Writing business emails is one thing, but when there's something important to tell your customers or subscribers, and you want to hook them in and get them engaged, you may need to adjust your style of writing marketing emails.
There are a number of different types of sales and marketing emails, including:
Welcome – send this after you've received a new subscriber to your mailing list to give them something recognisable for your future emails
Dedicated – this type is ideal for when you have an exciting new product or a special offer
Newsletter – keep your customers and subscribers abreast of what's going on in your business
Lead nurturing – this is used to tempt your subscribers into becoming paying customers; I'll write more about this topic another day!
Catchy subject
Whatever type of email you want to send, the most important thing is the title. Get that right and your 'open' rate will go up substantially.
I don't know about you, but I get an irrational feeling of irritation when I see subjects that say something like: 7 reasons why your marketing isn't working or 9 clever tricks to make your money go further Probably because they seem so unimaginative. And yet, they tend to work! That's usually because you can relate to them.
Better still, have a clever, different or witty subject. Or ask a question, as I did here. Even though this is a blog post, the principle is the same.
Another good tactic is to use emotion; perhaps you have a subject that you know irks many, but you have the answer. You can solve that thing that drives them nuts. Use that type of subject line and you're bound to get a much higher open rate.
Getting to the crunch
Now to the body of the email. It's important, first and foremost, to be clear, open and honest. This creates trust, and will ensure that your email is read. Writing content that is authentic and engaging is, I believe, much more important than writing sensationalised content purely for click-through. Clearly, I'm not alone in my feelings:
“I could absolutely double my page views overnight by writing more sensational content,
but what we would see if we did that would be a halving of our engagement.”
Julian Linley, editor-in-chief, Digital Spy, as seen in Marketing Week
The first paragraph of your email needs to focus on the main reason you're writing, what you're offering and what the benefits are to your reader. Then, depending on the email type, further paragraphs can go into a little more detail. But not too much! The email needs to be kept as short as possible, but just long enough to impart the important information, keep your readers reading, and keep them wanting more!
Call To Action
The second most important thing in your email marketing is that all essential Call To Action at the end. Keep it simple – something like: 'Click here to get your discount code', or 'Find out how [insert benefit here] by clicking here'. Whatever it is, ensure that it is linked to a landing page on your website where they will find out more.
Alternatively, the CTA may be as simple as, 'Pop into our store to pick up your FREE goody bag!'
And finally, the ever important Post Script. It's always good to have a little PS at the end with a reminder of the main benefit to your reader. It may feel like reiterating the obvious, but it's worth doing because you can throw a different angle on the benefit to capture the reader that may have been wavering.
But if all this feels like too much hard work, or you simply don't have time to write your marketing emails yourself, I can help. Check out my website, or email me on jen@jennyhaken.co.uk
Looking forward to being of help!