Copywriting Email: The Anatomy of a Strong Email Campaign
Speed dating is hard. But copywriting email campaigns is harder.
Studies say speed daters have less than 30 seconds to make a good first impression and “connect” with a potential dating partner.
But 30 seconds
is an eternity compared to the newest email marketing statistics.
With email, you’ve got 2 seconds to make a good impression.
Yep. Two measly seconds.
A recent tracking study by Litmus (an email marketing and
analytics solutions firm) tested 4 million opens.
The bad news: 51.1% readers spent less than 2 seconds
reading the email before punching the “Delete” key.
The good news: of the best email campaigns that Litmus
tracked, 77% recipients read the email from start to finish.
Can you say, “Good first impression = promotional survival”
three times fast? Copywriting email campaigns that are strong, engaging, and get the open simply depend on some important basics.
Elements to Include When Copywriting Email
Here are a few proven ideas to help you survive that precarious
2 seconds and get your email read from start to finish.
- Write a dazzling subject line. Make it provocative or enticing – even offer
a promise (but make sure the email content delivers on that promise.) Avoid a
generic “Your Newsletter” -type title. Tap into readers’ curiosity. You’ll get them to slow down, wonder what
the email may contain, and then click “open” to find out.
- Name a real person in the “From” line. Not an organization.
A person’s name is, well, more personal.
- Use the recipient’s first name. People love seeing their name in print and
better yet, online. They like thinking that you think they’re a person. Place
the reader’s name in the subject line and in the opening line of the email. When
they see it, they’ll pause for a split second – enough to slow down, hit
“open,” and read a bit more.
- Lay out email with the reader in mind. It’s tempting to
insert cool graphics near the top, but bells and whistles don’t open emails.
Solid content does. Set up your email so that recipients can see some content
even before they open it. Little boxes with hidden pictures at the top are an
invitation to lower open rates and click-off rates.
- Open with a hook. Use a benefit, powerful statistic, some
engaging humor, or a tantalizing fact. If your recipient is surprised,
laughing, or engaged, he’ll keep reading. (Get tips for writing a hook.)
- Get to the point fast. What do you want the reader to know
and then to do? Don’t wait until the third, fourth, or tenth paragraph to tell
him. Tell him right out the gate. Then weave the "Ask" in a couple of other times in the body of the email. And close with a strong call to action, too.
Extra tips for copywriting email that's effective
- Insert plenty of links. But don’t use ad links – instead,
embed text links naturally into the copy. Text links don’t interrupt the flow.
Plus, good numbers of text links give the reader lots of opportunities to
respond. (Get tips for writing links.)
- Keep it short. When copywriting email, don’t babble on needlessly. Prattle and
gibberish bore people on first dates – and people reading emails. If they sense
you’re wasting their time, they’ll click off faster than you can say “recycle
bin.”
- And as always ... use spell check. Proofread your copy and then read it aloud. Give it someone else to
check, too. Typos and misspellings scream “SPAM” and chase away prospects who
otherwise read every word ... and respond.
More Email Writing Tips
2 Different Types of Email Content You Need to Master...
5 Reasons You Should Create an Email Newsletter ...
Should You Build an Email List? Advantages and Disadvantages ...
How To Write A Pitch Email That Gets a Yes: 5 Tips ...
How to Build an Email List for No (or Very Little) Cost ...
The 5 Biggest Email Marketing Mistakes to Avoid ...
What’s the Ideal Email Length?
How NOT to Be a Pest When You Write Email Reminders ...
Start and Grow Your Email List: A Simple Tutorial ...
Business Email Writing Tips to Help You Save Time and Save Face ...
Free downloadable checklist for writing better email subject lines ...
How to write an email step-by-step ...
Writing Email Tips: Understand 2 Types of Business Emails ...
An Email Campaign vs. an Ezine: What's the Difference?
Three tips to increase your email open rate ...
Email Writing Tips: a tip for savvy subject lines ...
Email Writing Tip: how to write links to get more clicks ...
Why nonprofit emails are a powerful promotional tool ...
Email and ezine terms ...
Do's and don'ts for email subject lines ...
Netiquette: email etiquette for copywriters and leaders ...
More email writing tips on our Pinterest board ...
Return from Copywriting Email: The Anatomy of a Strong Email Campaign to Nonprofit Copywriter home
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Powered by SBI! Learn more here.
Enjoy this page? Please pay it forward. Here's how...
Would you prefer to share this page with others by linking to it?
- Click on the HTML link code below.
- Copy and paste it, adding a note of your own, into your blog, a Web page, forums, a blog comment,
your Facebook account, or anywhere that someone would find this page valuable.