As you cast your eyes upon your inbox, what truly entices you to open an email? Is it a genuine interest in the product or perhaps a clever marketing tactic? If you’re someone crafting sales emails and seeking to captivate your recipients, you’ve come to the right place. Here, you’ll discover the best methods for crafting compelling emails and the optimal times and strategies to achieve high open rates. With these insights at your disposal, you’ll be well-equipped to create engaging emails that grab your audience’s attention and drive successful outcomes.
Let’s begin!
Subject Lines:
Start with a clear and concise subject line that sets the tone for your email. Mention their name and the purpose of the email, making it relevant and engaging. Leave out all the salesy words like sale, complimentary, and specials. Because most of your emails will include that, but think of lines like ‘Have you considered (insert) as an option?’, ‘This might be something that you need’ or even ‘How can I help you’. Most subject lines need to appear like you are invested in your audience, not just sending something to get a bite. Adding emoji’s is also another great way to cut thru the email inbox clutter. Keep them on topic but don’t be afraid to try their use.
Greetings – who are they?
Most of the time you can address them by name, but it is what you say at the beginning of their name that is going to make the difference. Think of the tone of the email and then this will help with the greeting word. If you are trying to be formal then ‘Dear’ is appropriate, ‘Hi’ for Casual or even ‘Welcome’ is another really good one for an event or new opening.
And it also begs the question of addressing them by name needed, maybe it is ‘Friend’, or ‘Mum’. Start off by evaluating your tone and then the greeting will come naturally. Pro tip too! If you are going to address them by their name make sure you’ve spelled it correctly and if you’re using a mail merge token make sure the first and last name fields are mapped separately as using someones full name in what’s meant to be a 1 to 1 communication is over formalised and just looks lazy and tacky.
Brief Introduction – the opening line:
When it comes to your opening line, choose the line that doesn’t sound cheesy. ‘Hi, I am’ is one to avoid if you don’t need to introduce yourself off the bat. But maybe simple lines like posing a question to them or concern ‘How do you know’ or ‘Have you noticed’ or ‘Do you struggle’. It is a light way of getting them to think about your next sentence and maybe see that you are ‘understanding’ their concerns without being pushy.
Body Copy- Provide Context:
The body copy will set you apart from the rest if you have nailed the first three successfully. What is the purpose of this email? How can you help them? Why contact them? These are all questions you need to ask yourself before writing the copy. You are there to tell them that you are there for them, and not here to sell them the new wonder diet drug, but more understand why they need your product in the first place.
The first thing you should do is wordsmith some keywords about your product or service, write them down and then may Chat GPT it as well, and get as much information and connection to these words as you can. For example, if I am selling luxury accommodation for a girl’s weekend away, what do I want my audience to feel when reading my email – fun, happiness, high-class, relaxation? All the words need to feature or the variance around these words needs to appear in the copy. It’s important to remember you need to show your audience that you care, not to sell them something.
When starting the body, map it out with all the positives together and then the negatives. You need to bring them in with your story or concern, and then end it with a happy note.
Remember to keep this brief to the point, people aren’t going to read an essay or an email.
Images and videos:
The worst thing you can do is add a whole bunch of text with no breaks. The best way to do this is to add images and videos, anything really. It could be of your product or it could be examples of what you can do.
How to end it!
What is your call to action, never ever never ever send an email without giving your audience an easy call to action, is it purchase now (button), or email (hyperlinked), give them the option to contact you and make sure that you make it easy for them to make this decision.
DO NOT put a link in your email that gives them more information, the end is the ‘sale’, they don’t need it, they just need to know how to get going. Add that section to the body.
A really good way to end if this isn’t a purchase but an email or to contact, is to pose a question to them like ‘Let me know what makes sense as a next step, if any?’. Remember you need to remove the cheese so don’t add in anything about times or invites. It needs to be casual and they need to come to you. For example, don’t write – Do you have ten minutes to catch up tomorrow? End it with – Let me know if you would like a 10-minute chat. It isn’t forcing an outcome, it is suggesting that you are letting them make the decision.
The key to an exceptional email introduction is being genuine, respectful, and relevant to the recipient’s needs. By following these tips, you can create a powerful first impression and increase the likelihood of getting the desired results from your email outreach.
For those seeking additional email marketing tips, be sure to explore the Creative Little Soul blog. And if you require further assistance with your email marketing endeavours, don’t hesitate to connect with our Marketing Guru, Chrissy or myself. Schedule a one-on-one chat to explore how we can best support and enhance your business. We’re here to help you achieve your marketing goals and drive success for your brand.