It had to happen.

You were about to leave your home office when suddenly you remembered you had to send your clients an important message. 

A call is convenient but you don’t want to be stuck on the phone. A letter perhaps? Ha! How long would that take? 

You want to get out of the house in this century. That’s where the perfect email comes in to save the day. An Email or electronic mail is a free, fast, convenient, and professional way to communicate. 

Whether it’s for personal or in this case business purposes, emails are the way to go. 

What is the Proper Email Format?

Your emails should always be well formatted. 

Nothing screams unprofessional louder than a sloppy email. Many people make the big mistake of treating emails like texts.

The two should not be confused. While both text messages and emails are informal, texts are more for personal use and don’t follow any particular format. Emails, on the other hand, are generally more professionally used and do have important conventions to follow. 

In this blog, I’ll be focusing on business email marketing. Let’s dive in.

Do email marketing campaigns work?

Is Beyonce one of the most iconic singers alive? Yes! 

If you gave any other answer then I’ll have to write a separate blog addressing the BeyHive receipts. For now, let us stick to emails.

Despite all our fascinating technological advancements, emails are still highly effective and one of the top-rated marketing channels.

You don’t have to worry about complicated algorithms, it’s very affordable and in most cases it is free, and you have direct control over your content. Now here’s the best part.

Email campaigns have an average eighteen percent (18%) open rate across all industries. Compared to social media’s rate of about one percent or less. Yikes!

You don’t need to own a fortune 500 company or have ten years of experience in business to send email campaigns. All businesses need emails and we are going to write the perfect email together.

Let’s go!

What Are Good Email Subject Lines?

Consider your email subject line as the first impression of your email. Remember, first impressions are lasting ones. 

An excellent subject line quickly grabs your reader’s attention and builds curiosity. Here’s the catch – there’s always a catch. 

It has to accomplish those tasks in as few words as possible. This is why some people struggle with writing good subject lines, but I promise you it is very possible. 

Keep in mind that the majority of people access the internet on their phones. So your subject line has to be mobile-friendly too. 

First, summarize what your email is about in one or two words. Then identify the objective of your email. For example, you’re writing an email marketing campaign about how to grow your Instagram following. A good subject line is – 3 Easy Ways to Quickly Grow Your IG

The subject line perfectly captures the intent of the email – to share knowledge on a particular topic. While the trigger words ‘easy’ and ‘quickly’ speak your reader’s emotions. The best part is it did all that in less than nine words. But there’s more.

Don’t catfish your readers in the subject line. Avoid over-sensationalizing your subject lines. It should reflect what the email is actually about as it sets the expectation for what they’re about to read. If your subject line is talking about fashion, your email should not be about discussing baking tips.

Do you see how unrelated those two topics are? You run the big risk of confusing your reader and confused people do not take action. 

To spice it up even more call out your reader by name. Personalization always wins in emails.

Now let’s move on to the body of the email.

How do you start an email to the first sentence?

So now that your email recipient has read the subject line and opened your email…what do you do to keep their attention? 

Another great question. 

You want to keep the first sentence super brief and very simple. So simple a first grader could read it. 

Your mission in writing the perfect email is to have your reader go through your entire email and take the action you outlined for them. 

Having a super easy-to-read first sentence quickly leads your reader to the second sentence. So what’s the point of the second sentence? To get the reader to the third sentence. You get the drift.

Each sentence should easily flow into the next to get your reader through the entire copy. 

Moreover, all good essays have a great conclusion. Your emails should too.

How do you write a call to action?

Now we are near the end of the perfect email. It’s time to recap and let your reader know what is next. 

This is where the call to action comes in. 

Just as the name suggests, a call to action or CTA is a phrase that asks the reader to do something.

In email marketing, the majority of emails are written with the intent to sell something. Thus, the CTA typically aims to get the reader to buy a product or book a service.

In other cases, the call to action could be to book a meeting, subscribe to get regular updates or provide further information. 

Here are some best practices when writing a good email call to action:

1. Use a strong command verb to start your CTA
2. Use words that provoke emotion or enthusiasm
3. Give your audience a compelling reason why they should take the desired action
4. Create a sense of urgency by taking advantage of FOMO (fear of missing out)

To get the best results for your email campaigns, be sure to give your reader as much information as possible in your CTA. 

Just as curiosity kills the cat, it can also dissuade your reader from actually clicking the button. Avoid being very vague and generic like ‘Click Here For More’ … more of what exactly? 

People don’t like to take chances. Yes, it’s that serious for an email. 

Therefore, be straightforward. It’s better for all parties involved. Let your audience know exactly what to expect when they click on your CTA button. 

This also helps you to dissuade the wrong users from clicking by means of a clear and direct message. WIN-WIN!

How do I make my marketing emails stand out?

You put all this thought and effort into writing the perfect email. What good is it if no one reads it though? 

Your client isn’t only receiving your emails. Their inbox is filled with daily promotions from other companies. Some even sell the same products and services as you. 

Here are some proven ways to make your marketing emails stand out. In addition to the catchy subject lines and calls to action we discussed, be sure to

• Provide your reader with valuable content they can easily apply and get results from
• Write your emails like you are having a 1:1 conversation. Avoid group terms like ‘yall’ and ‘everyone’. Instead, use ‘you’ and ‘your’
• Infuse your personality into the email copy. Don’t be afraid to add slang and jokes as long as it’s relevant to your email and audience. 
• Keep it brief. Our attention spans are shrinking by the day. The fewer words you can use to get your message across the better. 
• Segment your list. Sending emails to targeted groups can increase readership by 15%

So What Did You Learn?

You learned how powerful email marketing campaigns are for your business and how to professionally format them. Then we dived deep into how to write click-worthy subject lines and the best way to start an email to the first sentence. Lastly, we took a close look at how to write an effective call to action and of course, how to make your marketing emails stand out.

Shoot me a DM on Instagram @vee.lake to tell me your thoughts about this blog and don’t forget to share this with your business bestie!