Write Dazzling Marketing Emails: A Step by Step Guide
Written By: ShaneWebGuy on August 20, 2020
Email marketing is not dead. It probably never will die, because email continues to be the standard for personal and professional correspondence. People who use organizational software like Basecamp and Trello still rely on email to receive notifications for updates. Email is vital to our personal and professional lives.
Ecommerce site owners and business owners need to master the art of email marketing – especially how to structure and write useful emails. Here is a step by step guide on creating compelling emails that people will want to open and read.
Craft a Powerful Subject Line
The subject line is what all people see when they open their inboxes. Whether they ignore your email or worse, delete it with one swipe, depends on how well you created the subject line. There are three primary attacks that you can use to craft a compelling headline: providing information, asking a question, and offering a deal. Given, these are all basic things that we provide people through email marketing blasts, but you need to make it sound engaging and tempting at the first try through the subject line.
Here are some examples:
– Harry recommends I get in touch with you.
– Ideas for (things that are important for your customers)
– Question about (an essential or triggering event related to your customers)
– Question about (a specific goal that you know they have)
– Thoughts about (anything, even a previous blog post. This is the perfect subject line for general engagement and surveys).
– Have you considered (provide any bit of information, from just understandable information to a specific offer)
We discourage people from using spammy words that have become overused in the past decade and can cause your emails to remain in, or worse, be thrown into, the spam bin. Some examples of spammy words include state of the art, partner, exciting, specials, tempting, donation, help, unique, final, etc. We know that it might be tough in the beginning, but you have to simplify your communication strategy when crafting compelling subject lines.
The Opening Line
The opening line is simply the first line (the first line that people read) after the subject. The opening line is where it gets a little iffy for some marketers because they feel that they need to make this line as loaded as possible.
Scratch that thought. The only purpose of the first line of the email is to engage the customer enough so he/she will read the next line. The process is continuous – you just need to keep enticing the person to keep reading, as if he/she were falling down a buttered slide.
When writing the opening line, focus on talking directly with your reader. How do you do this? Use “I” and approach the customer by addressing the him or her as “you.”
Examples:
– I thought that you…
– A mutual connection said that you…
– I see that you have used…
– It is fantastic that you downloaded…
– We hope you loved it….
– Congratulations on….
By designing the opening statement or line this way, you provide sufficient engagement to your readers, and they will read because you used “you.” It’s just natural for customers to want to keep reading.
The Body of the Email
The body of the email is where things can get genuinely challenging. Fortunately, you can easily take control of the direction of the email. Begin by asking a question. Do not make a generic offer or value proposition. If the offer is too general, it won’t resonate with people anyway. Asking a specific question keeps the email and offer grounded. It also will make sense.
We highly recommend surveying your customers in important sales emails. Why? Because using the data from the survey will help you achieve more with your email offers. Below are some examples of beginning statements for the body of your email. Take note that these will lead your readers further into the email:
– How would you like to refine your strategy on ______ this year?
– Is (a benefit from your product or service) beneficial to you/your business?
– Are some of your questions unanswered when it comes to __________?
– Do you feel like you are alone when it comes to _________?
– Has it always been this way with your ________?
– Would it be nice to have a (benefit), or do you want to keep doing it the old way?
Closing
And finally, we have the closing. The best kind of ending encourages people to take action. The ending part of a marketing email is one of the best places to situate a CTA or call to action.
There are several ways to approach this. A generic close doesn’t maximize the value of the precious online real estate. Instead of a generic thank you or close, try to get your users to commit to something else. Below are some examples:
– Let me know if you have spare time to discuss _______, you can call us at _______.
– If you have given sufficient thought to our proposal, be sure to reach out to us at __________.
– If you have just ten minutes, you can reach us at _______.
– If you are interested in some of the things mentioned, email us at ________.
Signature
The signature portion should not be overfilled but should include the vital details that will enable the user to continue the conversation outside of the email. Keep your signature area as professional as possible, and don’t make it too long.
Include the necessary numbers for contacting you or your business. Remember to link to relevant social media profiles, including Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Skip personal quotes and non-essential images entirely.
Summary:
Email marketing remains a sturdy foundation for ecommerce sites and all kinds of businesses. By learning how to create useful emails, you are setting yourself up for success. Remember that each segment of the email has to be crafted one by one for maximum results. Call me if you are interested in optimizing your email marketing efforts today.
