Top Tips for Writing Emails that Convert
We’ve all been there.
You’ve got a terrific idea for an email sequence that’s sure to take your business to the next level. You put in all the hard work, type up a storm, and create what just might be your best work yet.
Everything set, you hit the send button and then settle in for the deluge of opens, click-throughs and sweet, sweet conversions that are sure to follow.
And then … crickets.
Although you may be tempted to call it quits, don’t do it. While there’s no doubt that email marketing can be a hard sell, it is still hands down one of the BEST ways to engage and convert prospects.
Email marketing provides the best ROI of any digital marketing platform and provides an average return of $38 for every dollar you put into it.
But it takes a unique mix of the right knowledge and skills to get it right. Thankfully, it’s possible to learn and develop the skills you need to write emails that convert like crazy. In this brief guide, I’ve curated the absolute top tips and tricks for creating highly effective email newsletters. By the time you’re done, you’ll understand exactly how to reach your audience and the top mistakes to avoid.
Ready? Let’s dive in!
How to communicate with your audience
To understand how to make email marketing work for you, it’s important to see why it’s so effective in the first place.
When someone opts into your email list, it’s a bit like getting invited to dinner with a highly skeptical but potentially rewarding host. You have a unique opportunity to engage with them one-on-one and get them to see things your way.
What do you do in this situation? Do you arrive with a stained shirt and a satchel full of creepy one-liners? No. You wear your best outfit, toting your tried and tested trove of dinner jokes so they can get comfortable with you, like you and eventually buy what you’re selling. That’s pretty much how email marketing works.
Getting people to opt into your email list is a privilege. You honor this privilege by titillating your audience with highly engaging content that either entertains them, teaches them or solves their problem (or all three, if you like). Ultimately, the goal is to get them to convert and take the action you want.
To ensure you get a positive reaction from your target audience, it’s important that you start the right way. Here are the top tips to get your communication in tip top shape:
Do not buy email lists: It’s important to populate your email list with only people that want to hear from you. Purchasing a list is a big no-no because it can violate the rules of consent, the people you’re emailing don’t even know who you are, and it can affect the deliverability of your email, so it won’t benefit your campaign at all. It’s best to stick with people who you know want what you are offering.
Know your audience: To reach your audience, it’s important that you know them first. Identify important characteristics about your audience so you personalize your message. According to Neil Patel, this helps ensure your content does not feel “generic, sporadic or irrelevant.”
Write with a goal in mind: Determine what your main objective is and write your email with this goal in mind. This helps ensure your message is focused, concise, and adapted towards your identified goal.
Write like a real person: Avoid corporate or marketing jargon. If you want to communicate with your prospects, use words they can relate to, so they’ll listen.
Use psychological triggers: This includes choosing the right words, such as using sensory words to paint a picture in the minds of your audience. Psychological triggers, such as the right color, urgency, scarcity, exclusivity, social proof, pictures and personalization are all effective.
How to craft an effective email newsletter
Understanding how to carry on good communication by mail is just the first step. The next is actually carrying it through to conversion. Often, we understand exactly what we’re supposed to say, and even go on to say it. But, a lot of the time, we fail to get the mechanics right, leading to a pleasant, but ineffective email. Here are the top tips to help you correct that:
Whip up a compelling subject line: You only get one chance to make a good first impression with an email, and your subject line will be it. Did you know that 35% of your prospects will open your email simply because of its subject line? Take the time to craft a funny, inviting, suspenseful or teasing subject line that piques interest.
Nail the preview text: Most email clients show the first line or two of the body of your mail alongside the subject line. It’s a great way to stoke further interest in your email by crafting a catchy highlight into what you’re offering.
Keep it short and sweet (or long and engaging): You don’t have a lot of time to hold the attention of your prospect, so you need to get to the point fast. But if you’re looking for your recipient to take a more significant step (such as make a big purchase), you can choose to go long and engaging. Just ensure it is engaging. You can also use what pro email marketer, Amy Porterfield, calls the “P.S. strategy.” Since people often skim through long mails, adding a neat little P.S. at the end can help you rescue the click-through.
Insert a great CTA: What action do you want your recipient to take? You should spend as much time crafting your call to action (CTA), as you do on crafting your subject line. Make it clear, easy to spot and hard to resist.
Tidy up the loose ends: There are several to tidy up. First, never send without reading over at least a couple times. Add alt text to all of your images and add social sharing buttons to the email. Don’t forget to test those button links, too.
Top 5 mistakes to avoid
Now, you have a great email that’s just about set to do everything you want. But before you hit that send button, it pays to go over the email one more time and ensure you’re not guilty of any of these mistakes:
Failing to optimize for mobile: Studies show that more than half of emails are opened on mobile devices. It’d be a mighty waste to spend all that time creating a great email but fail to get the desired engagement due to mobile incompatibility.
Using too many CTAs: Understand that every email you write is geared towards a specific end goal. Using too many CTAs will only confuse your recipients, diffuse their attention, and lead them away from that end goal.
Using a company email: According to HubSpot research, sending emails from a real person (personname@companyname.com) increases open rates. It performs better than using a generic company email (marketing@companyname.com).
Not keeping a clean list: The size of your list doesn’t matter as much as whether or not your list of subscribers is actively engaged. You want to attract real subscribers that want to hear what you have to say and are interested in your brand.
Failing to comply with CAN-SPAM: The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography And Marketing (CAN-SPAM) Act, was passed in 2003. The Act specifies rules that marketers need to follow so their emails are not tagged spam. You can find the rules here.
You may also be wondering how often you should be sending out email newsletters. Some marketing experts have differing opinions on this. If you have something interesting or important to share, you can send emails out to your subscribers on a weekly basis. But be careful not to annoy or overwhelm them with promotional messages. If you send out a really great quality email once a month, that’s fine, but don’t let any more time pass or your subscribers will forget about your brand. Personally, I believe quality is better than quantity when it comes to email frequency. Always offer your subscribers something of value.
While getting your email marketing message right can sometimes be a challenge, you can definitely craft consistently successful campaigns with these tips in mind. By ensuring your communication is in tip top shape and avoiding these mistakes, you can begin to increase your open rates, click-throughs, and ultimately, conversions.