With all of the new digital marketing and outreach strategies that businesses are using to generate sales and drive customer engagement, it’s easy to feel as if email is no longer effective. However, the data says something entirely different.
Research curated by Optin Monster shows that 58 percent of people check their email account first thing in the morning before opening up a social media app. Additionally, the average email has an open rate of 22.86 percent and a click-through rate of 3.71 percent. (These are impressive numbers — especially when you compare them to the 0.6 percent average engagement rate of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.)
While averages are great, you really need to know how you — your business — can leverage email to reach, engage, and convert more people. And at the end of the day, it all comes down to your ability to write good email copy.
Without further ado, here are six helpful secrets you can use to write higher-converting emails that boost your business:
1. Write a Killer Subject
There’s no single factor more important to an email’s open rate than its subject line. A good subject line should compel subscribers to open the email based on a feeling of curiosity, excitement, anticipation, or even disgust.
The best email subject lines are between six and 10 words in length and look personal. This Campaign Monitor article has some good formulas that you can plug into your email strategy.
2. Optimize Your Preheader Text
In addition to crafting a compelling subject line, you also need to think about the preheader text. This is the sentence of copy that goes with the subject line and gives the recipient a preview of what’s in the email.
While your preheader text can be the first sentence of the email, it doesn’t have to be. Experiment with different techniques, possibly even inserting your CTA into this valuable inbox real estate.
3. Grab Attention Within Two Sentences
When someone opens an email, he’s seeking efficiency. If you take up too much of his time, he’ll close it and move on. This is why it’s so important to grab his attention within the first two sentences.
You don’t have to make your CTA in the opening paragraph, but you should at least give the recipients a reason to continue on. Try asking a question or providing a shocking statistic. Think of it like this: If you were on the receiving end, would you continue to read on after the opening paragraph?
4. Keep Paragraphs Short
According to MembershipWorks, the ideal length for an email is between 50 and 125 words. Emails in this range enjoy response rates above 50 percent. (This is likely due to the fact that 60 percent of email opens occur on mobile devices, which have smaller screens.)
Don’t overwhelm your audience! Lots of white space makes an email look digestible and easily scannable. Paragraphs should be kept to just one or two sentences.
5. Keep the Offer Simple
Try to stick to the rule of one CTA per email. If you present multiple offers, you’ll add an unnecessary layer of confusion and friction, which will suppress conversions across the board.
Feel free to present the same CTA at multiple points in the email — and even with different wording — but stick to a singular call. If you have different offers for different types of customers, try segmenting your list and sending out targeted emails to each group.
6. Finish Strong
Only a small percentage of recipients will make it to the end of your email. However, the ones who do are most likely to convert. Thus, it’s imperative that you finish strong.
A strong ending to an email should compel someone to act. It should evoke curiosity, drive FOMO, or attach a high degree of urgency to the offer.
Track the Analytics and Iterate
The great thing about email is that it’s chock-full of data. Use these six tips over a series of 10 to 20 emails to see what the analytics tell you. What does your open rate look like? Are people converting at a higher rate? Which email subject lines do people respond to?
You can get answers to all of these questions by simply combing through the data. And once you do, you’ll know precisely how to optimize and improve.