Effective Copywriting Techniques for Email Marketing

According to a recent report by Econsultancy, the average attention span is just eight seconds.  That means that Email marketers have just eight seconds to capture the attention and imagination of the reader.  The email copy can make or break your email campaign and it is imperative that you get it right [Tweet This].

In this article, we will discuss Effective Copywriting Techniques for successful email marketing campaigns.

The Components of an Email

An email is composed of many elements:  The subject line, preview text, email copy, images, visuals and call to action. Whilst each of these elements is important, email copy can often be the most time consuming and challenging to create.  The reader is likely to make a decision on your email based on your email copy.  It is essential to communicate your message clearly and effectively.

However, preview text and subject lines are equally important.  An email may contain well-written, entertaining and appealing copy but without opening the email, your contact will never see it.  Read our guide to preview text to find out how to optimise email in the inbox.

Ultimately, an email should be sent with one purpose.  Each individual element of the email campaign should contribute to the purpose and the email copy is no different.

How to Persuade Your Customers with Quality Copywriting

When writing an email marketing campaign, think of the main message you want to get across to the reader, then tell them straight away.  In a time when recipients are likely to be over-faced by the number of marketing messages they receive, your copy needs to stand out.  Be clear and concise and don’t leave anything to chance.

Your copy is a good opportunity to solve your contact’s problems.  Demonstrating how you can help your contact in the email means they will be more likely to take action.  If your email tells the reader what to do without giving them a reason or benefit of taking action, they are unlikely to click through from your email.

Make your email flow by seamlessly progressing from one point to the next.  An email which flows naturally is more easy to follow for the reader.  If it feels like the reader is being taken on a journey from problem to solution they are more likely to read your email copy in full.  In a time of scan-read emails, the ability to convince your reader with well structured copy is priceless.

Be assertive.  An email which sounds assured of its own message is more likely to convince the reader to take action.  The tone of voice used in the email copy should be consistent with your brand across other platforms.  If your website uses Queen’s English in a formal tone, slang would look out of place in an email campaign.  Make sure that each member of your marketing team understands not only what the company wants to promote but how they want to speak to their customers.

A Comment on Technical Copy

If appropriate, include facts and figures in the email copy.  Facts and figures referenced from other sources validate the claims that you are making about your product or service or can verify that a problem actually exists.  Showing that you are aware of how your product or service will impact the wider environment demonstrates a deeper understanding and responsibility in your industry.

Although including technical language or jargon may seem like a good idea, it is often best avoided.  Jargon may cause confusion or misunderstanding for the reader.  Also consider that your emails may be forwarded from their original recipients; although you may know that your recipients understand what you are trying to say, the eventual recipient may not.

Email Campaign Length

Brevity is key when writing email marketing emails.  A clear and concise email is more likely to retain the attention of the recipient. Link back to a landing page if you need to explain the benefits of your product or service in more detail.  Email recipients place a high value on their time, make sure you respect that.

Linking to additional resources provides additional value to your readers and shortens your email copy in the process.  Use copy to encourage them to click through to a resource on a website or landing page.

Although keeping your email copy as short as possible is generally a good idea, adding a PS at the bottom of your email campaign can catch the eye of your reader before they navigate away from your campaign.  You can use a post-script comment to add a different angle to your email copy and to give the reader one last reason to take action.

Formatting Your Email

Where you can, use bullet points to highlight the key elements of your email send.  Bullet points also help readers scan through your email quickly.  Check out our post on the F-shaped reading pattern to find out how readers scan twice horizontally, then vertically through email campaigns.

Use headings and subheadings to give your email structure.  Headings and subheadings indicate what subject you are going to address in each section of your email copy.  Chunking your content in this way also helps your readers scan through your emails quickly.

Formatting options such as bold, italics or underlining text can be used to emphasise individual elements of your email.  Use these formatting options scarcely as overusing these options detract from their effect.

Summary

When writing your marketing emails, make every word count.  If a word does not contribute to the purpose of the email send, cut it out.  Structure your email copy to present the most pertinent points where the email recipient is likely to notice them.  By following the advice in this blog post, you should be able to create an email campaign which persuades and convinces your email contacts.

If you have enjoyed reading about effective copywriting techniques, download your free copy of The Complete Guide to Email Marketing.

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