Five things you need to do to improve your email copy
What is it?
Email copy is essentially anything that goes into an email - usually with the aim of convincing, converting or updating your audience on anything relating to your business. Simple right?
Well yes, and errr no….even the most seasoned of marketing professionals or experienced copywriters can still struggle. You might have had this scenario yourself - you’ve perfected your email copy, headers and sub headers and sent them off to your target email list full of confidence - only to find the click-throughs you were expecting just don’t materialise.
Whether you are writing email copy around an offer, for feedback on a product or service, to advertise a new product or update your audience on some important news, there are some things you need to consider to make sure you’re getting that consistent stream of click-throughs, responses and, ultimately, sales.
Here are five key things you need to review to make sure your email copy packs a punch and delivers results:
1) Focus on the subject line
With studies suggesting a staggering 69% of email recipients report emails as spam based only on reading the subject line, it’s crucial you get this right! It’s the first thing your reader will see when checking their emails and so it needs to stand out and grab their attention whilst avoiding overly common cliches or spammy language. To make sure you get the results you want you need to make sure your subject line is relevant and interesting enough that the person reading it will actually want to open your email. According to a 2021 study 47% of email recipients will open an email based on the subject line alone and so it should never be an afterthought when crafting your copy - in fact, it’s the first thing you should think about when writing copy for email and can influence the content and format of the rest of your copy.
To get the best open rates from your subject lines consider keeping it short (research shows that the ideal length for an email subject line is somewhere between 6-10 words, partly because we have short attention spans and partly because 6-10 words is the optimum amount for reading on a mobile phone). Try and create a sense of intrigue and urgency by posing a question or using action verbs to draw your reader in (subject lines that create a sense of urgency or exclusivity see a 22% higher rate of engagement) and keep it personal. You should have a clear idea of who your audience is and what matters to them, and your email copy will be crafted to reflect this.
2) Make the headline stand out
Keep your headline punchy and short and always avoid spammy language. You want to grab people’s attention and draw them in to the body copy, so keep it brief and make it relevant to your target audience.
3) Keep it concise
On average we check our inboxes more than three times a day, and with well over 300 billion emails being sent every day you’re in a battle for your reader’s attention the moment you click send on your perfectly crafted email. Your subject line and headline can help you grab people’s attention but if the body copy is too long you’re unlikely to keep it. The perfect length for your email copy depends on your audience and what outcome you’re trying to achieve but a recent study by Constant Contact, which looked at response rates to over 2.1 million sales emails, found that 20 lines of text (roughly 200 words) was the ideal amount for customer engagement. An often referenced study by Boomerang puts this number slightly lower at between 50-125 words for best engagement. The general feeling across most studies and my personal experience is to keep it below 200 words and above 50 - too short and you will also lose your audience's interest.
4) People make decisions based on emotion
A study looking at responses to 40 million emails showed messages that expressed moderate positivity had an increase of 10 to 15% in response rates when compared to emails that were written in completely neutral language. However, despite what you may have been told, flattery doesn’t get you everywhere; the same study found that excessive flattery or excessive positivity had a similar level of engagement as that of email copy that was completely neutral. The moral of the story? Be positive but don’t go overboard - if it feels cringey or forced then you have probably gone too far. If it feels flat and lifeless then you haven’t gone far enough.
5) Concentrate on the call to action
It can’t be stressed enough - every email needs a strong CTA. Your call to action is essential, it’s a direction for your reader on what to do next.
According to Unbounce, 90% of people who read your email headlines will also read your call to action. Your call to action should be larger, brighter and more eye-catching than the copy above it so it draws the reader in. The language should almost always tell the reader what to do (think ‘view your discount’ rather than ‘discount’). You can also create a sense of urgency by adding ‘now’ or ‘today’ but as with everything, don’t make it feel forced or demanding or your readers won’t click through. It’s also beneficial to write your CTA in the first person with studies showing that opting for ‘start my free trial’ as opposed to the second-person ‘start your free trial’ can increase clicks by a staggering 90%.
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