The only thing worse than a bad date is for your email to end up in the spam folder. But what’s worse? Sending an email that looks like spam but still ends up in the inbox — and then gets ignored by the recipient. You see, just about every company today has an email newsletter, so it’s easy for your emails to get lost in the crowd.
How do you make sure yours stand out from their inbox noise? We’ve compiled a list of 15 tips on writing winning email copy, to help you improve conversions and drive more sales through this exciting channel.
Subject lines
You’re a busy person. You don’t have time to read all the emails you get. So, when you open your inbox and see a new message, what are the first things that catch your attention? The subject line.
It’s one of the most important parts of your email marketing strategy. You need to make sure it’s both relevant and compelling enough to get recipients’ attention immediately.
- Keep it short: The best subject line length is between 3 and 5 words long (so no more than 20 characters). This will make sure people can scan through their inbox and pick out important messages quickly instead of having to scroll through all their emails looking for something interesting or useful from someone they follow or know personally!
- Be specific: If possible try avoiding vague titles like “Hello there!” whenever possible instead try something more personal like “I hope we’re friends now!” because trust me those people who don’t know me very well won’t realize how much I mean by this statement since we haven’t talked much before but those who do understand me better will write back saying things like “Sounds good” which isn’t exactly a response but still shows that they got my point so then I’ll reply again saying something like “Coolio :P” which means “Great job man,” which means congratulations on understanding my joke 🙂
- Use numbers: people love numbers! They’re easy to read and easy to remember, so try using them in your subject lines. You can even use them creatively by making them into a pun or rhyme!
- Use an emoji: emojis are fun and playful, which makes them a great way to grab people’s attention. Try using one at the beginning or end of your title for an extra bit of fun!
- Make it relevant: don’t waste your potential reader’s time by including a title that doesn’t relate to the content of your email.
Write the subject line last
The subject line is the first thing people see in an email, so it’s also the most important part of your message. The only way to know what works best is by testing different versions of your subject line. You can do this by sending out an email to yourself or a small group (10-20 people) and then tracking which version gets more clicks and opens.
You have to test because everyone reads emails differently—and there are no hard and fast rules here, just trends that will help increase response rates over time.
Use urgency
You’ve got to use urgency. Urgency is an incredible tool for getting people to act, so if you don’t use it in your email copy, you’re missing out on a huge opportunity.
Urgency is a great way of showing people how important it is for them to take action now, as opposed to later. It’s also a great way of making people feel like they’re missing out on something if they don’t take action right away, which is a powerful motivator.
For example: “If you want to [fill in the blank], this sale ends at midnight tonight!”
One of the most effective ways to capture attention and get people to take action is urgency. Urgency can be communicated through words like “today”, “this weekend”, “this week” or even just an asterisk to indicate that an offer is limited time. You can also use words like “limited time”, “offer ends” and “offer expires”.
Appeal to curiosity
- Appeal to Curiosity.
- Use a question in your email copy (which we all know converts better than statements).
- Use a surprising or unexpected statement in your email copy (for example, “You will be shocked by what I am about to share with you”).
- Use a statement that is controversial in your email copy (“The reason why [XYZ] is so much better than [ABC]”).
- Explain why it’s controversial and then explain why it’s not.
Be specific
In this email marketing world, we’re all trying to get our messages across in a way that’s clear and concise. After all, nobody’s got time to read a novel in their inbox… even if you are sending them some incredible deals.
So how do you keep it short and sweet? By being specific!
Specifically, what do I mean? Well, when you’re writing an email, try to get straight to the point. Avoid rambling on about the weather or the latest news headlines—that’s not what people want to hear from you! Instead, use your words wisely. Be specific about what you’re offering and why it’s so great. Your customers will appreciate it—and so will their inboxes!
Relevant Email copy
Your email copy should be written in a way that is relevant to both the customer and their needs as well as their interests. This will help create an even greater connection with them, allowing them to feel like they are talking directly with someone who understands them instead of just another sales pitch or advertisement being pushed at them.
Write like a person
If you want to sound like a person, do not use the words “you”, “we”, and “our.” These words are impersonal and come off as stilted. Instead, use your first name, or the word “I”. This will help establish an emotional connection with your reader by making it seem like you’re talking directly to them.
You can also try using phrases like:
- My name is Jane Smith and I love kittens.
- Hi! I’m Dave from WeLoveCatsAndKittens dot com (but don’t think too much about that last part).
- Hey there! I’m Dave and I work for WeLoveCatsAndKittens dot com (and yes, we do love cats AND kittens).
- Hello my fellow cat lovers! My name is Jane Smith from WeLoveCatsAndKittens dot com (so go ahead and check us out at www dot WLCAKDOTcom).
Use first names in the greeting and throughout the email
Let’s take a look at an example of the greeting method in action:
- “Hey Jane,” is your new go-to opener.
What are you saying? You’re saying that you know Jane’s name and that she matters enough to be addressed by her first name. This creates a more personal connection between the sender and receiver of the email, which can increase trust and conversion rates.
Why does it work? Because people love being referred to by their first names! It makes them feel special, like they’re part of some exclusive club where only those who have earned their place are invited—and now you’ve invited Jane into it too! By using this approach when composing emails for your prospects or customers (or anyone else), it will help give them a feeling of importance about themselves as well as their business relationship with your company.
Avoid brand jargon and corporate language
You know the words. They’re everywhere: “synergy,” “paradigm shift,” and “redefine.” This type of jargon is used by corporate types to make themselves sound important and smart, but it’s actually just confusing and off-putting to the average person. And if there’s one thing that can kill a piece of writing, it’s confusion or annoyance.
So avoid acronyms like the plague—even if you’re using them to describe your product or service! If readers don’t understand what you mean, they won’t convert on your email copy. And buzzwords are also a no-no; after all, even if someone does understand what you mean by “synergy” (and chances are they don’t), there’s nothing more irritating than reading something that sounds like an adult version of baby talk—or worse yet: corporate speak!
The bottom line? When it comes down to it, the only time I’ll consider using buzzwords in my emails is when I’m writing for someone with whom I’m familiar (i.e., my mom). Otherwise, leave these words behind and keep things simple—you’ll generate more interest from potential customers by being straightforward rather than sounding like a used car salesman
Have a clear objective for each email you send
It’s easy to get caught up in the excitement of sending a fresh new email out into the world. But before you do that, make sure you have a clear objective for each one.
It can be tempting to let your imagination run wild and try to think of as many reasons why someone might want to open your emails as possible—but this is not going to help your bottom line. You need a specific target audience and a well-defined goal for each campaign so you know whether or not it was successful.
Here’s an example: “We are sending this email because we want more people on board with our company culture by inspiring them with inspirational quotes from famous entrepreneurs like Elon Musk or Mark Cuban.” This is clear, but vague enough that there isn’t any way for anyone (even yourself) to measure its success against it.
Don’t bury the lead in your email copy.
If you’re reading this in an email, chances are good that you’ve already scrolled down the page. That’s because most people do. They scroll and scroll until they find something interesting to read or click on.
As a copywriter, it’s important to remember that your prospects are likely doing the same thing in their inboxes as they open their emails – quickly scanning for what’s most important. This means writing emails where all of the most important information is at the top of each message so that your prospects don’t have to scroll through anything unnecessary before getting to what matters most: an offer, a call-to-action or another engaging element that makes them want to stay engaged with your content and continue reading more.
Make your offer stand out by using bold text and/or colors.
If you want to make your offer stand out, use bold text and/or colors.
Bold text is more likely to be read than regular text. The same thing goes for colored text—it catches people’s eyes and keeps them reading. According to the psychological principle of contrast theory, a change in color will automatically attract attention because it’s different from what we’re used to seeing on websites or in other parts of an email campaign.
Bolding also makes headlines more memorable when tested against standard typography in an eye-tracking study by researchers at the University of California San Diego. In addition, there are studies showing that people who receive marketing emails with headlines written in all capital letters are more likely to click on the headline (and thus view it) than those who receive emails with headlines written with lowercase letters only.”
Make sure your call-to-action button is prominent and easily clickable on mobile devices.
If you want to improve your email marketing, you’re going to have to get serious about call-to-action buttons.
That’s because the call-to-action button is the most important part of any email—and if you don’t pay attention to it, you risk losing sales and subscribers.
The first thing you should do is make sure that your call-to-action button stands out from the rest of your text. If a reader can’t find it quickly and easily, they’ll likely just click away without buying anything or taking action on whatever else they’ve seen in your email (which means no more sales).
Second: make sure it’s easy for mobile users as well as desktop users. If someone tries clicking on something but can’t do so because their screen isn’t big enough or because they’re holding their phone sideways instead of vertically, then there goes another potential sale down the drain!
Make sure your offer is an irresistible one. Offer something extra, such as a bonus item or free shipping, to increase conversions.
You can encourage your customers to buy by offering something extra. For example, if you are selling a magazine subscription, you could offer a bonus issue or free shipping as an incentive.
The idea is to make your offer stand out from the crowd and make it irresistible. The best way to do this is by putting yourself into your customer’s shoes: what would make you want to click that button? A great way of doing this is by using scarcity or urgency in your marketing copy, telling people that something will only be available for so long (such as “Only until Friday!”), making them feel like they have missed out if they don’t act now.
If you’re including a price in your email, display it as a number
If you’re including a price in your email, display it as a number.
This tip is simple, but effective. We found that displaying prices as words makes them less effective than if they were displayed as numbers. It’s easier to compare prices when they’re written out as numbers because it takes fewer mental steps to understand the value of something (especially when you have discounts or different options for purchasing). This means that if you want your customer to glance at your email and immediately understand what each product costs, then use full-dollar figures instead of descriptive words like “cheap” or “expensive.” If there is any kind of discount available, show both the original and discounted price so that customers can see the difference between buying now and waiting until later (or never). If there are multiple tiers of pricing available for varying quantities of products purchased at one time—like bulk discounts—display those different options too!
Conclusion
We hope these email copywriting tips have you making friends with a higher open rate and more sales. With so much competition for your readers’ attention, it pays to know how to write emails that get opened, read, and clicked on. Keep in mind, writing great email copy isn’t just about crafting beautiful sentences; it’s about knowing what your audience wants—and using every tool at your disposal to reach them.
# Now you are ready to write!
