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In Part 1 of our wildly popular series, Writing Effective Marketing Emails, we discussed what makes for great subject lines. Here, we take a look at the meat of the marketing email — the body copy.
1) Consider the basics.
Who's your audience — salespeople or IT professionals? What's your goal — to sell something or get people to opt in to your email list? Always write emails with questions like these in mind. And rather than diluting your message in one email, send out two or more emails to address specific audiences and objectives.
2) Tone it down.
Do you enjoy those commercials featuring Red Bull-fueled car dealers screaming at you about their low, low prices? Neither do we. So be sure your email copy is compelling, but keep the hype to a minimum.
3) Aim for manageable chunks.
An email with long paragraphs spanning eight, nine lines is doomed for failure. That's just too dense. Instead, shoot for shorter paragraphs with one to three sentences. And keep those sentences short, too.
4) Extend a virtual greeting.
An email should be the start of a conversation, so include a friendly salutation at the top. If you have the software to do it, personalize the salutation with the person's name.
5) Start out strong.
Many readers preview the first few lines of their emails, so the opening paragraph must really sing. Keeping it short and sweet is essential. Give readers a reason to read on by citing an interesting fact, posing a provocative question or highlighting the key product benefit.
6) Maintain your momentum.
Now that you've drawn in the reader, you want him/her to stick around. Do this by providing a concise, easy-to-scan overview of your product or service. Stay focused on the benefits. And if the email is a bit longer, add bolded subheads to break up the copy.
7) Close with a flourish.
Make sure your readers know exactly what you want them to do. Conclude your email with a clear call to action, including a hyperlink to a landing page with more information. You can also insert the call to action elsewhere in the email, whether it's the opening and/or the middle. Ideally, you have an enticing offer (e.g. discount, free download) to tie in with the call to action.
8) Sign off at the end.
"Regards." "Sincerely." "Yours Truly." Say your farewell, and then include your name/title or the name of your team.
9) Allow for the opt-out.
Not everyone wants to hear from you, so insert an "unsubscribe" link at the bottom of your email. Once someone has unsubscribed, ensure that reader doesn't receive future communications from you. Services like Constant Contact make it easy to manage those unsubscribers.
10) Take extra care.
True story: An email writer accidentally typed ".com" rather than ".org," sending thousands of elementary school teachers to a very "educational" site about naked bicycle riding. Don't let this happen to you. Double-check your links.
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