Creating Email Marketing Copy that Converts
You took the time to craft that email, let’s get it opened.
Know Your Audience
Rule #1 for all things marketing is Know Your Audience. Yeah, it is a bit of work upfront, but it will end up saving you all kinds of time and effort in the long-run.
Remember your first Christmas as a teenager and your great aunt Betty gave you a toy to go with that set you had when you were six? And, you sat next to the Christmas tree with a really fake smile on your face wondering how she couldn’t wrap her mind around the fact that you had turned 13 a few months prior. Don’t be like Betty.
Know who you are writing emails for and write in a way that is relevant to them. Research demographics, industry, participation rates, etc. Find out who your audience is.
If you are still trying to figure out your target audience, look into creating a buyer persona. That is the best place to start!
Creating Email Marketing Copy that Converts
Craft a Subject Line
Your subject line, or headline, is your lifeline when it comes to crafting emails. If Rodger on the other end thinks that your subject line is spammy, or he isn’t interested, he’s not going to open your email or may unsubscribe from them altogether. Don’t encourage Rodger to unsubscribe.
We have a blog post with our guide to writing clickable headlines.
Optinmonster has a great list of compelling headlines for a little inspiration.
Don’t Forget Your Preview Text
Come for the subject line, stay for the preview text. Does that makes sense? Here’s the deal. Your subject line has to be the eye candy that gets your audience thinking they may possibly be interested in a little more information. That preview line is the “more information” that is going to encourage people to click.
Now, you have about 35-140 characters (depending on the email account and length of subject line) to get your point made. So, choice your introduction wisely.
Be Personal
There are a couple of things that you can do to make sure that your emails come across as being personally created for your recipient.
- Include the recipient’s name
- Sign the email with your first name
- Send the email from a personal account, not a company account
- Write the email in second person
Keep It Simple Stupid
Like web content, email content has to be written a little more directly than other kinds of writing. Email copy should get straight to the point with the most important details heading the entire email.
Use short paragraphs and a focused subject to help recipients skim through your email without too much trouble. Include relevant keywords to grab their attention and to showcase the main points of the email.
Conclude your email with one strong Call To Action.
Fulfill Your Promises
If you advertise a deal in your subject line, be sure that that deal is easy to find in your email copy and that it isn’t at all misleading. Building trust is an important part of marketing and emails can make or break trust. More on that below…
Write Professionally
Being a credible, competent writer is a great way to sustain trust with your audience. To keep on the path of building trust, here are a few tips for having clean, professional emails.
- Proofread for mechanical and grammatical errors
- Avoid exclamation marks unless your news is seriously that exciting
- Avoid colored fonts
- NEVER WRITE IN ALL CAPS — IT SEEMS ANGRY
- Bold sparingly
- Include no more than one link per email
Good luck with your email marketing campaign. Reach out to us if you have questions.