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10 Best Practices For Superior Email Copywriting

by Arthur Zuckerman

Writing an email campaign that converts can be challenging, as you want your emails to be appealing to your audience while also driving your sales goals home.

To help you get started, below are a few tips you need to know about copywriting for email. Whether you’re looking to be concise or understand the power of CTAs, we’ll show you just how that’s done. 

Additionally, we’ll suggest a few tools to boost your cold email copywriting abilities.

Email Copywriting: What is It?

Email copywriting aims to convert the recipient into a paying customer. And you end up composing your email copy by putting words in the subject line and body of the introduction email. 

What sets cold email copywriting apart from usual writing is that it should be compelling enough to create a connection between the subject line and the call-to-action. 

Every word in that email copy should make readers feel like they are reading something directly related to their business needs.

The best email copy engages readers and encourages conversion. The following article covers 10 Powerful Practices For Successful Email Copywriting.

10 Powerful Practices For Successful Email Copywriting: 

  1. Subject Lines
  2. Make it Personal
  3. Avoid using Jargon
  4. Clarity in Design and format
  5. Moderately using Emojis
  6. CTA’s: Call to Action
  7. E-mail tools
  8. Proofreading 
  9. A/B Testing
  10. Timing is everything

1) Subject Lines

Your recipient will see the subject line as the first thing in their inbox. So, it’s vital to make sure that your subject line is compelling enough to make them want to open your email.

Poor subject lines will still fail to attract clicks, even if the timing and frequency are perfect. As 47% of email users only open emails based on their subject lines.

Keep your subject lines concise and to the point. It should hint at what your email will contain and elicit an emotional response that makes them want to know more.

It would help to include persuasive words in your subject line, as they increase open rates

Some examples of powerful words in subject lines are:

  1. {{First Name}} Use this marketing strategy to increase sales!
  2. “Want to increase {{Company Name}} traffic quickly and easily? Attend our webinar!”
  3. {{First Name}} Here’s how to promote {{Company Name}} online and get leads.

Using these words effectively in your subject line, through effective personalization (which we will discuss below), you can make your readers feel compelled to open and read your email right away.

So the next time you’re crafting an email marketing campaign, be sure to put some thought into your subject lines and use persuasive language wisely.

2) Make it Personal

Creating a connection with your readers requires personalizing your email copy. You can do this by including details about their business or other information specific to them or their interests.

For example, if you know that a person runs a local bookstore and recently received a new shipment of poetry books, you could mention this in your email and encourage them to come and check out the new arrivals.

You can also personalize your email copy and subject line by using the recipient’s name or segmenting your list so that you send relevant information to each individual.

MailChimp’s segmented email lists increase open rates by almost 19% and click-through rates by nearly 22% compared to non-segmented emails.

What is Email List Segmentation? 

Segmenting an email list means splitting it into smaller, more targeted lists. List segmentation helps you create a personalized marketing experience for customers and prospects.

List segmentation is all about personalization. An email sent to everyone on your list (without segmentation) might be helpful to some but not to the rest. 

On the other hand, if you segment your list according to your knowledge of each user, such as their buying habits, familiarity with your company, and professional background, you can send personalized emails to each segment.

3) Avoid using Jargon

Good email copywriting is jargon-free.

Quite simply, it’s easy to understand (no matter how complicated the product/service is).

The best way to convince someone to take action in your email copy is through easy-to-understand and enjoyable communication, regardless of how technical your product is.

To illustrate:

  • Bad: “Our new CRM software is the most user-friendly on the market and offers features that no other software can match.”
  • Good: “You’ll be able to track your sales pipeline and close more deals with our {{Brand}} CRM.”

The difference is pretty straightforward. The first version contains a lot of technical jargon that doesn’t communicate the benefits to potential customers. 

The second version focuses on what matters to them, making it a more effective sales pitch.

4) Clarity in Design and format

Copywriting for emails should be easy to read and digest, so it’s essential to break it up with short paragraphs, bullet points, and subheadings to break up your text and make it easier for the reader to scan.

Write an email copy in about four sentences or 70 words, and share your thoughts with your customers. What would you tell them?

That should be your approach to writing email copy. It’s like writing a tweet: there’s a character limit, so you need to write concisely and save space by utilizing smart link shorteners.

Email copywriting is best always when it’s: 

  • Informative and targeted
  • Easily understandable

If the email contains fluff or other irrelevant items, the receiver will immediately delete it.

Yes, that means you should know what your customers need, but only you can take care of that.

Additionally, you should use a simple, clean design so that your content is easy to read on any device. 

Consider using formatting features such as:

  • Incorporate bold and italics to emphasize key points while making your email copy stand out.
  • Readers tend to skim through the text, so highlight only certain places – after proofreading the copy a few times. As we recommend you refrain from overusing these formatting options 

5) Moderately using Emojis

When used in subject lines, Emojis have helped to increase open rates. Still, do not get carried away.

Be considerate of the audience or brand you are appealing to by not using excessive emojis.

Some benefits of utilizing emojis are:

  • It’s perfectly optimizable for a mobile device where your subject lines are shorter when you replace words with Emojis.
  • Using emojis in your email copy is another powerful practice that can make your emails more engaging and fun to read. 
  • Emojis are an excellent way to break up text and add visual appeal to your email, which helps keep readers engaged.

Many different emojis are available, so you should experiment to see which ones work best for your business and target audience.

6) CTA’s: Call to Action

Your email copy should always include a call-to-action (CTA). 

This is what you want potential prospects “to do” after they have read your email, activities such as:

  • Visit your website 
  • Purchase your product
  • Become a subscriber

The key here is not only to keep your call to action clear and concise, but it should also be noticeable enough – so the reader doesn’t miss it.

Also, make sure that your CTA is relevant to the content of your email.

For instance, if your email mentions a new product you are selling, your call to action should relate to that product as subtly (but naturally as possible).

You may find these CTA examples helpful:

  1. Discover this {{Product-name}} for better growth!
  2. Let us help you reduce {{Pain-point}} and enhance your results

You can model your Call to Action using CTA’s such as those above. It will ensure the CTA’s are specific, clear, and relevant to the email content.

7) E-mail tools

Many different word processing & email marketing tools can help you improve your email copy’s effectiveness.

Some examples include:

1) Wordtune for tweaking and fine-tuning your email copy, 

  • Great tool for paraphrasing.
  • Translator tool available.
  • Easily shorten and lengthen sentences.
  • Change the tone of writing.

2) Hemingway for improving readability,

  • Detect Level of Errors Through Color Coding. 
  • Strengthens your writing Style for easier reading.
  • Finds difficult-to-read sentences.
  • Analyzes passive voice and adverbs. 

3) Grammarly for proofreading. Grammarly Premium provides. 

  • nearly 400 types of checks and features, 
  • checks for grammatical errors, 
  • suggests vocabulary enhancements, 
  • detects plagiarism, 
  • and offers citation suggestions.

To ensure that your email marketing campaigns succeed, you should experiment with different tools to discover the best fit for your business.

8) Proofreading

Our emails allow us to communicate (or miscommunicate) instantly. This is one reason why proofreading is so important.

You should carefully proofread your email copy before sending it to a recipient to prevent possible mistakes such as:

  • Grammar errors, typos, etc. 
  • Broken links
  • Missing attachments – shows signs of inexperience 
  • Confusion in the sentences – creates a wrong impression.

Proofreading will help prevent those errors above, create a professional image for your business, and avoid confusion for your readers.

Tip: You should also ask someone else to proofread your email copy before sending it, as they may catch errors you have overlooked.

9) A/B Testing

You can improve your email marketing efforts with A/B testing. 

This involves sending out 2 versions of your email, with slight variations, to see which one performs better.

For example, you could test different subject lines, CTA copy, or design elements to see which one is the most effective.

A/B Testing allows you to optimize:

  •  Your email for maximum results,
  • And a great way to discover what your recipients like and respond to.

Tools such as Woodpecker allow you to perform A/B testing, which is extremely helpful for determining which email copy is the best for your campaign.

10) Timing is everything

When it comes to email copywriting best practices, timing is everything for your campaigns. 

You need to make sure that you send your emails at the right time for them to be viewed and read by your intended audience.

The Best time to send an email depends on several factors, such as:

  • The time zone of your recipients, 
  • The type of email you are sending, 
  • And your goals for the campaign.

It’s good to experiment with different times and days to see when your emails get the most engagement. 

You can also use tools like Woodpecker to automate your email sending so that you can focus on other aspects of your business.

Conclusion

Email copywriting is a critical skill for any marketer or a business owner. 

While it may seem challenging at first, it can help you increase sales, build brand awareness and nurture incoming leads.

Using the tips and practices listed above, you can get the most out of every email campaign you write and deploy.

By following these seven powerful practices, you can create email copy that is more engaging, effective, and successful. 

These practices will help you improve your open and click-through rates and boost your conversion rate.

Why not get started today?

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