Good emails remain the cornerstone of building and maintaining an engaged audience. Most communication channels – from podcasts to social media – are super crowded. Whilst inboxes are busy, email marketing remains resilient, with an estimated return on investment of 40%.
Email marketing stands out for its directness and personal touch. Think about it – when was the last time you went more than a day or two without checking your emails? But we are in the era where the ease of opting out has never been greater.
What does this mean for you? Well if you don’t have email marketing, I recommend you start. If you do, you need to be writing good emails. To thrive in a crowded marketplace, how to write emails that will engage and capture your audience should be the first on your list. Let me show you how.
What the ‘unsubscribe’ button tells you about how to write emails
Email marketing platforms have now featured the ‘unsubscribe’ button at the very top of your emails, making it alarmingly straightforward for recipients to leave your mailing list – with one simple click! Just like below 👇
The unsubscribe button is all about giving power back to the people but let’s be real – every time someone hits that button, it’s a missed opportunity for you to connect. But this button can teach you a thing or two about how to write emails.
- A feedback loop: Unsubscribe rates can give you the real talk feedback you need. A spike in unsubscribes? Time to rethink what you’re sending out. Too salesy, too boring, or maybe just too much – the unsubscribe button can hint at what needs to change.
- Quality over quantity: This button is a constant nudge us to focus on quality over just blasting out tons of emails. People are picky with their inbox space. So, the message is clear: send good emails – emails that matter, or expect a wave of unsubscribes.
- Learn from the clicks: Getting unsubscribes from your email list isn’t the end of the world. Instead of sweating over the unsubscribes, use them as a reason to keep getting better. Ask yourself: Are my emails hitting the mark? Am I actually getting what my audience needs? Every unsubscribe is a nudge to up your email game.
Why good emails matter more than ever
Good emails – whether it’s good email for business or good emails for customer retention – is the pinnacle of good email marketing. You can have the best platform with super sleek and advanced automation but at the heart of email marketing is well written and engaging good emails.
Cutting through the noise: In an era where inboxes are spilling with so many subscriptions and mailing list memberships, standout emails must be exceptional. They need to capture attention by offering unique value and relevance among a sea of mediocrity.
Rise of consumer control: With the advent of easy unsubscribe features, consumers wield more power over their inboxes than ever before. This shift places a premium on engaging, respectful communication from businesses to their audiences.
Cost of losing subscribers: An engaged email list is a valuable asset in any marketing strategy. While some loss is natural, maintaining a minimal unsubscribe rate is crucial to avoid significant losses in sales, engagement and customer loyalty. Email marketing platforms can penalise you if your unsubscribe rate is consistently high.
Need for personal connection: Moving beyond transactional interactions, emails must cultivate a sense of connection and trust, laying the foundation for lasting relationships.
Fosters brand Loyalty: Consistent, valuable engagement with your audience fosters brand loyalty, an invaluable asset in the competitive digital marketplace.
Changing expectations: Customers today expect more than generic messages; they want meaningful engagement. Quality emails that deliver value and relevance can exceed these expectations, fostering anticipation for future communications.
Long-term strategy: Emphasising quality in email outreach presents a sustainable approach to nurturing customer relationships and loyalty.
Good email for business and beyond: tips on how to write emails
- Write compelling subject lines: The subject line serves as the gateway to your email content. A brilliantly crafted subject line is critical, acting as a teaser that intrigues and motivates recipients to delve deeper. Consider employing curiosity, urgency, or personalisation to make the subject line stand out in a crowded inbox.
- The power of preview text: The preview text, appearing alongside your subject line, provides an additional layer of context and enticement. Use the preview text to complement your subject line, offering a sneak peek into the core value or unique proposition awaiting inside the email. Avoid redundancy with the subject line; instead, use this space to amplify curiosity or highlight a key benefit.
- Structure your content for impact: How you structure the content of your email can significantly influence engagement levels. Begin with visually appealing banners or headers. Strategically place your most compelling content or offers at the top, ensuring they capture attention immediately. The goal is to create a flow that feels both natural and compelling, gently guiding the recipient through the content toward your Call To Action (CTA).
- Personalisation and segmentation: Personalisation extends beyond inserting a recipient’s name into the email. It involves crafting content that resonates on a personal level with your audience. Segmenting your email list allows for tailored messages that address specific needs, interests, or behaviours, enhancing the relevance and effectiveness of your communications. Use data and insights to segment your audience and create personalised experiences that feel genuinely designed for each recipient.
- Create a strong Call to Action (CTA): A well-crafted CTA is more than just a button or link. Your CTA should be clear, compelling, and visually distinct, guiding subscribers towards the desired action with confidence. Analyse and iterate on the language, design, and placement of your CTAs, drawing inspiration from successful examples within your industry. Ensure that the pathway is clear and the value proposition is irresistible.
Tap into exclusive offers and content: Exclusivity has a powerful psychological pull. By offering content or deals that are perceived as exclusive, you tap into a sense of privilege and urgency amongst your subscribers. Highlight the unique nature of your offers, emphasising the special access or significant value they provide.
Writing good emails: Not just content
Writing good emails goes beyond just the content you write—it’s about delivering a seamless experience. Here are some areas to focus on that extend past the written word:
- Mobile optimisation: With mobile usage soaring, ensuring your emails are mobile-friendly is non-negotiable. This means designing emails with a responsive layout, clear and concise text, larger clickable buttons for easy interaction, and fast-loading images that enhance rather than detract from the user experience.
- Testing and analytics: To truly understand the impact of your email campaigns, it is essential to utilise A/B testing and delve into analytics. Test subject lines, calls-to-action, content layouts, and even send times to see what resonates best with your audience. Then, analyse open rates, click-through rates, and conversion data to measure performance and identify trends.
Emails that capture your audience
If you want to stand out from the crowd, you need to learn how to write emails – good emails. From a good email for business to a good email for nurturing relationships, personalised communication with your audience is more crucial now than ever. It is an investment of time, creativity and strategic thinking that you need as the digital landscape evolves.
