If you’re looking for new ways to strengthen your connection with existing customers, try email marketing.
Email marketing is more than just sending emails. When done right, it helps sustain your relationship with customers for months—and even years.
Brands who have kept this consistent connection experienced spikes in engagement, sales, and ROI by 4200%. But that can only happen if you produce emails that are worth opening, reading, and responding (customer action).
In this blog, we’ll show you seven ways to achieve high-performing email marketing for your small business.
7 Ways to Write Awesome Emails Worth Clicking
Write a benefit-focused subject line
The subject line is the first thing readers see when checking their inbox. You can say it serves as the deal-breaker for your readers to either open or ignore your email.
That’s why it’s essential to write the benefit or value of your email in the subject line.
Whether it’s a discount, product, or how-to tips, show customers your content is worth opening.
Look at this subject line from Harvard Medical School:
Their subject line already tells users what they can gain from opening their email, which are the 11 foods that can help a person lower their cholesterol levels.
Recommended: 7 Ways Having a Custom Email Address Pays for Itself
Bonus tip:
You may have a great subject line, but if you’re using a free email service, customers aren’t likely to open your email at all. Customers often trust emails that come from a customised business email address such as [email protected]. This kind of email address helps you look more professional and reliable.
You can secure a business email address if you sign up for an email hosting plan. Make sure to do your research on the best email hosting providers before getting one.
Connect the preheader and subject line
After reading the subject line, the reader’s eyes move towards the preheader. The preheader acts as the preview of the email.
When writing the preheader, make sure it connects with the thought of the subject line and keep it between one to two sentences. You can think of preheader as the movie trailer and the subject line as the movie title.
Take a look at these two emails from Netflix:
The first subject line is “Carlfrankl, what are people watching in your area?” Without necessarily stating the titles, the preheader instead teases the reader to open the email to find out the top 10 movies in his locale.
In the second email, the subject line is composed of only two words “Enjoyed it?” After, the preheader explains what the subject line was referring to, which were the past shows the reader watched.
Keep it short
Aside from the fact that your customers receive tons of emails every day, they’re also busy. So, if you want them to finish reading your email, keep it short.
Keep the copy clear and concise. Refrain from going over 125 words. The briefer the text, the better the performance.
Freedom, a social media blocking app, used only 28 words in their promo email. Their email’s intent is clear, concise, and saves the reader’s time.
Write with personality
Monotonous emails don’t do well with readers. Don’t be afraid to inject some emotion, personality, and fun when writing them.
From the voice, tone, to the approach, write emails the way you talk to your customers.
Personalised emails get higher click-through rates. Using words like “Hey”, “It’s been a long time”, or mentioning the recipient’s name already creates that personalised feeling. You may even insert a bit of humour depending on your choice.
Ex: (Customer Name), we’ve got an exclusive 80% discount for you!
Emails that are timely and relevant also tailor the experience.
If you’re a company like Headspace who talks to their customers with a wholesome approach, do the same thing. Headspace does an excellent job conveying the two things that personalises an email:
Recommended: 10 Clever Content Marketing Tips to Improve Your Small Business Website
Don’t shout at your audience
Subject lines that are written in capital letters with multiple exclamation marks make it seem you’re shouting at your readers.
Not only that, but emails like this also decreases your open rates and subscribers. Overusing exclamation points scream spammy email marketing.
Write with space
While working on the first email draft, consider adding spaces on paragraphs for your readers to pause and breathe.
Long sentences and paragraphs can be overwhelming to read. Although shorter subheadings and copies help, it’s also best to discuss with your designer which sentences can be separated.
You can indicate which parts of the email need icons or images. This also gives your email some personality and breaks up chunks of text to make them more readable.
Spaces are crucial, especially if you’re sending an infographic email similar to what Headspace did here:
They used their animations to provide space—making the email look clean and pleasing to the eyes.
Proofread, proofread, and proofread
After writing everything, proofread.
Triple check your copy for any grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. You can also let your teammates check it too.
Otherwise, readers might label you as a spam email and block or report your business. That’s one less customer you can never bring back.
Start Writing
There’s no question that email marketing is a powerful tool that takes customer relationship—and revenues—to the next level.
If your emails are concise, valuable, personalised, and clean, it’s bound to drive engagement and sales.
Start drafting emails worth opening by following these tips today.
