How to Write Emails that Convert

The digital marketing industry is a rapidly-changing landscape built on apps, social networks and trends that vary in popularity on a day-to-day basis. Despite the volatile nature of the Internet, one digital titan has managed to stand the test of time: email. For more than 20 years email has been a primary method of digital communication, making email mastery an essential skill for digital marketers. Fine-tuning just a few key elements of your email presentation can increase email conversions and mean the difference between an email that’s opened right away, and one that is marked as spam and sent to the trash.

The Hook

The subject line of your email is the most important element. Many of your recipients won’t see more than the subject line and sender of the email, so this first impression is where you will secure (or lose) the majority of your audience. If you want to increase your email marketing open rates, focus first on your subject—almost a third of consumers decide whether to open an email based on the subject line alone.

Your subject line should be concise and direct, as well as utilizing powerful language. Emails with the highest open rates often have the shortest subject lines—often as few as five or six words. If you need more space than that to send your message, keep it concise and integrate powerful language with calls to action. Tell people what to do in the subject line, and leave the how and the why for the body of the message.

Besides action items and powerful language, a personalized subject line can boost your chances of conversion. Open rates for emails with a personal touch are higher by as much as 22%. If you have access to non-intrusive information such as a first name, it can soften the tone of your email to make it seem less like an automated eblast. Include it in the subject line, opening salutation, closing signature or even the body to help establish that genuine connection with the customer.

Holding Your Readers’ Attention

Once you’ve hooked your audience with a well-crafted subject line you can shift your focus to the email body itself. Your efforts will be wasted if the content within the email isn’t compelling enough to hold their attention.

How can you ensure readers view the content of your email once they open it? Effective design is the key, especially for eblasts and enewsletters. Most readers won’t have the time or desire to read through an entire email, though it is likely that they will skim it. Your presentation should take this into account.

Avoid setting your content in a large block of text; instead organize things in order of importance, and set things in smaller, easier to digest content sections. Your audience will determine what is important for them to read and choose that content.

Additionally, make sure your emails are functional in the modern digital industry. Experts are predicting 75% of the Internet will be mobile in 2017, so your communications had better be mobile-friendly. As we’ve noted in previous blogs, analysts have determined nearly half of mobile users will delete an email that doesn’t display properly before even reading it. If your email appears broken when opened on mobile devices you’re missing out on the majority of your potential viewers. Cell phones are the primary tools for mobile internet usage, while tablets and wearables like the Apple Watch or Samsung Gear are gaining traction as well.

Creating effective email communication is as much about the presentation of the material as the actual content. What’s inside the email is irrelevant when it comes to whether or not they’ll open it, but once they do, the presentation should be neat, concise and deliberately organized. Advertising agencies are experts at handling the nuts and bolts of email management, and can ensure that your conversion rates reflect the high-quality content you are delivering to your audience.

Agencies also have experience, something that can’t simply be learned, which informs them to the best and worst techniques for increasing email conversions. This past proficiency, combined with current industry insights, allows agencies to understand and predict the direction trends are moving in, keeping them and their clients on the cutting edge of impactful email marketing.

Partner with the agency that has mastered the past, present and future of email. Appleton Creative is an award-winning, full-service online marketing and advertising agency located in Orlando, Florida. Appleton works with local, national and international clients to deliver custom content, persuasive online ads and expertly crafted campaigns. By implementing valuable and shareable digital content strategies, Appleton can create the perfect social and digital marketing experience for your brand and audience. Your Internet advertising goals are worth a conversation: contact us at 407-246-0092 or info@appletoncreative.com