The sales email is one of the toughest emails to write, even for experienced marketers.
Determining why some emails are opened while others are sent directly to the trash heap is a content marketers bane – but it is something that has been figured out and mastered. When writing meets email marketing, a perfect email is born, with increased open rates and even higher conversions.
1. Begin at the Beginning
The subject line is the first stop for all email recipients. It must catch the reader’s attention and be enticing enough to push the reader toward the “open” button. The subject line has only two jobs; get the email opened and make an implication as to the main point in the email.
Basically, the subject line is a one-line summary for the full email, or, a thesis statement.
2. Keep It Simple
Marketers know what writers quickly forget – the average attention span is approximately five seconds. Additionally, most emails are read on mobile devices.
Many people don’t want to scroll through lengthy emails to get the point of the pitch. Keep the message to the point and short, remembering bullet points, which help readers scan for main points faster.
3. Answer It All
While the message must be short, it must also contain all five “W’s” – who, what, why, where, and when. Follow up with a “how”, or, the call to action. Make sure the call to action is clear and precise.
Any time sensitive requests must be accompanied by a date, but do not create a false sense of urgency. Shorter sentences typically work to fulfill both the required shorter length and the answers to the five “W’s”.
4. Personable Emails Can Go Too Far
While an email should be personal, it must also be professional. There is a happy balance, and it falls in the formality of the words. This is your chance to shine and pull the recipient into the call to action; read through the email a few times to ensure the tone is correct for the recipient.
Additionally, use words that are on par with the reader. If the email is too hard to understand, it won’t be answered. Similarly, if it is too lazy in its vocabulary, it will also be ignored.
Get a second opinion, if necessary, to make sure the email is written for its audience.
5. Bring P.S. Back
The P.S. at the end of a letter is a marketing attention-grabbing idea. Marketers should begin integrating this idea into marketing emails, simply because humans tend to remember the last line read.
The P.S. might be a reminder toward the call to action.
