Copywriting Your Email Campaign

Designing Great Emails; The Essentials

Good copy is essential to effective email marketing. You only have a few lines to move your reader to action. To do this, your offer should describe the offer and a reason why your reader should take the action you have defined.

Email copy requirements

A few common copy elements require close attention. The email subject line should be enticing and move the reader to open the document. That is the first step in conversion. The first sentence of the email, the body and details of the email, need to focus on one and only one call-to-action (CTA). Getting these elements down succinctly with the main CTA, is critical to driving high conversion rates.

 Professional copywriters use a number of best practices to achieve high conversion rates:

• Easy-to-understand and engaging subject lines
• Utilizing simple language in the first sentence
• Reiteration of  the benefits in the offer
• Providing supporting evidence with proof of concept (POC)
• Clearly written calls-to-action

Great copy starts with your audience

Remember, you want to describe the offer in an engaging way, so use the language your audience would use. Ask questions and listen for answers and what words are used. All of your copy is important but most important is the subject line. Make sure the email subject line is written in a clear and compelling way so that it causes recipients to open the message.

The opening sentence needs to keep the reader engaged. Write it so that it clearly describes the offer so that it is understood in 3 seconds or less.

Your email body needs to be short and sweet, use white space and bullet points to make the body easy to consume. Always use a personal touch such as a first name whenever possible.

The CTA is the follow up which pulls the concept together. The CTA button uses strong words that ask recipients to take a specific action.

Here are some helpful hints

Power words such as; “you,” “free,” “instant,” and “improved,” always enhance your copy. Make a list and use them in your body to describe the value of your offer.

A consistent voice is important because it helps the reader get to know you. More than likely you will send multiple emails to your list, make sure you have a consistent voice and tone throughout each.

Using plain language means not only writing down words your prospect would use, but keeping your sentences short and to the point. People are busy. For prospects to read emails quickly, keep the email copy short. Create a first draft and then set a goal of reducing the number of words by 50% for the final draft.

Detail one or more benefits in the subject line if possible. This enhances the compelling benefits the recipient will receive if they open the email. The subject line is the key determinant of performance. If there are no opens, conversions and form submission rates will be irrelevant. Try to draft at several subject lines and ask a friend which one moves them the most.

Bullet lists are your friend. People like lists that organize their thoughts. Not all people comprehend a paragraph in the same manner. Put the bulleted items in the text of your message but be sure to have them in a list as well.

Your CTA button can have a significant impact on conversion rates. Your  copy for the CTA  button should avoid words like “submit” or “click here.” Instead use warmer commands such as “download your … now.” Think of other negative words in your own experience and make a list that you do not want to use.

Mock Up a potential copy of your landing page and make sure it contains the same message as your email. Inconsistent content will inhibit some readers and may sway them in an undesirable direction. If you have a trusted friend, have them review your mock up and email for inconsistent copy and message flow. The objective is to see how easy it is to read and how relative it is to the email.

Never forget the test. Some emails will do fine all the time, others may not be so lucky. Engage in testing (A-B type) with all your email content. Using a good third party measurement process will insure that you don’t get your emotions involved. Once you have selected the “best” email copy, test it against other copy to keep improving the process. Always remember testing is not limited to the email copy, you can have more than one landing page developed to test against variable conversions.

Let me know if you need a FREE evaluation of your email copy.