Tag Archives: email marketing copywriting

How to run a successful email marketing campaign with effective copywriting

What makes your email marketing successful and how does copywriting contribute?

Email marketing is not about sending emails to a group of subscribers or email ids though, it is a big part.

Successful email marketing is about active engagement.

Here are some attributes that enable you to call your email marketing successful:

A greater number of people open your email messages.
A greater number of people read your messages.
A greater number of people respond by either replying or clicking the call-to-action button or link.

All these three points are very important to make your email marketing successful.

If people are just opening your message and do nothing else, you aren’t achieving much.

Recently a client told me, with a touch of pride, that his open rate is 22%.

Marvelous, I said. Then how do you want me to contribute?

I’m not getting any business, he replied with a subdued tone.

Unless people open your messages, read them, get affected positively and then contact you to do business with you click the link to buy from you, you cannot call your email marketing successful.

Everything needs to work in tandem.

The success of your email marketing depends on the following factors:

The quality and growth of your email list.
The trust factor enjoyed by your email marketing service provider (so that your emails are not redirected to the spam folder).
Your reputation – are people familiar with you? Do they know what you represent and why you are sending them emails? Do they trust you?
Your subject line – no matter how familiar they are with your name or brand, unless the subject line compels them to open your message, they are not going to open it.
The main headline – this is going to be the biggest work. Only if the headline captivates them, they’re going to read the rest of the message.
The convincing copy that keeps them engaged, excited and leads them to a culmination.
The most appropriate call-to-action.

Effective copywriting for email marketing

My clients often hire me for my content writing services but when I’m writing marketing emails, I provide them my copywriting services.

You may like to read this: Difference between copywriting and content writing.

Copywriting informs, educates, influences and sells.

Content writing informs and educates.

Marketing means selling.

When you’re sending out emails wanting people to buy from you or do business with you, you’re selling an idea.

They have a problem, you offer a solution.

For example, if I send you an email marketing campaign with the subject line “Better conversion rate for your email marketing with my copywriting services” I am assuming that you are worried about your conversion rate.

Problems may include…

Not many people are opening your messages.

Even if they open your messages, they don’t respond to them.

Even if they contact you, there is some communication gap and they don’t become your paying customers and clients.

The gist is, you’re looking for a solution that can help you improve your email marketing conversion rate and I’m offering you the solution.

Frankly, without effective copywriting, there is no email marketing.

The communication dynamics are different in email marketing.

You need to be bang on the main message of the email.

People don’t want to read long messages unless they are reading some scholarly discourse on a highly technical B2B product.

They have a problem.

You offer a solution.

You offer an irresistible proposition.

You convince them, without making them feel vulnerable or defensive, what a great loss it is going to be not doing business with you.

For such a message, you need copywriting.

You need a copywriter who can write convincingly and persuasively.

The copywriting in your email marketing campaign must be able to directly talk to the recipients with zero distraction.

Remember that most of your recipients will be reading your message on their mobile devices.

They may be in a highly distracted state.

They may be travelling.

They may be in a meeting.

They may be standing in a queue.

They may be sitting on the toilet seat struggling with constipation.

Amidst all this, your copywriting must ensure that the message gets across.

Some tips for effective copywriting for successful email marketing campaigns

Here are some tips to follow when writing copy for your email marketing campaigns.

There are no hard-and-fast rules because every audience is unique, but you can apply the general template that works pretty much for every audience.

Then you can make small tweaks here and there for better conversion rate.

Another thing you must keep in mind is that there is no magic wand.

You will have to experiment.

You will need to gather data and allow your email marketing service (MailChimp, for example) to analyze your campaigns for at least a month to give you some usable insights.

Anyway, there are some things you can do for effective copywriting for successful email marketing campaigns…

Create a killer subject line

As mentioned above, your subject line is very important.

As a copywriter, coming up with the most compelling subject line is one of your greatest challenges.

If the subject line is not great people don’t open your email message and if they don’t open your email message, no matter how great your email message is, everything will go down the drain.

Hence, spend a lot of time coming up with the most appropriate subject line.

It doesn’t have to be out of this world.

There is no need to say something earthshattering.

You don’t need to shout “Earthquake!!” just to get their attention.

Just mention something that will make them open your message in a relevant frame of mind.

Offer something they need, in a clear language.

Make better use of the preview text

These days, many email clients such as Gmail show a small preview text in the inbox even when you haven’t opened your message.

This is another opportunity for you as a copywriter to convince people into opening your message.

Write for easier reading

More than 100 characters in a sentence including spaces?

More than a sentence in a paragraph?

You have already lost most of your audience.

Write very short sentences so that they are easier to read and comprehend on a mobile device, probably while the hand is shaking.

Represent one idea through one sentence.

Use simple sentences, avoid compound sentences.

As far as possible, make sure that your message is not more than 200 words.

Lay everything down for them as clearly as possible.

Never use words and expressions that can be confused or mixed with other words and expressions.

Preferably, write in the first person

It also means that you must know the name of the person to whom you are sending your email messages, but that’s a different issue.

Email messages written in the first person elicit better response compared to email messages that read like as if they have been written to a group.

Again, this is not a hard-and-fast rule – it depends on your audience.

Your copywriting style must reek of enthusiasm

If you don’t sound enthusiastic, how can you excite your audience into taking an action that requires them to go to the trouble of entering their credit card details and buying your product or service?

But make sure that your enthusiasm is not fake.

Remember you’re offering them a solution to their problem.

You are feeling good about the fact that after buying your product or service, their lives are going to be easier or enriched.

Feel good about providing them that solution.

When you feel good while writing the copy, it will show through your writing style and then it will get conveyed to your audience.

Don’t refrain from using persuasive language or power words

Of course, don’t overdo.

Remember you are not writing a Shakespearean play.

Your protagonist is not going to be stabbed by his own supporters.

On the other hand, unless you tell them to do something, how do you expect them to do it?

Hence, tell them that it is a bargain.

Let it be known to them that it is a never seen before offer.

It may even be a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Can my copywriting quadruple your email marketing conversion rate? Heck, why not?

Is it a limited offer available to just the first twenty responders?

Cater to their greed.

Invoke their insecurities.

Just make sure that you don’t trigger a “flight, freeze or fight” response with too much aggression or assumption.

Most importantly, don’t lie.

Always mean what you say.

Write email copy with a specific goal

Don’t have multiple objectives for a single email marketing campaign copy.

Focus on one thing.

Let the objective be just one.

If you have multiple objectives this will stop you from effective copywriting and you will also end up confusing your readers.

So, if you want people to download your white paper after reading your email campaign, just talk about the benefits of downloading the white paper.

If you want them to download and install your mobile app, just focus on that.

Avoid messages like “Although I’m asking you to download my e-book, now that you are reading this message, here are the services that I offer…”

They will neither download your e-book nor contact you for your services.

In conclusion, I have observed that the best copywriting for successful email marketing campaigns comes from the heart.

Mean what you say.

Come to the point as fast as possible.

Give your email is enough time to evolve.

15 ultimate content writing hacks for successful email marketing

Are people still using email marketing?

Yes they are. There is a reason for that.

3.8 billion people actively use email daily. Compared to this, Facebook has 1.5 million daily users. Everyone from the age of 15 to 64 uses email daily. 73% of millennials prefer email communication from businesses.

The best part is, 99% consumers check their emails every day. People are twice as likely to sign up for your email newsletter as liking your Facebook page.

Hence, you may feel that most of the people are moving towards social media and instant messaging, but when it comes to doing some serious work or getting business offers, email still rules the roost.

How you write content for your email marketing campaigns has a big impact on your success rate. You may have come across the content writing hacks for successful email marketing at many places, already, but just in case you haven’t, you can considerably improve the success rate of your email marketing by implementing at least a few of these content writing hacks.

1. Have a convincing subject line

Writer a convincing subject line

The importance of the subject line can never be stressed enough. It is your subject line that prompts people to open your email.

What subject line should you have? It depends on people’s familiarity level with you. They are not familiar with you, or if they don’t come across your name in their inbox quite often, the subject line needs to be very specific.

Anyway, whether people are familiar with you or not, keep in mind the following:

Keep the character count around 50 because there isn’t enough space for very long subject lines.
Keep your subject line simple and straightforward. No ambiguity.
Don’t make false promises. People these days can make out false promises easily.
Be experimental. No harm in using humor as long as it doesn’t confuse or mislead.
Shock and awe. Again, the purpose of your subject line is to make people open your message, but at the same time, never mislead them into opening something that doesn’t deliver on the promise made in the subject line.
Subject lines with a sense of urgency, curiosity, timely relevance and recognition are more prone to be opened.
Personalize. Although personalization is more effective if people are familiar with you or your brand, given a choice between being personal and not being personal, always be personal. By the way, don’t take “being personal” in the wrong way.

Remember that the biggest challenge that your email message faces is people not opening it. Half the battle is won if your subject line manages to make people open your email.

2. Just focus on one, single person

Focus on a single person when writing content for your email marketing campaign

Frankly, I apply this advice even when I’m writing webpages and blog posts. Don’t write as if you are writing to a big group of people. Write to a single individual.

For example, if you think your email is going to a person named Frank, then address the problems that Frank faces. Talk to him. He must feel that you are just writing to him and no one else.

As a writer, I know that when you write thinking that you are writing to a single person, the person reading the email can actually feel it.

3. Always provide something useful

Provide something useful in your email marketing campaign

Remember that the person opening your email message is using his or her precious time in doing so. Don’t waste his or her time. Always send an email marketing campaign when you have something useful to offer.

What can that offered be? Depends on your business. If you sell something, you can offer a discount. If you are introducing a new feature, you can send it as an update so that people who can really benefit from the feature can upgrade.

If the person has already bought from you, you can offer him or her a discount as a privileged segment of your customer base.

In the times of Covid-19, you can send tips to your customers about how they can do business with you without exposing themselves to the virus.

4. Talk about their interest

Talk about what interests them when you are writing

Nobody is bothered about growing your business just for the heck of it. Even people running charity organizations won’t pay attention to your email marketing campaigns unless you talk about their interest.

Always write your email messages from their point of view. Convey to them that you empathize with the problems and troubles you are having. Be their advocate through your writing.

5. Use powerful words

Use powerful words when writing

What are powerful words? First of all, they shouldn’t be deceptive. They should invoke a strong emotion. Some of the powerful words that you can use are

Free
Urgent
Limited
Breaking News
Dazzling
Stunning
Guaranteed
Powerful
Amazing
Easy
Strong
Exclusive
Lifetime
Unlimited
Affordable
Valuable
Discounted
New

Frankly, the list can go on and on. What sort of powerful words you use depends on the context and what sort of emotion you’re trying to convey. Again, just make sure that you really mean those words.

For example, if you are offering something stunning, then you should actually believe that you are offering something stunning. If you believe that something is easy to use, then it must be easy to use. If something is affordable, make sure that it is affordable to your target audience. If you are offering a discount, make sure that there isn’t a catch.

6. Use the “preview text” optimally

Writing email preview text.

In the above graphic, the text that is not hidden is email preview.

These days most of the email clients display you the preview text. If you have maximized your browser window, provided that you have used a small subject line, the remaining row is filled with the preview text. It gives your recipient a preview of your message. If you use the preview text convincingly, it can increase the chances of your recipients opening your message.

7. Write for the audience who reads on the mobile phone

Write for audience who reads on mobile.

I keep this in mind even when I’m writing blog posts. There is a great chance that the person on the other side is reading your content on a mobile device. The same is going to be the case with your email marketing messages.

How do you write for mobile readers?

Write shorter sentences. Don’t use big paragraphs. Use bullet points to organize different ideas. Use headlines and subheadings judiciously. Stay to the point. Make sure that you don’t use extra sentences because anything can distract them. Keep them as much focused as possible.

Although, personalization can make your email messages effective, make sure that you don’t get too conversational. This can also distract people.

8. Use segmentation features of your email marketing service

Email segmentation when writing content.

MailChimp has it. Others must also have this feature. Segmentation allows you to customize your messages and this in turn improves your conversion rate.

What does segmentation mean?

Suppose you have 5000 subscribers in your mailing list. The first message that you send out goes to all these 5000 subscribers (if you are not using A/B testing for the time being).

Then, for the next email marketing campaign, create different segments such as

Those who didn’t open your message.
Those who opened your message.
Those who opened and clicked your link.
Those who bought from you.

… And so on.

This way you will be targeting people according to the way they have reacted to your previous campaign.

Why send the same message to all when you can increase your conversion rate by writing content based on how they react to your previous message?

9. Ask them to act when writing content

Tell them what you want them to do in the email.

This actually works. If you ask people to do something, many do it. For example, if you want people to buy something from you, ask them to buy it from you. This is hard to believe, but it really works.

It’s called call-to-action, CTA. Every email message must have a call-to-action.

Sometimes, you want to inform people of the good offer that you have but you don’t tell them to buy. You either tell them to get in touch with you or you ask them to click a link for more information. This is often not very convincing.

When you ask people to buy this renders a sense of authority and confidence. You have provided the information, and now you’re asking people to buy your product or service.

10. Use a convincing headline

Use a convincing headline.

After your subject line, the most important component of your email message is your headline: the first highlighted line of text that appears in your email message.

The sole purpose of your headline is to make people read your email message.

Write it very strategically. Again, don’t mislead people. Don’t promise something you cannot deliver. You can be creative. You can be humorous. You can even be cynical.

Just make sure that your headline makes people read your remaining message. Your headline is so powerful that sometimes people immediately leave your message, without reading it, simply because they are put off by your headline.

11. Maintain a consistent flow in the body text

Maintain a consistent flow in the body text of your email

The crux of your entire email campaign rests in the body text.

As mentioned above, keep your sentences short and to the point. Write as if you’re talking to a single person. Show concerns for his or her requirements and worries. Offer solutions succinctly. Since most of the people will be accessing your message from their mobile phones, keep it short and simple.

Should you use HTML messages or text messages? Depends on your audience. Here we are simply talking about content writing for your email marketing campaigns. Be personal without being creepy.

Follow the simple copywriting rule: the purpose of your current sentence is to make the reader read the next sentence, and so is the purpose of the next sentence.

12. Have a singular goal when writing content for your email marketing campaign

Focus on a single goal when writing copy for your email campaign.

This is something I have observed with many clients. They want to pack multiple business offers in a single email message. They want to save money. Separate messages mean they will have to pay for them separately.

Just like your landing page, your email message too must be focused. You can offer multiple products if they fall under the same category (accessories, for example, or earplugs). But too many products or too many offers will end up confusing people and even if initially they wanted to buy something, they will end up buying nothing.

13. Avoid industry jargon if possible

Avoid using industry jargon when writing emails.

I’m not particularly against using jargon. Every industry has its own set of words and people like to use them, sometimes even without understanding them.

Use jargon when it solves purpose. I have seen many people using terms like “leveraging, metrics, synergy, cutting-edge, derivatives, acquisition” and so on. Being someone who constantly uses words, I’m not put off by these words, but many people are.

Personally, I follow this rule of thumb: use jargon if you really feel that you should be using it. If you are using it just to sound smart and intimidate the reader, don’t use it – it is counter-productive.

14. More of “you” and less of “we” and “I”

Focus more on the recipients and less on yourself.

This is such an important point that despite having discussed it above, I’m discussing it in another manner. Use lots of “you” in your writing.

Use expressions like “you are going to gain this”, “you are never going to regret buying this” or “this is something you have been looking for, for quite some time”.

A person opens your email message because he or she is expecting to receive something.

This expectation can be some sort of gratification, an emotion (something funny or mysterious), some great offer in the form of a discount, or the latest news that is very important to him or her.

The complete purpose of your message must be representing the interest of the recipient.

15. Condense everything in the conclusion

Sum up everything in the conclusion.

The concluding part of your email message is as important as the beginning, if not more. In fact, after reading the conclusion, the person must be left with a strong desire to click your link and buy from you.

In the concluding part, you can sum up everything. You can invoke a sense of urgency. You can get creative and paint a gloomy picture if a person fails to carry out the call-to-action. Short of misleading someone, you can use all your persuasive power in the concluding part.

Conclusion

In the end, it is all about trial and error. Even seasoned content writers and copywriters perform A/B testing. For example, no matter how great a subject line is, it may not work with certain audience. No matter how awesome the headline is, it may fail to inspire certain readers.

No matter how big or small your mailing list is, you can perform A/B testing. Even if you have got 50 subscribers, you can send one message to 25 subscribers and an alternative to the other 25 subscribers. Then you observe the response and make tweaks in your writing accordingly.