Write Better Emails
My wife and I are polar opposites when it comes to email. When I see my wife’s email inbox I have to look away. It looks like she may have not opened an email since she opened the account. My inbox on the other hand is never neglected and always organized. She’s still getting emails from stores she hasn’t shopped at in years. I unsubscribe as soon as I stop caring about a brand.
One thing that we have in common, basic email principles still work on us. Well written, well executed emails catch our attention and get our response. Here are some ‘back to basics’ principles of email marketing:
Writing copy for an email is made up of three components:
- Subject lines. Convince the reader to open your email.
- Headlines in the body. Convince the reader to click through to your site.
- Excerpts / Body copy. Convince reader to dig deeper or accept the CTA.
Email is about open rates, conversions, and driving traffic. You are competing for attention in that most sacred place: the email inbox.
The first sentence matters. It would be easy to ignore that tiny copy at the top of the email, but that is important copy! The first sentence of an email shows up in the inbox of some email programs, and that is going to either help convince the reader to open the email or delete it. Treat the first sentence of your email as a secondary headline.
Consider the email length. Short copy, in an email, is powerful. If you aren’t emailing an entire blog post or article, 200-300 words is ideal in an email.
(via wheniwork)