Our top 9 tips for awesome email copywriting

First things first – why does email copywriting matter?

If you want to engage with your audience, you need to master email copywriting.

Copywriting is key to building a connection with your audience. Your copy – whether it’s on your website, blog or social media – is your brand’s message. It’s how you persuade your audience to buy your products or subscribe to your service.

But what about your email copy?

Many people don’t realise what email copywriting can do for their business. It’s just as important as any other copy you produce. It’s a great way to sell your brand’s products and services. It’s your chance to reach out to potential customers and market your brand.

But how do you make the most of your email copy?

If you aren’t already taking advantage of email copywriting, then don’t worry – it’s not too late! Vocal is here to help.

Here are our nine golden rules of email copywriting in 2021 

1. Grab your audience’s attention with compelling subject lines

When it comes to email copywriting, hitting your audience with a compelling subject line is key.

After all, it’s your first – and possibly only – chance to grab their attention. If your subject line doesn’t interest them, they probably won’t bother to open your email. And if they don’t even open the email, your awesome email copy will go to waste.

Most people will only glance at their email subject lines, so you have to make it count. Just think about your own inbox. How often do you read emails with a boring subject?

So, now you know the importance of attention-grabbing subject lines. But how do you create a compelling subject line for your audience?

• Keep it short and snappy.
• Add a personal touch (see golden rule number 2!).
• Use questions – it will get your audience to think.
• Use wit and humour (if it’s appropriate!).

2. Make it personal!

Another golden rule of email copywriting in 2021 is to personalise your marketing emails.

If you want to engage with your audience, you need to build a connection with them. Don’t send generic emails. They won’t be encouraged to buy your products if they feel like just another email address in your database.

One of the best – and easiest – ways to do this is to include the customer’s name in each email. It will feel like you’ve sent the email exclusively to them. And will probably encourage them to look at what’s on offer!

Or better yet, send personalised emails based on where they are in the sales process.

When a customer first joins your subscriber list, send them a friendly welcome email. If a customer signed up to your website but is yet to make a move, send them a little nudge. Or if they add items to their basket but haven’t checked out yet, send them a reminder.

If your email copy is personal, your audience will feel like your brand really cares about its customers. And they’re more likely to go ahead and make a purchase!

But don’t worry – you don’t have to type each email one at a time. There are plenty of email marketing tools out there to do the work for you! So, you can focus all your attention on creating awesome email copywriting. 

3. Make your emails visually appealing

Think about the emails that grab your attention. Are you enticed by a wall of text? Does it make you want to read more?

Of course not!

If you want to interest your audience through email copywriting, your emails need to be visually appealing.

When it comes to email copywriting, less is more. Break up your text into shorter sentences or bullet points. Not only does this look better on the page, but it’s easier to read. People only read about 20% of your content – especially in a promotional email. Your email copywriting will have a bigger impact if you make it easy to scan. So, you’re more likely to hold your audience’s attention – and see results!

And if it’s appropriate – and fits the tone of your message – add a graphic or two to your email.

4. Every email needs a purpose

When it comes to email copywriting, one of the key things to remember is that every email needs a purpose.

If you send emails without thinking about your end goal, you could drive your audience away. Just think how you’d respond to pointless email after pointless email – how fast would you unsubscribe from that mailing list?

Make sure every email you send is trying to meet one of your brand’s marketing goals. Whether that’s to sell your newest product, promote your latest offer or generate traffic for your company’s blog. 

5. Take advantage of intriguing previews

This next golden rule of email copywriting is often forgotten about, but it can do wonders for your brand.

Before your audience actually opens your email, the only thing they’ll see is a preview of the first line. Just think how important it is to get it right!

It’s absolutely crucial that the first line of your email is compelling, persuasive and encourages your customer to read on. Your audience won’t open the email if they’re bored by the first line. And can you blame them? If the first line doesn’t interest you, why should the rest of the email?

You need to use your opening line to convince the audience that the email will benefit them. It’s no good promoting your latest offer if you don’t mention the offer until the last line of the email.

6. Give your customers FOMO 

If you really want to persuade your audience with email copywriting, you need more than a way with words.

You can use psychology in your email marketing strategy to build a connection with your audience. And convince them to buy your products!

There are plenty of tips and tricks out there, but nothing is more effective than FOMO. FOMO stands for ‘fear of missing out’. It works so well in marketing because people hate to lose out on a great deal or exclusive offer. And it’s perfect for email copywriting because you only need a few words for it to work.

Persuade your audience by saying ‘don’t miss out’ or ‘for a limited time only’. If you create a sense of urgency or exclusivity in your emails, your audience will feel compelled to act.

7. Don’t forget your CTA! 

You won’t get anywhere without our next golden rule of email copywriting.

Don’t forget your CTA!

A CTA (call-to-action) is essential if you want your audience to react to your email in some way. Whether you want them to buy your products, sign up to your newsletter or simply visit your site. It doesn’t matter what your goal is, you need a CTA.

And your CTA should be clearly visible in the body of the email. Don’t make your audience work for it!

8. Emails must be mobile-friendly

Our next tip is vital for email copywriting in 2021 – make your emails mobile-friendly.

There’s a good chance that your audience will be checking their email on their mobile phone. After all, it’s quick, easy and convenient.

But that means you need to think about how your email will appear on a smaller screen.

Make sure to avoid large images that won’t load properly on a mobile phone or tablet. It won’t matter how good your product or service is – your audience won’t stick around long enough to find out! 

9. Follow up – but don’t overdo it! 

If you want to master email copywriting, the work doesn’t stop just because you’ve clicked ‘send’.

If your first email doesn’t get any kind of response, you can send another one to follow up. Maybe your first email didn’t hit the spot, or maybe it went straight to their junk. But your audience might open a second email – especially after you follow our golden rules of email copywriting!

But remember, be careful not to overdo it. Don’t send your customers several emails a day – that’s a sure-fire way to get someone to unsubscribe. Not only is it annoying for your audience, but it will reflect badly on your brand.

Only send emails when you have something to say. Whether it’s to remind them to checkout or to promote your latest offer. And remember golden rule number 4 – every email needs to have a purpose!

Want to know more about email copywriting? Vocal can help! 

If you found our golden rules of email copywriting helpful, why not get in touch with our team?

Here at Vocal, we’re all about content. From copywriting to illustration to branding, we know how to make your business grow. No matter what your marketing needs are, we can take care of it for you.

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