Writing an effective email that gets the result you were looking
for is not as simple as just opening up your email software and
hitting the keyboard with your fingers.
Writing an email that gets results is an art form - get it right
and it is read effortlessly by the reader. Get it wrong and it
reflects really badly on you.
So if I have just ONE tip to pass on to you it would be this:
When writing your emails throw everything you learnt in
English classes out the window!
Instead, use the following tips to make sure that your
communication is as powerful and effective as it can be:
1. Personalise: People love to see their name. So personalise
your email to them. Even if you are sending out a bulk email to
many different people, there are software tools that allow you
to personalise each and every email so that it looks as though
it has come direct from you and direct to them -- one-to-one.
2. Write just like you talk: Use plain, easy to understand
English. Nobody cares if you can use xenophobia and ostentatious
in the same sentence. Write almost like you are talking to your
best mate over a beer. So that means use contractions. Be
friendly and personable in your writing.
3. Put passion in your email: Since you don't have the luxury of
seeing your prospect eye-to-eye to gauge their reactions you
need to put extra passion into your message. Even if you think
you are overdoing it when you write, your email will seem
understated when it gets read. Get enthusiastic!
4. Write to one person: Especially important when you are
writing an email that will be sent to more than one person, try
to think of the ideal prospect/client as you are writing and
make the message just for them. Even if the message will be read
by thousands of people, every person will read it one at a time.
Use "you" and "your" liberally. Focus on them, not yourself.
5. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short: Keep your sentences
and paragraphs short and simple.
Period.
Sentences (even paragraphs) can even be one word like that last
one. And paragraphs should be no more than 4 or 5 lines. You
want your email to look easy to read with lots of white space.
Make it inviting. Long blocks of words are scary. Paragraph
breaks do NOT need to be determined by content.
6. Use plenty of compelling subheads: Subheads should be like
mini-headlines. Use them to break up large bodies of text and to
bring people back into the body of the email.
A lot of people will scan your email so you need to make your
subheads give a complete selling message by themselves. Also, be
sure to use different graphic embellishments.
7. Eliminate excess wording: Simplify. Convey your message in a
clear and concise manner -- but remember that doesn't mean 'keep
it short'.
My personal guru of direct marketing, Ted Nicholas, repeatedly
states that copy can never be too long, just too boring . All
things considered equal, longer copy will always outperform
shorter copy, AS LONG AS the copy is compelling and not boring.
And you need to ruthlessly edit your email for flow.
8. Use action verbs whenever possible: If you see too many "as",
"is", "was" or "were" replace them. Sentences using action verbs
are more powerful.
When writing your email you want it clear enough so that any
high school student can understand it. Now, you probably think
that your prospects/clients are a lot smarter than the average
high school student. But nobody has time anymore to sit down and
figure out what you're trying to say -- so keep your writing
simple and straightforward.
Oh, and go through your text and cut out the word "that"
wherever you possibly can. It's a 'dead' word that reduces the
impact of any sentence.
Or you might like to read the above sentence as: It's a dead
word and reduces the impact of any sentence.
Which one do you think is more powerful?
Important particulars
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There are a few important points you need to be aware of.
1. Always give people the option of being removed from your
mailing list. Very important now that Privacy Laws are coming in
all around the world and spam levels are so high.
2. Make your links 'clickable'. In order to make it easy for
people to go straight from your email to your website you need
to make your links 'clickable'. Here's how a link should be
written in your email: http://www.yoursite.com.au
Most email programs will recognise this as a link.
And if you want to make an email link you should write it as
mailto:emailaddress@yoursite.com.au
Well, that's it. Happy writing!
About the Author
When you match consumer psychology with effective communication
styles you get a powerful combination. At Hopkins-Business-
Communication-Training.com you can find the secrets to
communication success. At Hopkins we show you how to communicate
better for better business results.
www.hopkins-business-communication-training.com |
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