You have a pretty captive audience when you are writing an email.
Not only have they opted into your email list at some point in the past, they have also opted into this particular email by opening it. That’s saying something in an environment of overflowing inboxes.
You’ve got their attention. It’s now your responsibility to engage and enlighten your contacts with an entertaining email they will be glad they opened – and one that furthers your business goals at the same time.
How do you ensure you have an email that delights your contacts? Ask yourself (and answer) these four questions about your email copy before hitting the send button.
1. Does the Copy in the Body of the Email Follow Logically From the Subject Line?
So you’ve written a stellar subject line that enticed a majority of your contacts to open your email. Now make sure the message in the body of your email is aligned with what the subject line offered.
The number of people who open your email and click through on the calls-to-action or offers therein will absolutely decline if what they find in the email is not what they expected. Delivering on the promise of your subject line creates trust and loyalty, increases lead generation, and increases the rate of future email opens.
2. Did You Make It Obvious Who You Are and What You Are Offering?
Don’t assume that because someone once gave you their email address they have a real relationship with your company. Unless this is an email to a segmented list of your best repeat customers and brand advocates, a little reintroduction is warranted.
Use some space at the top to re-establish your connection with your contacts and explain how the email is relevant to them. Link to web pages or videos that can re-introduce your company so you can get into the heart of your email.
3. Did You Make It Clear How Your Offer Will Benefit Your Reader?
Readers are far less interested in how amazing your product or offer is than they are in the ways in which it can benefit them. Write in reader-centric tones using concise action-oriented statements and speaking the language of “you” and “your” rather than “I” and “we.”
Make sure your email is truly valuable to your recipients and explain its value clearly and compellingly. Explain, with as few words as possible, why they should click through the email onto your website.
4. Did You Have Fun Writing It; Will Your Contacts Have Fun Opening It?
Marketing emails are a perfect venue for showcasing your brand’s personality. They are a blank slate with a captive audience. Stay true to what you are trying to accomplish – increasing click-throughs to your website or enticing people to take advantage of your offer – but do so in your brand’s own unique way.
Satisfy these questions before sending out your email marketing campaign and you will have a delighted audience and great lead-generating tool.
Thanks for stopping by,
Laura
Editor’s note: This blog was originally published in August 2017 and has been edited and updated in March 2022.
