What a wonderful world we are living in, right? Nowadays, in order to sell something to somebody, people don’t have to convince their potential customers of the benefits that the product holds for them because the modern customers already know “everything about everything”. Still, even the smarty pants sometimes open their emails and as soon as they open the one sent by you, you up to five seconds to make them at least interested in reading it till the end.
Nonetheless, as a marketing specialist, you shall understand that your ultimate aim is to make people follow the lead in the email and actually buy the product advertised. Hence, if you are ready to learn how to write email marketing content that converts leads into sales, here are the 11 steps that you should follow. Enjoy!
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Make Your Subject Line the Punchline
Shall we start from the beginning and ponder over what makes people actually open your emails? That is correct! This is a powerful subject line that makes them interested. Would you be interested in reading an article with a dull headline? That’s what I thought. So, make sure that your subject line is captivating.
You have to understand that the span that you have for luring your potential clients into at least opening your email is truly limited. Use the subject line to your biggest advantage.
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Shoot Your Emails from the Point-Blank Range
Imagine a soldier ending up on a battlefield not knowing who is a friend and who is the enemy. It might sound awkward, but when you are a marketer, you are a soldier because you, my friend, are at war for customers.
Hence, before you even start writing the aforementioned subject line, make sure that you know whom to write. That is, you have to define your audience, your target customers. Each and every parameter and feature of their demography has to be defined in advance. You should understand that sending emails with the leads to component parts of an internal combustion engine to old ladies living miles from nowhere is not going to lead you to a purchase.
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Make the Preview Moment Great Again
As soon as you know whom to write to and your subject line is all polished and great, you shall trigger the next customer’s instinct and make them start reading your preview text. It follows the subject line and should not be long. Make sure that your preview text is up to 12 words; otherwise, the clients will say: “I have no time for this”.
The rule of thumb for you to follow here is to try reading in your preview text in one second. If you can do it and you see that you have managed to fill it with all the information needed, you can sleep tight cause your preview text is ready.
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Formatted Content Makes Perfect
It is probably the worst thing that an online marketing specialist can possibly encounter in his professional practice – to catch the potential customer’s attention and then let him slip off the hook. That is, please, devote enough time to reassure yourself that the content of your emails will live up to the high expectations set by your subject line and preview text.
As a matter of fact, this is exactly where the “real thing” begins. Thus, there are two pivotal tasks that you have to accomplish in order to make sure that your content is duly formatted. First of all, it must be properly structured. That is, the pattern of information visualization must be clear and easy to perceive.
You should follow the so-called hamburger structure in your email. Start with the upper bun and provide a small introduction for the clients. Insert a relevant joke or an interesting fact that makes them feel relaxed. Then, bring on the meat and deliver your pivotal message along with the lead. Finally, provide the lower bun by ending the email on an amicable note.
The second rule is to use the navigation tools so your clients could read the email more comfortably. Use subheadings, bullet points, whatever you like, as long as it lets you remain professional and keep the tone of your email not way too familiar.
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You’re Just a Human After All
Was our content helpful? Have you found our lead useable? Would you like to receive our emails with more statistical or empirical data regarding the product? Stop! One more rule that you have to follow when crafting the emails is to keep it simple.
Remember, your clients are not professional marketers just like you. They need to understand every single word written to them without the need for looking it up in the dictionary. Furthermore, establishing a humane connection with your readers is as important as eventually propelling them in making a purchase. Hence, keep it professional but not too witty.
Oh, one more thing. Whenever, you question the need for establishing a connection with your clients, have a look at the infographics provided below.
Data Credit: Maryam Mohsin, 2019.
Link: https://www.oberlo.com/blog/email-marketing-statistics
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Create Templates: Destroy Problems
There is, probably, no marketer in the world, regardless of whether it is a newbie or an experienced professional, that would type personalized emails for each and every customer. If there was one, he or she would probably end up sending 5-10 emails a day which is definitely not enough.
Hence, you shall embark upon creating email templates for yourself. For example, you can create sample emails for some of the most widespread communicational situations in which a marketer has to embark upon cooperation with the customer and then simply change the name in the head of the email. Here comes a splendid example of welcoming email template crafted by Dimitris Tsapis:
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Hey [name]!
Welcome to [brand name]. We are happy to have you join our community.
[Brand name] goal is to create [add goal and/or mission of your brand].
We promise to only send you emails [add how many times per week you will be sending an email].
All emails will offer valuable information to help you along your journey, and we may occasionally recommend a product that we believe in.
We hope you enjoy your time with us and, in the meantime, feel free to check our [educational resources of your brand]
Yours,
[Brand name]
_____________________________________________________________________________________
You can find more splendid samples that were devised by Dimitri here:
https://www.mailigen.com/blog/email-marketing-templates/
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Email Automation Means Better Information
As a marketer, you should know that each and every marketing campaign follows a particular “funnel”. Hence, sending all the emails at once would be a bad idea because if your campaign was meant to last for three months, nobody would remember about it by the end of the first week.
Constantly reminding people of the commodities that you sell might be a proper strategy, as you should know that in accordance with research conducted by the Campaign Monitor portal, 96% of the customers that come to your website for the first time are not ready to buy yet. Therefore, automate your emails and has them sent when planned and, what is more, to the customers that need it the most.
If you want to know more about email automation, follow this link:
https://www.campaignmonitor.com/resources/guides/email-automation/
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You Have Psychology on Your Side
Nowadays, almost each and every of your potential customers has at least one account on social media. The reason why most people are using it is that they are simply afraid to be left socially isolated. Hence, using this psychological approach can really help you turn your leads into purchases.
Sending your customers an email, stating that if they don’t buy the advertised products, their peers will consider them outcasts might be just the trick that you need. This strategy may be especially effective if those are the clients aged between 18 and 30 that you are working with.
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Improve Your Content: Customers Have to Apprehend
Regardless of how obvious it might sound, but it shall be constantly reminded to marketers that top-notch content is their main weapon. When you have your email ready and waiting to be sent, there is one more important step for you to embark upon. You have to proofread and edit the content of your essay until it becomes flawless.
You can use all the tools provided to you by the Internet, online dictionaries, editing platforms, thesaurus, etc. By the way, big digital marketing companies find it proper to hire a professional in-house editor whose responsibility is to fix all the lexical, grammar, syntax, and stylistic bugs on the company’s emails.
Imagine one of your customers opening your welcoming email. He or she reads the letter and feels like buying from you. Then, all of a sudden, there is a grammar error, let’s say the lack of the possessive case usage, and the customer changes his or her mind in a glimpse of an eye. Or here comes the worst-case scenario: the customer notices a typo in his name. Proofread your papers for the devil is always in the details.
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Use Images
It goes without saying that an email with a high-definition image inserted looks way more fascinating than a plain text. Also, some outstanding and sometimes even provocative images may help your emails be noticed by the customers and this also a strategy for making them at least open your letters, read them, click, and buy. Use fancy images to make sure that your customers follow the algorithm.
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Remunerate the Customers
No, you don’t have to pay them for purchasing items using your leads. Nevertheless, it is so uplifting for the customer to follow the link and see that there is a 10% or even a 15% discount waiting for him or her. If the customer has followed your lead, you can rest assured that he or she is interested in buying the product. Having seen the discount, he will surely buy the product and will offer it to a friend or two. So, are you ready to lose a little for getting much more?
Conclusion
The conclusion of every email that you send to your customers must be an object or service that was purchased following your lead. Now, you know what to do in order to remain relevant on the marketing job market or even open a digital marketing agency of your own; at least, you will know what to do with emails.
Converting leads into purchases is not a simple task, but you can cope with it by adhering to the eleven aforementioned rules. Remember, first you have to make your customers interested in opening the email. Then, they have to be given the motivation to read it till the end. Finally, they have to follow the lead and conduct a purchase.
So, remain professional but at the same time as humane as possible because customers do not like the posh letters which they find hard to understand. Make sure that you save your customers from the need of opening their dictionaries and simply but politely tell them why they should read your letter and how buying the advertised product directly shall change their lives for the better or, at least, prevent it from going to get worse.
About the Author
Laura Garbers is a renowned freelance writer. Having graduated from the University of South Australia, where she used to edit the university’s literary journal, she devoted her life to writing for reputable online platforms, such as CraftResumes. Having also written a lot of insightful and instructive articles about the marketing tricks that are being used by thousands of successful marketers from all over the world.
