No matter how experienced an email marketer is, any newsletter for him or her starts with 2 questions: “Where to start?” and “How to write?”. In selecting the right “selling” words, emails are rewritten twice or thrice. All these efforts take a few minutes for pros to several hours for beginners. And high conversions are not guaranteed.
We have compiled a personal formula for content that “hooks” the reader and saves from wasting time looking for words and ideas for emails.
Strong content for an email campaign: 2 signs
Conversion = strong text. Rarely will readers appreciate artistic turns, metaphors, or allegories in an email. They care more about the essence: what they want from them, what they need to do, and what benefits this action will bring. These are the three pillars of strong content. Its task is to accurately convey the message’s meaning, not to sell a product.
Creating such a message is difficult but possible. It must meet 2 parameters.
Email content is easy to read
This can be achieved in several ways. The most effective one is to break complex sentences into simple ones. The optimal sentence size is 7-10 words. Anything over that – overloads the brain and creates the effect of “read, and did not understand what about”.
At the same time, a text of simple and short phrases turns it into an emotional desert, dry and formal. Add oases to it: alternate long sentences with short ones.
Don’t do this:
“We offer the best solutions that automate the search of information by product categories and synchronize your bases with supplier bases. The goal of our business is to create a comfortable environment for your business.”
It should be:
“Our service makes searching your bases faster. In addition, it allows you to track supplier prices.”
The second way to make the text readable is to follow the rule “In one sentence – one thought”. Let’s show you an example:
Don’t do this:
“We invite you to an event that is dedicated to good nutrition, which will help you make the right diet, which will lead to a healthy lifestyle and improve your well-being.”
It should be:
“We invite you to an event dedicated to proper nutrition. At this event, you will learn how to make the right diet for the day. By following it, you will improve your health.”
By the same logic, one paragraph should reveal one idea.
Email content is short and broken up into subheadings
In drafting emails, there are two extremes:
- Long and dry text, similar to the report of politicians to the general secretary
- Short text, like an information bulletin
They both don’t bring conversion but rather serve as a bedtime story. The reader will not wade through thickets of paragraphs and barbs of words. He or she wants plain and simple text that is easy to run his eyes over.
Dividing text with subheadings is a map of the message. Following it, the reader will easily find the information he or she needs. Plus, such a technique helps to follow the text’s plan and will eliminate unnecessary “fluff”. Sales analytics will definitely show you then the increase in your profit.
If you don’t know what subheadings to come up with for the message, form them as questions.
2R of strong text for email campaigns
It seems unreal to write an email that fits all the requirements. But we have a lifehack on how to connect the parameters of a strong text with the needs of readers. It’s enough to stick to the 2R formula.
1R: Result
Write about what benefits the client will get: “Register and you will get 100 bonuses”, “Go to the store and get a discount of $100 on the first order”, etc. The task is to show how exactly your business can be useful to the recipient.
2R: Reputation
It works both in B2B and B2C markets. Email campaigns not only bring material profit but also help to acquire the right reputation through the product or knowledge. For example, the purchase of luxury cosmetics ranks the client among the cream of society. News digest helps your business remain an expert in the industry.
4 ways to write a strong email content
These examples will greatly help you improve or optimize your email campaigns.
#1: Where to start
You can start with the traditional “Dear Alex, we offer you…”.
But you can avoid repeating mistakes and go the other way. You can involve the reader in the email, indicating that you know his or her problems and know how to solve them. To do this:
- Indicate that you are aware of his or her problem or goal
- Praise him or her on steps he or she has already taken
- Tell that there is a way to speed up the problem solution – with your product or service
- Show exactly how your product will help solve the problem
For example:
“Alex,
In order to increase the margin of your business, you added two new categories to your online store. This caused an increase in interest in your resource and also increased the loyalty of regular customers. This led to an increase in requests and load on the customer support department. We offer to speed up the work of the customer department by 3 times with the help of our service to automate the processing of requests.”
#2: Use adjectives
Adjectives are the enemies of informational style and the kind of shouty advertising. The words “unique,” “exclusive,” and “only” are mauvais in newsletters. But that’s on their own. What if you use adjectives in pairs? For example:
- Easy and fast paperwork
- Inexpensive and simple software
- Delicious exotic dish
- Safe non-tourist resort
In this case, the pair of adjectives provides complete information about the product and avoids long constructions. For example, a safe non-tourist resort – a resort that tourists do not yet trample is completely safe for you and your children.
By the way, the importance of impeccable grammar and professional writing cannot be overstated. These elements go beyond mere linguistic correctness; they form the foundation of effective communication and contribute significantly to how your message is received.
Proper grammar ensures that your message is clear and easily understood. Ambiguities arising from poor grammar can lead to misunderstandings and confusion, potentially jeopardizing the intended meaning. To enhance your writing, consider leveraging additional tools. Grammar-checking software, proofreading tools, and style guides can assist in catching errors and refining your content.
For those seeking specialized assistance, Essay Tigers provide a team of professional writers adept at creating high-quality pitches and email content. Their expertise ensures that your messages not only meet grammatical standards but also resonate effectively with your target audience.
#3: Use words that activate the senses
These include: “Look”, “Listen”, “Imagine”, “Taste”, “Feel”, etc. The purpose of these words is to turn on the emotions and engage the reader in the message by impacting all perceptual organs.
This technique works well for B2C mailings with promotions and special offers. In B2B, it is better not to use it because the appeal to the senses is considered an obvious advertising move.
#4: Use a couple of numbers
A simple “5 ways to get a discount” no longer catches on. But the method of presenting the information itself isn’t outdated – people still love numbers. So try to reinforce one digit with a second digit. For example:
- 5 ways to get a 50% discount
- 18 ideas to increase sales by 3 times
- 4 tours to Egypt under $950
The second digit plays two roles: it enhances the visual effect and clarifies the message’s text. As a rule, such wording is used in email subject lines. As practice shows, the second digit in the headline or preheader can increase the Open Rate by 2-3%.
Conclusion
A strong text is not written in minutes. Behind it lies the work of analyzing the target audience’s needs, studying its language, and researching buyer behavior online. In general, it takes weeks/months of preparation.
The result is error-free text that is easy to read, broken down into subheadings, and solves real customer queries. That’s what is powerful content, which can be prepared based on the formula:
Emphasizing the customer’s problem + alternating short and long sentences + clear subheadings + strong verbs + appealing to the customer’s emotions and motivations = conversion.