Is your email copy converting at a high rate or you are just winging it hoping to crack the secret of getting more email conversions one day?
If you are a marketer, you are probably aware that email marketing has proven to generate the highest ROI and is considered a very effective product marketing strategy. However, it is not easy to get most individuals to read your emails. It is a known fact that most people receive more emails than they read.
Gmail tabs and extra efficient spam filters have made email marketing even more complex. There is only one way to survive – compose emails that subscribers want to open and read.
Of course, it is not an easy job.
The idea is to focus on running successful email marketing campaigns with utmost focus on your audience. If you provide value to your readers, they will open your emails and respond to your CTAs.
In this post, we will present 14 email copywriting tips that will help you get more conversions. Let’s dive right in
1. Write Compelling Subject Lines For Your Email Copy
The subject line is your first and last chance to grab readers’ attention. It is the deciding factor whether the receiver will open the email or not.
You should take your time writing email subject lines. There is no hard and fast rule here. It all boils down to how good it really is.
Your subject line has to be clickable. You can either promise something, state numbers (stats), or solve a problem.
Also, it should be of the right length. Ideally, readers should be able to read it completely from the inbox. However, since users are spread across different screen sizes, the length of the subject line is tricky.
You should aim for a “straight to the point” approach as it solves both the problems – the content and the length of the subject line.
2. Address the Readers with their Names
Personalization is an essential tool of effective email copywriting. One of the simplest ways is to address your readers with their names.
People tend to be more interested in the emails that are directly addressed to them. It makes the experience more personal, and they are likely to trust your brand and become paying customers.
However, don’t overplay the name card. You shouldn’t try to address them in every other paragraph. It will look creepy and probably fake too.
Stick to just using the name once in the beginning – that is it.
3. Email Copy Layout Should be Eye-catching
Once the reader opens an email, he/she doesn’t start reading right away. People usually skim through the page first. So your email layout should be symmetrical and eye-catching.
You should use the right font, size, and color. There should be a pleasing dance of visual versus text. The CTA should be defined and placed appropriately.
The idea is to catch people’s attention as soon as they open the email and impress them with the look first. That is how they will start reading the email.
4. Use Friendly and Conversational Tone
One of the ways to personalize an email copy is by writing in a conversational tone. It should seem like a one-on-one talk or chat.
When it comes to the tonality of the email, there is a small list of considerations;
- Your tone should be friendly.
- You should address the pain points respectfully.
- You should write in first pronouns.
- Empathy is the key in email copywriting.
- Try to keep the message crisp and clear.
Of course, personalization helps in winning the trust and comfort level of your readers. They start to consider you as an ally or a friend, which makes conversion easier.
5. Include Suitable Images
Visuals are a significant part of any email. We have seen brands don’t take much advantage of this simple yet effective trick.
Most email marketing campaigns are text-driven. However, people are more likely to read text plus visual combinations rather than text-only content.
Most email marketers don’t want to add another thing to their to-do list and prefer to ignore images altogether. However, you don’t have to create the images from scratch for every single email.
You can take assistance using affordable stock image resources and find an image for your email copy. Make sure your selected image aligns with the email marketing campaign. If required, you can always edit newsletter images.
6. Add Powerful CTAs to Your Email Copy
The whole purpose of running an email marketing campaign is to get maximum clicks on the CTAs. Of course, you should design and locate them properly in your email copy.
Generally, “buy now,” “click now,” or “download now” are used as CTAs. However, you shouldn’t be afraid to experiment with it. For instance, offering a discount (like “Get 20% Off!”) can be a good CTA.
In terms of placement and size, try to find a sweet balance and don’t over exaggerate the CTA. At the same time, it should stand out and be highlighted in the email layout.
7. Stick to One Agenda
The email should have a single goal: clicking on the desired link, buying a product, or maybe downloading an ebook.
One grave mistake is trying to achieve multiple agendas in an email. It confuses the readers and turns them off since too much is happening in a little confined space.
If you are really interested in seeing the conversion, then stick to one goal per email.
8. Keep your Message Coherent
We have often seen clickbait subject lines that promise way too much. And when the readers get to the email body, it doesn’t fulfill the expectation. At times, the CTAs don’t live up to the hype created in the email content.
So you have to keep the message coherent throughout the subject line, email body, CTAs, images, etc. All parts of your email should be delivering the same message and fulfilling the same promise.
9. Be Repetitive
Being repetitive seems like bad advice. However, repeating your CTAs a couple of times in the email body increases the click-through rate.
Although you need to be clever about the placement. You can place the CTA organically the first time. Of course, increased chances of clicks mean better results in terms of brand awareness and sales.
10. Segment your Readers
Your readers belong to different walks of life. They might be interested in different products or services. You cannot put them in one big bowl and serve the same soup.
It is absolutely necessary to segment your readers into different categories and serve them accordingly. You cannot sell a car to a person looking for a bike. In fact, by doing so, you will be losing their trust in your brand.
So it is essential to put your readers in different categories based upon their preferences and then send them targeted emails for a better chance of a conversion.
11. Use Email Marketing Automation
You need to automate the email marketing process to make it more effective. There are particular websites, like Mailchimp, which can assist in this regard.
There are various benefits of email marketing automation. To understand its importance, let’s say you are offering a free course titled “Copywriting 101”, which will be delivered via email for seven consecutive weeks. So you need a mechanism that sends the emails sequentially to each subscriber.
Rather than manually doing the work, you can automate the process with the help of software. So, as soon as someone subscribes, they start to receive the emails for seven consecutive weeks.
Email automation saves a lot of time and carries out an email marketing campaign smoothly. You can also get reliable statistics from such software about different metrics like open rate, sales, etc.
12. Sender Should be a Person
Each email must contain your signature at the end. While it can be your company’s name, the latest trend is to have your name there.
Having your name in the signature is also a psychological technique to appear more personal. People like to know who has written to them. You want to put a name and a face to your brand.
13. A/B Testing is Crucial
Email marketing campaigns include several components. There is a subject line, headline, images, CTAs, signature, and so much more.
You can split-test any of the components to reach better results. For example, you can send the same email with two different CTAs to different segments of subscribers and see which one drives more results.
A/B testing is essential because the target market is changing rapidly. To stay updated, you have to keep checking in with your readers about their preferences.
14. Learn from the Competition
You can subscribe to email newsletters of your competition and see what they are doing differently. It is a great way to assess your email campaign against the competing products and services.
It will give you a clear picture of your own campaign. If you feel anything is missing or lacking, don’t copy-paste the ideas from others. Try to come up with an original concept to fill the gap.
Also, don’t ridicule or make fun of competition in your campaign as it doesn’t sit well with the readers and sends a negative message.
Final Words: Email Copywriting Tips to Get More Conversions
Writing an email copy that converts isn’t difficult if you are genuinely providing value to your readers. So, stick to giving unmatched information to your subscribers; the sales will follow automatically.
Good Luck!
I am Adeyemi Adetilewa, the Editor of IdeasPlusBusiness.com. I help brands share unique and impactful stories through the use of online marketing. My work has been featured in the Huffington Post, Thrive Global, Addicted2Success, Hackernoon, The Good Men Project, and other publications.