Category: Email Marketing

  • “Email Copies Don’t Generate Results.” – A Rare Fact About Writing A Great Email Copy

    Email copy has been one of the most effective digital marketing strategies and is proven to generate results. Here’s how to write a converting email copy.

    Months ago, a friend reached out to me complaining about how her sales email had zero conversion. (She’s a health and fitness coach). 

    She lamented saying, “email copies don’t generate results.” I asked for the email copy she sent, and I grimaced while reading the entire email. At some point, I had to stop reading and shook my head in disappointment. 

    Mind you, she had spent quite some bucks to create her email list. 

    The marketing email she wrote was entirely salesy and offered no value to her audience. She only talked about her certificates and her fitness program. There was no place where she tried to address her audience’s challenges. She didn’t even explain how her program can help them. 

    Many individuals do the same thing. Just write about yourself and your product/service, and don’t give a hell about the challenges your audience face, and expect results. 

    Writing Great Email Copy

    A vital thing to do when writing a marketing copy is to relate to your audience’s challenges. Get yourself into their shoes and show empathy. Below is a paragraph from the email she wrote and an improved version I wrote.

    Original:

    “My fitness program is one of the best you can enroll for. When you buy my fitness program, you can get a lot from it. You can get into shape and have the type of body you desire when you go through my fitness program.”

    Improved: 

    “You want to have a great shape and stay fit, but factors such as procrastination and late-night meals keep holding you back. I have been there before but overcame the process. This fitness program helps you to easily overcome those factors holding you back and help you stay fit.”

    In the improved version, you notice how I was able to relate with the audience. I clearly stated the major challenges people face when trying to stay fit and made the reader understand that I have been there before as well. The original paragraph only bores the reader because it just talks about her and her program and little about the audience. No one likes “me, me, me.” Marketing copy is about “you, you, you.”

    The improved email gets the audience interested and makes them want to know what’s next. While the original one makes it obvious that she just wanted to close a sale, so most readers won’t bother to read further.

    Personalize and Get Personal in Email Marketing

    A lot of brands fail to personalize their email copy. They just write and fill the email with boring details about their product/service. According to Campaign Monitor, personalized email subject lines generate an average of 50% higher open rates while marketers experience a 760% increase in revenue from segmented campaigns.

    Using the right words such as “you” instead of “our” and “I,” is a simple way to get personal in your email. The idea is to not bore your recipient and make the email to be all about you and your service.

    People love brands that know exactly what they’re going through and relate to their challenges. Dо you have a salesy copy that isn’t getting you results? Delete it right away!

    Email marketing still generates tons of results. Just do it right. 

    About The Author: Hillary Nwoye

    A prolific Copywriter and Content strategist with over 5 years of experience. Helping SMEs and brands engage with their audience and yield results is all I dо. 

    Twitter: https://twitter.com/HillaryLarryHub

    LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/hillary-larryhub

    Editorial Note:

    This guest post was inspired by this tweet thread. Thank you so much for being willing to write this thread as an article, Hillary!

  • Email the Right People — Don’t Just Build a List

    When it comes to email marketing, it’s tempting to have a large list. A large list doesn’t help you. The right list does. Let’s face it. Bigger is not better.

    As people, we like to be able to brag about the size of our lists.Do you want to be able to say that you have a list of 10,000 people or 72?

    Email Marketing — Bigger is Not Better

    You’ve most likely read at least ten articles on how to build your email subscriber list. If you’ve been on Twitter today, maybe you read 25. But bigger isn’t better. You want to email the right people, not just whomever.

    Reach Your Audience Where They Are

    Some would say that since I have over 16,000 Twitter followers, my list should be larger. To that I say, no. It’s okay that people prefer to read this article in their email client or when I post it to social media.

    Email Marketing Audiences

    If you are reading this in your email, it’s because you subscribed to this blog. That means you want to read my posts. It’s being delivered by Postmatic, my favorite service and client. That’s fine. You want to read my articles. Otherwise, you’d unsubscribe.

    Right now, I have 107 subscribers to this website’s blog though Postmatic. That’s good. It’s healthy.

    The Right Tools for the Right Audience

    For my blog, Postmatic is perfect. I still need to communicate with my existing clients and sales leads. This is why I started using Mailchimp again.

    I exported my clients from FreshBooks. Then I created an audience in Mailchimp with those folks alone. My friend Amy Hall is a Mailchimp Expert if you need help doing this for your own business. (I don’t offer that as a service.)

    Email Marketing to Clients

    I sent them special promotions that I was running. Most likely, since I manage many Twitter accounts, they won’t see my tweets. Honestly, most people like receiving emails — especially if they are GenX or Boomers.

    I sent two simple campaigns with clearly-defined offers.

    What are my open rates?

    For the last two campaigns I had over 65% and 50% open rates. I had 3 unsubscribes. I love unsubscribes. You know they’re not interested.

    My open rates are way above industry standards. Why? It’s simple. I’m only emailing those people who are interested.

    What were the results?

    Yes, I know. “The proof of the pudding is in the eating.” I sent the second email August 7 and by August 8 had $100 worth of extra work. It helps me and it helps my client.

    Was it worth it? Yes. Even those who haven’t responded are now aware that I have an offer this month. Furthermore, they can expect similar offers in the future.

    Much better than a random coupon, I’m reminding my clients about me, my services, and my brand.

    What’s the lesson?

    Do something. Send it to the people that matter. Don’t worry about numbers. Worry about quality.

  • You have email subscribers. Now what?

    Congrats. You have email subscribers. Now, what do you do? Do you have a nurture or drip campaign setup? You need Amy.

    You can have all the leads come to your MailChimp but if you don’t do anything with those emails, what’s the point?

    A lot of businesses have the free opt-in offer, but then they don't follow up with those people. The best way is with a drip email campaign. @GenuineAmyHall Share on X

    Get Professional MailChimp Help

    Why be frustrated? Amy Hall is a certified MailChimp Expert and Partner. She’s also a WordCamp Speaker and one of my best friends.

    Do you need to know more?

    How about that she builds WordPress websites?

    How about that she teaches WordPress?

    She doesn’t toot her own horn — at all.

    So I am.

    Go to her website. Talk to her.*

    You won’t be sorry.

    Amy Hall on WPblab Episode 97: WordPress Plugins – Building Your Mailing Lists

    *not an affiliate link.