One of the great debates in business in 2019 is talking about how email marketing is dead.
Sure, email marketing has been used for ages and doesn’t seem to be as attractive as it’s newer and fresher cousin, social media marketing. But email is still used as an effective tool for any business to nurture leads, build customer loyalty, and make sales. Yet, people can’t help but say that email is dying out and will eventually succumb to being an archaic form of marketing.
Truth be told, if you’re failing at email marketing and think it’s not working – then you’re probably doing it wrong.
When it comes to creating emails that are guaranteed to be opened, read, and lead people to a compelling CTA, there is a formula you have to follow. It doesn’t matter if you’re in e-commerce, coaching, Saas, or any industry, each good email follows the same principles.
I’m going to layout the 3 Es of a perfect email that not only guarantees it’ll be open, read, and succeed in its objective but also promises that your reader will want to learn more by the end of your message.
Without any further ado, here is the first one…
Excite
Every morning and every night, you sit down at your breakfast table or on your couch, and you open your email.
What usually happens?
You see a massive wall of unread messages coming from dozens of people about countless topics. When your eyes see that mountain of messages, you typically skim through them and see which one catches your eye first. Sometimes you know what you’re looking for and sometimes you just click on something that excites you.
But what excites you?
Perry Marshall stated in his classic marketing book 80/20 Sales & Marketing that every headline should mention a bleeding neck. What he meant by this is to grab the attention of the reader with a solution to a problem that needs to be resolved quickly – like a bleeding neck. The next time you write a subject line, write one that solves a problem or gives a solution.
By reading a subject line that helps the reader, they’ll know your email is essential and is made just for them.
Creating a subject line and an opening line that excites the reader is crucial, but it’s important to know that your best bet is to keep your subject lines short and concise.
According to The Relevancy Group, over 98% of people reported owning a mobile device of some kind and 86% of consumers said that they access one or more of their email accounts via a mobile device. Therefore it’s crucial to keep in mind that subject lines with 7 to 12 words are ideal.
Short but profound subject lines are also best for deliverability, standing out in a sea of emails, and also get straight to the point, which is enough to get the reader to open your email.
What happens after they open? This leads us to our next E you need to write the perfect email.
Educate
When you send your email list a message, it’s essential to be clear with what the goal is when you send it. Are you promoting a product? Inviting people to a webinar? Giving value of some kind? Regardless of what your goal is, your email should be informative and leave a new idea in their mind.
Every time your reader opens an email, they should be left in a better place than before. After they close it, they should have learned something about your business, know about a promotion, be given some important information about your relationship with them, or be educated on how to solve a problem.
At the end of the day, you are trying to sell your service or product, but to do so by educating your reader well on how to solve their problem or how your product benefits them will serve you better for the long-run.
Far too many times, businesses send constant sales promos and leave the reader feeling used. This is because they’ll send messages that lack connection or like they’re giving real value. Imagine if you had a friend who was always trying to sell you something 2 or 3 times a week but never gave you anything in return. What’s the value in that?
Legendary copywriter Joe Sugarman, who wrote some of the most eye-grabbing copy in history, said in his blueprint copywriting book The Adweek Copywriting Handbook that the point of the headlines is to make them read the first line, and the job of the next line is to make them read the one after. He says educating and informing your reader on the benefits of your product is the best way to ensure they keep reading.
So when it comes to writing the ‘meat’ of your email, educate your reader and give them more than just a promotion. They’ll be akin to open your emails more because they know they’ll get real value from you. Kevin Rogers, an A-list copywriter, and owner of Copy Chief, once said that the most critical line in an email isn’t the subject line or preheader, but actually, it’s the ‘from’ line. And educating your reader is the best way to make sure they’re happy every time they see your name.
Edify
The last E that is necessary for the perfect email is Edify, or instruct the reader, especially at the end.
By this time, your reader has opened your email and is in the middle of reading the ‘meat’ of your message. But now it’s time to lead them to the next part. Continue your message and hook them in so they can be with you more.
As I stated before, every email needs to serve a purpose. At the end of your message, your mission will be fulfilled by telling the reader what to do. You can ask them to take advantage of a discount, sign-up for a webinar, join a course, or any type of action you may wish. The important thing is to make sure your email has a CTA.
Not only will this grow your business, but you can also see what kind of content your email list likes and responds best to.
Perhaps they love using discounts or reading more about your topic through a blog from your website or from a third-party site, or maybe you can learn more about your readers by making them participate in a survey.
Afterwards, you can tailor your email messaging to how your list best responds. And never forget to test out different CTAs in different ways. Your wording, placement, and even color of your CTA button can make a huge difference in standing out and making sure your reader clicks, and you get the close.
Conclusion
There you have it.
The 3 Es to the perfect email: Excite, Educate, Edify.
Keep these three words in mind the next time you message your email list, and you can be sure that they’ll rush right to your name and click to read what you have to say.
Do it consistently over time, and you’ll have a loyal band of followers waiting for your next message.
