5 Goals Every Seasoned Email Copywriter Has When Writing

If you go to your promotions inbox and check out your mail, you’ll probably find a ton of marketing emails. Some of them may be good; others may be bad. And some are just plain awesome – and you want your emails to fall under the last category. According to statistics from the Data & Marketing Association (DMA), each dollar spent on email marketing has an expected average return of $42. That said, the job of an email copywriter is crucial in making a business more profitable. Merely having an email marketing plan in place isn’t enough. You have to make sure that every email is optimized to move the reader’s customer journey forward. And seasoned copywriters know just how to do that. Here are five goals every well-versed email copywriter strives to achieve in every campaign.

1. Increased Open Rates

Whether you’re looking at content marketing, SEO marketing, or website copywriting, you have to tackle one challenge first – your audience should read your copy before it can do its magic. 

According to data, the average email open rate in the US is at around 17 percent, but it can still vary according to industry. 

To improve open rates, a seasoned email copywriter would employ the following strategies:

• Personalized message. Most people don’t bother opening an email when they know that they’re being sold to. Veer away from looking “spammy” by using actual names in the receiver and sender sections of the email. 
• Interesting headline. The first step to better open rates is to have a catchy headline. The subject should be punchy enough that the reader’s first instinct would be to open it. 
• Engaging preview text. The preview text or the email snippet seen below the subject line should complement the headline. Think of the headline as the hero and the preview text as the sidekick.

TIP: This marketing email from WooCommerce combines an eye-catching headline with an excellent preview text. As the headline’s “40% off on everything” sparks interest, the preview text saying “Sale ends at midnight” creates a sense of urgency.

2. Start Solid Automated Email Campaigns

Email sequence copywriting isn’t as simple as it seems. It should be crafted well enough that it guides prospects through their journey through the sales funnel. In addition to that, the email sequence should also work well beyond the purchase.

Here are a few automated emails copywriters create to make the prospects and customers feel well taken care of:

• Welcome email. Whether they just created an account on your website or they subscribed to your email list, send them an email to welcome them to your community.
• Regular newsletter. A regular newsletter helps keep your audience updated about your brand even if they haven’t purchased anything. This fosters brand recognition and recall.
• Exclusive promo email. Making your subscribers part of your community may entail giving them access to promos and sales before you offer them to other prospects.
• Personalized recommendations.  Up your chances of getting your emails opened by putting in recommendations customized according to the reader’s previous purchase. For instance, this email from Coursera offers suggestions related to previously taken courses.

3. Maintain Connection With the Community

Just as any copywriter for business does, an email marketing copywriter strives to maintain the brand’s connection with its community. Customers who feel that they’re part of the community are more likely to engage with the brand. At the same time, the connection could lead to improved trust and better sales.

To achieve this goal, most copywriters do the following:

• Use the customer’s language. It’s best to word the email in a language that your customers use. For instance, a formal email will not sound relatable to a younger audience. In the same vein, a letter that uses urban slang could be confusing to older readers. 
• Stay relevant. Know what issues your audiences are into at a certain time. By staying afloat of the matters important to your community, you can craft relevant emails that make them feel like you’re with them in their journey.
• Open communication lines. Let your audience know that your communication isn’t a one-way street. Encourage them to give feedback either through email or through your social media channels.

4. Improve Click Rates

According to data from MailChimp, the average click rate for all industries is 2.62 percent. 

If you look at the best email copywriting examples, you’ll notice that a lot of them are geared towards improving click rates. After all, the main purpose of the marketing email is to lead the reader to click the CTA button. 

To encourage readers to click, copywriters usually use a simple, persuasive, and no-nonsense call-to-action. For instance, instead of using the term “visit collection page,” a button that says “avail my exclusive 5% discount” can be more effective. 

TIP: Be creative with your CTA button. This email campaign from Trello says, “Unlock Greatness.” Now, who wouldn’t want to do that?

5. Engage Mobile Users

Statistics tell us that more than 4 out of 10 people use their mobile devices to open emails. With this in mind, it’s not surprising that copywriter companies train each email copywriter to create mobile emails.

And how exactly can you do that? Here are the tricks email copy experts have up their sleeve:

• Write the headline for mobile. We’ve already established that it’s best to keep headlines punchy and direct to the point. Writing for mobile, however, poses a bigger challenge. Because the mobile devices only display up to 30 characters on the email headline, you should look for a way to keep the subject line even shorter.
• Cut the fluff. Similar to the headline, the email body must also be more concise. Avoid beating over the bush and get to the point in as few words as possible.
• Focus on CTA. Because mobile users are probably reading the email on their way to work or while waiting in line, they don’t have the time to digest a lot of info. In short, it’s best to tell them right away what you want them to do, just like this marketing email from The New York Times.

The Bottomline

A seasoned email copywriter indeed brings invaluable benefits to a business. Aside from marketing new products and introducing offers, great copies help ensure that your customers are engaged and that you have an active community you can tap.

If you feel like your email campaigns aren’t working as they should, then you need to find a copywriter who knows how to do it right. Content Fuel offers expert copywriting services at an affordable price. Offering unlimited copies at a flat monthly rate, you can have all the copies you need without breaking the bank. Check out our packaging and see how your services can help you grow your brand.