Monday, December 14, 2009

How to Write Marketing Email Copy That Gets Results

People are busy and they jealously guard their time; especially with the economic downturn. People have been laid off and, jobs have been eliminated which makes the remaining work force busier; more time strapped. So, when someone receives an email they want to be sure that it is worth their time. This makes email copywriting all the more important.

In most of the jobs that I have worked over the years, much of the email writing was left up to the sales person or business opportunity development person to do. You may reach a contact on the phone only to have them tell you to send them an email and then… if they are interested after reading it, they will set up a meeting. This puts a lot of pressure on writing the email. It is imperative that it communicates the value proposition in a clear and concise way and, that it spurs the person on to action.

Give it a compelling subject title

It is important that you promise an important benefit in the title. This has to be an obvious benefit that you are certain the prospect will be interested in. I recently read an article that explained that small businesses were trying to save money by outsourcing their IT networking services. Here is the subject title that resulted in action from the recipients. “Many companies are outsourcing IT services to save money; We can help you take advantage of this trend.” The article cited a study that showed that there was a forty percent increase in IT outsourcing to save money. The email was targeted toward small business that provided IT services and, it was designed to encourage them to take advantage of this trend in a marketing campaign.

Make the body of the email clear and concise

Again, remember that you are emailing people who are busy so you should respect their time. They will appreciate it. Make the writing conversational. Write it as though you were carrying on a conversation with them and make it as simple and short as you can while still getting your message across. Use a bulleted list to break up the copy. Here is the example of how the email went forward:

Example:
"An AMI Partners study shows that there is a 40% increase in companies seeking to outsource IT to save money.

You can increase your clients and revenue even in a slow economy. There are many ways that you can effectively and affordably market your company and, sometimes all you need is a little help. Let us see if we can help you maximize your marketing efforts and spend. Free thirty minute marketing consultation; there is absolutely no obligation. rijMarketing Offer

  • Be found on local search through local search engine optimization
  • Be listed in 70+ directories
  • Get positive reviews on local directories
  • Enjoy the benefit of Pay Per Click marketing
I can assure you this will be a beneficial thirty minutes. Call today (Phone Number) or reply to this email for a no obligation evaluation."

Call to action

It is very important that you include several opportunities for the prospect to act. There should be a link to a landing page that calls for action. There should be a phone number that calls for action. Do not take anything for granted. You should be directing the prospect at every turn. If you do this you will craft emails that will end in results.

I appreciate any feedback so be sure to comment!

5 comments:

  1. Hi,

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  2. Is this example specifically for the pre-contact email request or in a more general sense. I'm curious how it weighs with those who immediately see it as a marketing email and delete it without reading the information.

    Is that figured into the number of emails that are sent? What percentage of the emails are read? How many end up at your landing page?

    I'm definitely going to read through your archives.

    Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Dave,

    Excellent comments...It has been used as a pre-contact email and, with modification for a request for emailed info. When it is used for a follow-up request from a phone call the subject line acknowledges that it was phone follow-up first, with a semi colon and, the subject title afterward.

    You are right; when it is sent as an unsolicited email or part of a pre-contact blast the click through rate is abismal...that is the case with all email marketing these days. However, using strong copy writing does make a difference even in that and, that was my point of writing the blog post.

    I think that companies would do well to have a strong template that can be modified for specific uses available for the sales force to use instead of creating one on the fly. I would go so far as to say that it should be mandated to be used. The first email that is sent after a contact has been made is critical.

    Joe

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Joe,
    This is an excellent article. I have an IT Consulting business and I'm in the process of doing an email campaign for a specific business park. Your sample title hit the nail on the head for me, I need to fill in the body and call to action and I'm ready to go.

    Bob Petro
    System Data Solutions

    ReplyDelete
  5. Please continue this great work and I look forward to more of your awesome blog posts. click here for more info

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