{"id":492,"date":"2019-06-18T17:38:51","date_gmt":"2019-06-18T14:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chatra.io\/blog\/?p=492"},"modified":"2021-10-26T16:54:03","modified_gmt":"2021-10-26T13:54:03","slug":"7-writing-tips-to-make-your-email-marketing-more-effective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chatra.com\/blog\/7-writing-tips-to-make-your-email-marketing-more-effective\/","title":{"rendered":"7 writing tips to make your email marketing more effective"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is a guest post from\u00a0Adriana Veasey.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Email marketing has long been known as one on the most cost-efficient and effective marketing methods out there. Furthermore, all the advances in the field aren\u2019t essential to a strong email marketing<\/a> campaign. A well-penned plain text copy can often be much more efficient than some of the campaigns enhanced by high-tech functionalities.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not to say that it\u2019s unreasonable to make your emails visually appealing, but it\u2019s safe to assume that a strong copy is the primary driver of a campaign. Don’t forget to clean your mailing list with\u00a0email checker tools<\/a>, as it helps you remove invalid emails from the list for better deliverability and help your campaign be more successful.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, how does one improve their email marketing efforts by writing better? There are a few age-old tricks that writers have been using to captivate their readers and build strong relationships with their customers. Let\u2019s take a look, shall we?<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

1. Enhance clarity<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It\u2019s important to mention that emails aren\u2019t really a place to showcase our writing abilities from a stylistic viewpoint, we should instead view them as a medium to convey a message as succinctly as possible. Therefore, it\u2019s crucial to use straightforward and actionable language.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trying to impress your potential customer with a long-form email will pretty much defeat the purpose of convincing them in doing business with you.<\/span><\/p>\n

Think of it this way \u2014 do you usually read every word in an email you receive from a person you don\u2019t know? Chances are you don\u2019t. By writing fewer words and boiling down your message to a sweet 70-100 words, you\u2019ll allow your recipients to scan through the email, without missing on any essential information you wanted to share.<\/span><\/p>\n

Similarly, to enhance the clarity of your message, try avoiding passive voice. Very often, passive voice sounds, well, very passive, which is problematic when you\u2019re trying to convince someone to do something they weren\u2019t planning on doing in the first place.<\/span><\/p>\n

And lastly, for your email to be clear and convincing, you need to make sure it’s free of\u00a0grammatical errors and punctuation mistakes<\/a>. So read them aloud multiple times or, to use a fresh pair of eyes, ask someone else to do this for you.<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0Storytelling works wonders<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Storytelling is the secret component of a successful marketing text. Consumers are very passionate about personal accounts and narratives. When you\u2019re working on a series of emails, try delivering the message so that it resembles a story.<\/span><\/p>\n

Structure your email marketing campaign as a story, where a protagonist is a person that shares a broad spectrum of qualities and concerns with your audience.<\/span><\/p>\n

So why is storytelling efficient? Why do we find personal accounts so compelling? An American neuroeconomist,<\/span> Paul J. Zak recently published a research<\/span><\/a> paper on the effects stories have on our brains. It appears that exciting stories can spike oxytocin levels in our bodies, which is one of the \u201cfeel good\u201d hormones our brains release during physical interactions like hugs, handshakes, and so forth.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Make use of cognitive biases<\/strong><\/h2>\n

We, humans, like to think that we have the world \u201cfigured out,\u201d but that\u2019s nothing short of an illusion. The way we perceive reality is incredibly distorted because we\u2019re subject to a large set of cognitive and logical biases, which incidentally happen to be a very popular tool in the marketing world.<\/span><\/p>\n

There are over 200 documented biases, many of which can be used to create a high-converting email marketing copy. Here are a few biases you can look into:<\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Loss aversion \u2014 many businesses have been using this technique for quite a while. Your aim is to create an image in your customer\u2019s mind that if they miss out on the opportunity you\u2019re providing them with, they will most likely lose something as a result.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Zero-risk bias \u2014 \u00a0a person is more likely to buy a product if they feel that there\u2019s no risk associated with the purchase. If a product is marketed as very durable or very long-lasting, customers see little risk associated with it, which helps drive sales.<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) \u2014 people are afraid of losing a potentially beneficial opportunity. Chances are this is an evolutionary feature people have developed, which allowed them to find food in times of scarcity. Marketers create scarcity artificially to entice their customers to use their services or products. To use FOMO efficiently, you need to convey the fact that many people are happily using a product, and that product is very limited.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    <\/p>\n

    Source<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

    There is a myriad of biases you can make use of in your email marketing efforts. Check the cognitive bias codex for reference. There are many writing services like<\/span> WoWGrade.net<\/span><\/a> that have incorporated a whole set of cognitive biases into their ad copywriting.<\/span><\/p>\n

    4. Put some effort into CTA\u2019s<\/strong><\/h2>\n

    Try to recall the emails you received from the companies behind your favorite services or products. What was it that compelled you to get back to them or become their customer?<\/span><\/p>\n

    Chances are their emails had captivating and vivacious images, or maybe they featured attractive discounts or offers. Whatever it was, none of that would work if there wasn\u2019t a strong CTA in place.<\/span><\/p>\n

    Here are a few tips that will help you craft high-converting calls-to-action that will drive sales on your email marketing efforts:<\/span><\/p>\n