an appointment), the overall goal is to make more people do business with you.

Hence, every campaign in your high conversion email sequence must work towards that ultimate goal.

Listed below are a few things you can do to create high conversion email sequences.

Use segmentation and personalization

Segmentation and personalization when creating high conversion email sequences are interrelated.

What is segmentation?

Segmentation in email marketing is the division of your email subscribers into smaller segments based on set criteria, and then, based on the criteria, sending personalized messages to them.

An email message that you send to prospective customers who have never bought from you will be different from an email message that you send to your customers who have bought from you.

Even among the customers who have bought from you, there may be a segment for customers who have bought from you just once, and for customers who regularly buy from you.

Another segment could be, customers who had been buying from you regularly, but then suddenly, they haven’t bought for a few weeks or for a few months.

Then you can have a segment of customers who have just bought something and you have something similar or related they may like to buy it.

You can have a separate segment for email recipients who have opened your email messages in the past few months but have never bought anything from you.

There are geographic segments. There are behavioral segments. There are segments based on monthly income, professional qualification, or designation.

The more segmented your email sequences are, the higher will be their conversion.

What about personalization?

Of course, you begin your email with their name instead of “Hi there,” or “Hello friend,”.

Also, since you have segmented your campaign, it will be easier for you to write a personalized, customized message for them.

For higher conversion, build email sequences people sign up for

This way, they will be able to relate to your messages in a better way.

Suppose, I’m offering a small e-book on SEO copywriting and to be able to download the e-book, people need to submit an email ID.

On the form that accepts their email ID, I mention that I will send them some follow-up emails (email sequence) once they have downloaded the e-book.

When they start receiving my email messages, they should be about SEO copywriting.

Yes, they can also be about related SEO terms that are necessary to understand the concept of SEO copywriting, but the emails shouldn’t be about web design or email marketing or other forms of copywriting.

People who download the SEO copywriting e-book are specifically interested in SEO copywriting.

Therefore, all the emails in the email sequence must be around SEO copywriting.

Use a strong, convincing subject line

No matter how targeted your message is, unless people don’t open it, it is of no use, and most people open your message after reading your subject line.

The primary purpose of your subject line is to make people open your message.

Remember that an average inbox is flooded with multiple messages.

Your subject line must be convincing enough to warrant an opening.

Here are a few things you can do to write a convincing subject line:

Keep it short.
Convey urgency.
Get as specific as you can.
Ask an intriguing question.
Offer an irresistible solution.
Use power words.
Use numbers.
Come to the point.

Open with a compelling headline or the first sentence

It is essential for a high conversion email sequence that people read your entire message.

Just as the purpose of a subject line is to make people open your message, the purpose of your headline or the first sentence is to make people read the rest of the body.

Use your headline to deliver the most important aspect of your message.

Make a strong promise.

Make it so convincing that people cannot resist reading the rest of the message.

Since your email messages are a part of your high conversion email sequence, it is better if your headline can match the previous email opening lines.

Should you be formal or informal? Keep it formal if you are in doubt. Otherwise, match your style.

Present a recap

A quick recap will allow your readers to recall the context under which your present message has been prepared.

In email sequences, the current email is a progression from the previous email.

It means unless the person knows what the previous email contained, it will be difficult for them to understand what you’re trying to say in your current email unless you are sending modular and mutually exclusive messages (understanding your current message does not depend on knowing your previous message).

Focus on delivering maximum value with each message

When you are not sure how to make an impact and make your readers perform the CTA, your best bet is delivering maximum value.

When you deliver maximum value, even if you’re unable to sell something, you will make a positive impression on them, and they will form a favourable connection with your presence in their inbox.

Avoid being spammy

Sending spam messages doesn’t just put off your recipients, it also sends your messages directly to the spam folder because most of the email clients can recognize spam these days.

Even if you dodge the inbuilt spam protection, if your messages are mostly spammy and don’t deliver any value, your recipients will manually mark your messages as spam.

Don’t make false or outlandish promises. Don’t use click bait. Don’t use words and phrases just to make people open your email message without meaning to deliver something valuable.

Use testimonials to create high conversion email sequences

It is called social proofing. People tend to do what the others do.

Let them know how many people are using your product.

Let them know how many people have subscribed to your service or download your app.

Use testimonials from happy customers and clients.

Clearly define the problem you’re trying to solve with your email sequence

Your subject line, the email headline, or even the first sentence of your message, can be used to define the problem you’re going to solve.

It is very important that your recipient knows what is in store.

There should be no scope for confusion or mis-guidance.

For example, if you are offering something free in your email message, don’t trick people into making them buy something, or make a small payment.

A few weeks ago I purchased a winter curtain from an Amazon vendor.

After purchasing the curtain, I received an email telling me that when I receive the package, there will be a small coupon. If I click the coupon and then send the pic by WhatsApp on the given number, I will get a 5% cashback.

I clicked the pic and sent it by WhatsApp. The person on the other side responded (on WhatsApp) that to avail the 5% cashback, I need to leave a positive feedback and also a 5-star rating.

I was happy with the curtains and I would have gladly left a positive feedback and would have also given a 5-star rating, but since, I wasn’t informed of this lengthy process and I was just asked in the initial email to send a photo of the coupon, I got put off and decided not to leave the feedback.

Though, in the WhatsApp message, I shared my feelings with him. I told him that he could have simply asked me to leave a feedback if I liked the curtains.

Do A/B testing

There is no sure shot way of creating a high conversion email sequence.

Even if you are a master email marketer, every market and every audience is unique.

The first email sequence may not succeed. Even the second email sequence may not succeed. Multiple email sequences may not succeed.

You will need to do lots of A/B testing. What does it mean?

A/B testing is also called split testing.

Suppose, you’re sending an email message to 500 people. You create two email messages for the same campaign. You send one version, V1, to 250 people, and the other, V2, to the other 250 people.

A/B testing doesn’t always mean trying two variations. You can also try multiple variations, but two variations are quite popular among marketers.

After sending the two messages, make note of which version is more successful.

Suppose, V2 performs better than V1.

From V2, create two alternatives of the same message, V2.1 and V2.2.

Then again send these messages to two different groups and measure the results.

You can keep performing the A/B test like this till you are completely satisfied with the results.

What all do you need to build high conversion email sequences?

Tools that you need to create email sequences

You need a mailing list, first. If there are no qualified leads, whom are you going to send your emails to?

The best email list is the one you build yourself. It takes time, but it’s worth it.

There are many marketing companies that sell email lists and sometimes it’s better to purchase an email list than build your own, but in most of the cases, it is highly recommended that you build your own mailing list.

Here are a few things you need to take care of to build high conversion email sequences.

Email capturing form

Ideally, different email sequences should have different email capturing forms, but you can also have a universal form and then later you can segment your mailing list.

For example, if people subscribe to your newsletter there can be a series of introductory emails describing various aspects of your newsletter or some extra bits of information (links to free resources).

If people download your case study, there may be a different email capturing form for them.

Just make sure you let them know that you will be sending them a series of emails.

An email marketing service or software

You may decide to use your own software to send out emails or you can use some email service.

As mentioned above, some renowned email marketing services are MailChimp and Aweber.

Such email marketing services allow you to capture email ids from embedded forms through your website or blog, or even from your direct links that you can share on your social media profiles.

They maintain the database of email ids and names of people in your mailing list.

You can broadcast your messages in lump sum or through segmentation.

They provide you plenty of analytics data to measure the performance of your individual campaigns.

Good examples of email sequences

Email sequences can be of different types. The categorization is important because it allows you to target your recipients in a meaningful manner.

Here are a few email sequence examples you can use for your own business.

Lead nurturing email sequence example

You send out such an email sequence mostly to people who are not yet ready to buy from you or do business with you, but they have accessed some value offered by you.

Maybe they have downloaded an e-book. They have received a case study from you or a white paper. Maybe they have responded to one of your social media messages and given you their email ID to keep in touch. Or maybe they have subscribed to your trial service.

You want to keep communicating with them. You want to keep them engaged meaningfully.

Email sequence example for lead nurturing.

This is the first part of the email sequence that you receive from the sleep mattresses company when you subscribe to their newsletter.

It welcomes you. It tells you how many people are using their sleep mattresses. They also tell you the benefits of sleeping well.

They also give you a bulleted list of the benefits that you enjoy after subscribing to the email updates.

They conclude the email with a “Sleep Tip #1”.

“Sleep Tip #1” tells you that there are going to be more tips. It psychologically prepares you to receive further updates from the company.

They give a highly useful tip because caffeine certainly stops you from having a good night sleep.

Engagement email sequence example

You send out engagement email sequences to keep your prospective customers and clients positively engaged.

They may already be your customers and clients. They may have purchased from you. They may have reached out to you. Now you don’t want them to forget you. You want them to remain interested in your business.

Email sequence example for engagement.

Duolingo is a language learning platform. Many people abandon their pursuit of learning the language for which they signed up. This engagement email sequence reminds them that they haven’t visited the website or the mobile app for a long time.

The email makes you feel wanted. It reasserts that it’s a free language learning program. It also eases your mind by telling you that it takes merely five minutes to complete a lesson.

Follow-up email sequence example

A follow-up email sequence is an email that you send to someone you sent an email before, expecting a reply or response, but didn’t get one.

You can also send a follow-up email after talking to someone or reaching out on LinkedIn or another platform. Or if someone has availed

As the name suggests, a follow-up email sequence takes an ongoing conversation forward.

Email sequence example for a follow-up email

You must create an email sequence with a well thought out strategy. It is a long-term investment of time and money.

Your email sequence may work for many months or many years, and in most of the cases, on autopilot.

Therefore, it is important to carefully analyse the initial results and then tweak your email sequence so that it delivers the best possible results for your business.

10 tips on writing persuasively and how persuasive copywriting benefits your business

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10 persuasive copywriting tips

In copywriting, persuasive writing is used a lot.

Dr. Roberts Cialdini has written a complete book on the topic of persuasion: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion.

The book lists multiple principles you can use to influence and persuade people through copywriting. The main highlights of these principles are

The principle of reciprocation: If you do someone a favor, people tend to feel obligated to return the favor.
The principle of commitment and consistency: If they have previously agreed to do something you have asked them to do, they are more likely to say yes to your next request.
The principle of social proof: People feel reassured when they see the others using your product or service or talking about its benefits and features in a positive sense.
The principle of liking: Your target audience is more likely to respond positively to your message if they like you.
The principle of authority: People are more likely to pay attention to an expert or a person who has an authority over a topic.
The principle of scarcity: If you create a sense of scarcity (genuine) people are more likely to buy from you out – they feel as if the item is in short supply and hence, they will be deprived of it if they don’t act fast.
The principle of unity: This is groupthink. If the community indulges in an activity (buying from you) they are more likely to buy from you.
The principal of contrast: If you make an offer that is expensive and after that if you make an offer that costs less, people are more likely to opt for the latter.

These principles can be incorporated into persuasive copywriting.

How does persuasive copywriting work?

How persuasive copywriting works

When you persuade people, you influence their decision.

You convince them into taking an action that otherwise they were not taking voluntarily.

You change their mind.

How do you change people’s minds?

You talk to them, or you write to them persuasively.

You present indisputable facts.

You create mental images in their minds?

You use the right, provocative words that unleash psychological triggers.

You write in a manner that it becomes almost impossible for them to say no to you.

Persuasive writing is important in copywriting.

Whether you are writing copy for an email campaign, for a landing page, or simply for individual web pages of a website, you need to convince people into taking an action.

How does persuasive writing benefit you when copywriting?

Benefits of persuasive copywriting

Many writers intermix content writing and copywriting when they talk of writing for the web or for digital marketing.

After all, whenever you are writing, you’re convincing people.

Even if you write a case study, the ultimate goal is to sell your expertise, or the core benefits of working with you.

When you are writing a blog post, you are presenting an idea.

For business blogging specially, the moot point of publishing your blog post is to educate people, to deliver value, and then ultimately, convince them to do business with you, directly or indirectly.

Your copywriting is meant to convince people.

If you don’t sound convincing, if you cannot persuade, you are not helping your cause.

You persuade more with your copywriting, you make more sales. You increase sales and revenue.

You can effectively communicate the benefits of your product or service.

You can increase your brand awareness and recognition.

Through persuasive copywriting, you can drive more traffic to your website and generate better-converting leads.

Persuasive copywriting can help you differentiate yourself from your competitors.

You can make an emotional connection with your target audience and build brand loyalty.

10 persuasive copywriting tips

The right approach to persuasive copywriting

“The best copy doesn’t just move people to take action, it moves them to believe.” – Joe Sugarman.

Copywriting is about creating a connection with your audience. It leads them towards a desired action.

You use a mix of language and storytelling to create an emotional connection with your audience.

Persuasive copywriting is about understanding human psychology and effectively communicating with your target audience.

You need to understand what makes people tick and then write something that motivates them to act.

You must write a message that resonates with them.

Listed below are 10 tips that can help you write persuasively.

1. Use a clear and compelling headline

8 out of 10 people just read your headline.

Use strong, action-oriented words to grab your reader’s attention.

Make sure that your headline clearly communicates your central message.

Paint a positive picture but be realistic.

Example:

“Lose 5 pounds in two weeks with our one-of-a-kind diet plan”.

2. Know your target audience

What are the main pain points of your target audience?

What motivates them to take an action?

What type of language do they use when they talk about the product or service you are promoting?

For persuasive copywriting, you must tailor your message and language that appeals to your specific audience.

The narrower you go, the better will be the impact of your writing.

3. Storytelling is more persuasive

There is always a protagonist in a story. People can relate to the protagonist. When telling a story, use real-time examples and testimonials to explain the benefits of your product or service.

Example:

“For 3 years I had been trying to improve my search engine rankings, but nothing worked. I hired multiple SEO companies. Some of them actually improved my rankings, but then my rankings dropped in a few weeks, and I was back to the square one. Then I hired Amrit’s SEO copywriting services. It was six months ago. For all my major keywords, I have been on Google’s first page for the past two months.”

4. Use social proof

Using social proof can be a great persuasion tactic.

You are not just making big claims.

You’re actually citing people who have used your product or service and have benefited from it.

You can take quotes from social networking websites such as Twitter or LinkedIn where people have shared their positive opinion on your product or service.

You can use their testimonials.

Example:

“I was able to publish my business book with Amrit’s copy-editing services. He rewrote the entire book in a highly professional and authoritative manner. Before he wrote, although my book had all the needed information, it seemed quite immature. The icing on the cake was, he had committed to complete the revision in five weeks, but he delivered the revised book in less than four weeks.”

5. Use power words

You can use different power words in persuasive copywriting to instigate different emotions.

For example, you can evoke the greed feeling by making a “Free” offer.

You can elicit a feeling of scarcity by making a “Limited offer”, or making your offer available for a “Limited time”.

You can make people feel “Exclusive”.

When targeting people who don’t want to make much effort, you can make things “Easy” for them.

Example:

“Limited time offer: Save 50% on your new subscription”.

“Get exclusive access to our highly coveted membership program”.

6. Use scarcity and urgency

This can also be derived from the above point – using power words.

Emotions of scarcity and urgency are abundantly used in persuasive copywriting.

It makes people act with speed.

You can make a limited time offer. You can tell them that you’re almost sold out.

Example:

“Last chance: Only 5 seats remaining.”

“Act now: Offer ends soon.”

“This exclusive deal ends today.”

7. Make it easy to take action

Your call to action must be simple and straightforward.

Don’t make them take multiple steps to be able to do your bidding.

For example, if you’re sending a cold email to someone, don’t lead the person to a complicated contact form.

Just use something like “Reply now” or “Download our app” or even “Start saving money now”.

Avoid using vague CTA such as “Contact us” or “Learn more”.

8. Optimize for mobile

It is estimated that around 50-60% of Internet traffic comes from mobile phones.

70-80% people check their emails on their mobile phones.

When writing your copy, make sure that it is easily readable on mobile phones.

Use short sentences. Use shorter paragraphs. Use simple words. Use active voice.

Having said that, it is the younger audience that mostly accesses content on their mobile phones.

If you are targeting older demographics, it is better to write your content that looks good on PCs and laptops.

9. Use numbers and statistics

Instead of making vague claims, use numbers.

Don’t say “Many people have signed up for my newsletter”. Instead, say, “5750 people have signed up for my newsletter so far.”

Instead of saying “A majority of web designers use our app,” say “80% web designers use our app.”

10. Revise and test

Persuasive copywriting is not an exact science.

Sure, you can follow some frameworks. You can use certain words. You can use psychological triggers. You can incorporate behavioral dynamics.

But every audience is unique.

What works and what doesn’t work for your particular target, you will need to find it yourself.

Try different headlines. Try different CTAs. Use different words. Keep tweaking until you feel that you have maximised your results.

Persuasive copywriting is a powerful tool. It can help your business increase your bottom line.

It prompts them to take the right action.

You want to influence your target audience? You need persuasive copywriting.

What makes persuasive copywriting?

It is well written. Facts are presented convincingly. It is succinct so it can be read faster and easily. It is relevant to the readers. It focuses more on benefits and less on features. It is specific.