Internet Marketing Digital_marketing_for_dummies | Page 285

Writing and Designing Effective Emails
If you want people to read your emails, you have to write and design emails that they want
to read. But with thousands of companies writing and sending emails every day, you have
to make your emails stand out.
Although email writing and design are art and not formula, this section lists a few tips to
hone your copywriting and email design skills so that your messages stand out.
Harvesting proven email copy
Go into your own email account and check the last ten messages that you opened. Look at
the copy and the design. Then ask yourself the following questions:
Did the headline grab your attention?
What hooks and leads did the copywriter use?
What benefits of the product or service are mentioned?
What proof or stories grabbed your attention?
What was the call to action?
When you’ve read the emails that grabbed your attention, see whether you can use them as
templates for emails that meet your own business goals. There’s no need to reinvent the
wheel if it’s already been invented for you. (If you want to use the example emails that we
include in this book and hone them to fit your marketing goals, feel free to do so.)
Answering four questions
To write great email copy, you have to figure out why a customer would engage with the
promotion. Answer these four questions:
Why now? Consider whether the promotion you have should offer new or on-sale
items. Also consider whether it’s seasonal or timely; that is, whether it’s something that
customers want or need now more than at another time.
Who cares? Decide who in your target audience is most affected by having (or not
having) what you’re selling.
Why should they care? You need to let customers know how their lives will be
different if they have your product or service.
Can you prove it? Provide case studies, testimonials, or news stories to prove that
your customers’ lives will be changed if they engage with your product or service.
Great email copy answers these questions in the body of the email in a way that clearly
demonstrates to the customer the value of your promotion.