Copywriting for email marketing: 18 tips on how to write emails that sell

They say that even the slickest all-text email can achieve a lot in terms of increasing sales. Today we're going to talk about copywriting for email marketing. We'll share 18 tips to help you write emails that sell.

And many of them will be applicable in other channels of your marketing strategy.

To make this article even more useful, we'll end by adding two formulas that you can base both your email marketing copywriting and your other campaigns on.

Words are among the most powerful tools to increase sales. But what eludes many is that behind effective copywriting is not necessarily a good writer.

Well, it helps, of course. But to make your copy stand out from everyone else's, it's important to know your audience and use psychological techniques to influence them.

We will share the most important of them. Our copywriting tips will transform your emails into effective sales tools.

✨ Above all, express yourself accurately and clearly

This is a good example of the expression "Less is more" or "Less is more".

It's nice to have witty copy, but first and foremost, the user needs to clearly understand what you're offering and what's being asked of them.

Make sure you have described everything clearly. Only then can you play with the text a little and embellish it with a joke, a pun or a play on words if it suits.

✨ Use numbers in the email subject line

Your email inbox is where you need to say a lot with few words (and characters). It determines whether the user will open your email at all or scroll down and forget about it.

The numbers in the sub-diagram bring added value. They can denote some appetizing discount (-20% on all products for Women's Day) or be informative (50% of people in the world don't get enough sleep).

Either way, the appeal and credibility of your message is increased.

✨ Talk about the benefits, not the features of your products

Of course, it's important for customers to know what your product is. But it's more important for them to understand what its benefits are.

Customers don't buy the shampoo, they buy the beautiful hair. They don't buy the vitamins, they buy the health and energy. They don't buy the TV, they buy the experience in front of the screen.

Spin your messages this way and your emails will become more inspiring as if by magic.

✨ Use emotions in copywriting for email marketing

Speaking of benefits, emotions play a major role in effective copywriting.

A woman wants to buy a shampoo that will make her hair shiny and vibrant, but in most cases that is not her ultimate goal.

Shiny and vibrant hair is a way to get noticed, to get the admiration of others, to boost self-esteem.

Tie the shampoo to the emotional benefits of using it and sales will skyrocket on their own.

Watch out for email length

As mentioned, the ability to say a lot with few words is important for effective email marketing copywriting.

Here you have to write down the exact formula. It's important to add value with your email. But still remember that your users are most likely busy people.

Most of them hardly feel like reading novels in their email. But every now and then you can test a longer format like a case study or an educational email.

✨ Tell stories in email marketing campaigns

Instead of talking about dry advantages and benefits without a face, tie them into a story.

You could even use a real or fictional ideal client.

"This is Laura - she had the following problem, but when she found product X, things changed...".

The idea is that subscribers who read your email will associate themselves with Laura. They'll say, "Oh, I have the same problem as her, so maybe this solution will help me too."

✨ Don't use passive voice in your email marketing copywriting

If you want someone to do something, talk to them like that.

Use verbs that prompt action - "buy", "order", "take", "choose".

The idea is to let users know, without having to think about it, what they can do with the information in the email.

Encourage them to interact, both in the digest and in the copy of the email itself.

Here we will also mention the importance of calls to action.

Every email should have them. They should match both the subheader and the information on the landing page.

They usually take the form of a large, appetizing-looking button that leads to your landing page.

✨ Use everyday language when writing copy for your emails

A promotional email campaign is not the place to show how well-read you are and what complicated words you know. No one wants to read it and the likelihood of you going in the trash is not small.

Effective copywriting for email marketing speaks the language of the intended user.

Get into his mind. Find out what his problems are and propose solutions using the right expressive tools that will touch him right in the heart.

If you are addressing Nobel laureates, then please use complex language. If your target group consists of sleep-deprived toddler moms, try to step into their shoes.

✨ Use social proof

Social proof is a psychological ploy that encourages users to use a product because they see that other people with similar problems have solved them through it.

An example is including customer feedback in the emails you send.

Social proof is among the principles of persuasion outlined by psychologist Robert Cialdini in the 1980s. It is one of the most popular and easily applicable techniques in digital marketing.

✨ Copywriting for email marketing that educates

Tell more about your products and give ideas for their use that consumers may not have thought of on their own. If you end an email like this with a call to order, you increase your chances.

It's important, as mentioned, that your email adds value.

If you offer food products, share interesting recipes with them.

If you offer cosmetics, tell us more about a magical ingredient worth paying attention to.

✨ Formatting is important, not just in copywriting for email marketing

It may not seem like it, but the formatting of the text is also important.

Make it easy and quick to read. Break it up into paragraphs, use bullets to list and underline important information with a bolt or italic.

But don't use CAPS LOCK - you know how that's perceived on the internet, and nobody likes to be yelled at.

✨ Check your text

Oh, that's the boring part, we know. But it's probably the most important.

No matter how mega great a copy you write, a typo or spelling mistake can seriously screw things up.

To make sure you see everything before posting, leave the text aside for a bit. Look at it again after a while.

It's amazing how many things get noticed that way that are missed on the first or second reading.

✨ Customize content

This is about much more than adding the recipient's first name somewhere in the copy.

Use email automations. Through them, you can ensure that every user receives messages relevant to their interests and customer journey.

✨ Communicate urgency

"Only 24 hours left until the end of the sale!"

Make your users a little nervous. Even to dump whatever they're doing and complete their order with you right away. If they don't want to miss out on your tempting discount, of course.

No one wants to miss out on the benefits of saving money. And when you buy a quality product at a reduced price, the feeling is...nice.

✨ Avoid spam words in the digest

Words like "free", "buy", "100%" can send your email straight to the subscribers SPAM folder. Then things are not good for your reputation as an email marketer sender.

There is a message boundary you should not cross. Be persuasive, but don't promise things you can't deliver.

If you follow the rule to be natural in communication, you are less likely to end up in the SPAM folder.

Speak to your audience as if they were your friends. No one talks to their friends in all caps, amazing and empty promises of 100% free gifts for example.

✨ Know your audience

Many of the above points are extremely difficult to implement if you don't know your audience well.

The key to successful copywriting is figuring out exactly what consumers want to hear and how to tell them.

Because of this, you may have heard that writing is actually a very small part of a good copywriter's job. The other is research.

You can't write effectively if you lack information about the person who will read you. This applies to any communication channel such as email marketing, Facebook advertising or a landing page,

✨ Consistency between messages

If you're talking about your spring collection in your destiny, your text and call to action should also be dedicated to it. And your landing page should lead there.

Any inconsistency between any of these four elements can have negative consequences on the overall customer experience.

And with today's ferocious connurence, we can't afford for anything in our campaigns to breathe.

✨ Offer a prize to those who open

This can be a gift or a special discount for email subscribers only.

Mention it right in your digest so your users know there's something interesting inside.

And in the text of the email itself, you can present your offer as a thank you for your subscribers opening the email.

🪄 Two formulas to use in your email marketing copywriting

As mentioned, copywriting is more of a science than a writing skill. And in any science, there are formulas that dictate the method of work.

Two common and super useful formulas in copywriting, be it for email marketing or any other channel are: AIDA & PAS.

These are simple but effective ways to structure your texts so that they are clear, concise and persuasive.

Attention Interest Desire Action

With AIDA, you must first grab the consumer's attention, then pique their interest and make them want your product by promising them the effect they desire. Finally, you spur him to action with a clear appeal.

Problem Agitation Solution

With PAS, it all starts with the user's problem, then you start poking at the wound until the situation becomes intolerable, and finally you offer the solution.

Our copywriting tips for email marketing will help you send messages that sell.

Apply these tricks and you'll look like a copywriting wizard, but your magic wand will be the keyboard. Or paper and pen, if you're old school.

However, the text is only part of the advertisement. The design, offer, subscriber list segmentation and other settings such as the choice of sending time are also key to the success of your campaigns.

ADvantage's digital agency team is always on hand to take care of all aspects of our partners' working email marketing strategy, so we can achieve real results together.