Open the Email, Close the Sale

We can teach you how to craft clear and professional emails, and we do so in our Email Writing That Counts! online course and several of our webinars. Among our top lessons is how to close, or how to get readers to act.

However, readers can't act if they never open the email. So, how do you compose email messages that recipients open and read? Here are four tips:

• Subject them to a strong subject line. Get clever enough to spark their interest but not so clever they have no idea what your email is about. Show value or a sense of urgency for better email open rates. "5 Ways to Add Color to Your Dining Room" or "Free Shipping Ends at Midnight."

• Apply business writing principles. The same tips we teach for all business writing apply to email copy. Minimize jargon and be concise but direct. Keep sentences short and your complete email message brief. Break the body copy into key areas using subheads, color or clickable links to action.

• Add some graphic elements. Speaking of clickable, added graphics make your email pop and highlight action steps. Use your email marketing software to make a template with some color, logos or photos. Keep the design tasteful, clean and professional, as well as true to your brand colors and style. If you include photos of product features or people, add a caption.

• Call for action. Like business letters, email messages should end with a call to action. But you can ask for action, or at least engagement, way before the end with your graphics or text links to more information. Make your link text clear and use action verbs such as "Shop Our Spring Sale" or "Download the Full Report."

Craft savvy and successful email messages. We've got the do's and don'ts of email and plenty of ideas to make your email messages stand above the noise. Purchase one of our email-specific webinars or online writing courses today. Or learn more by giving us a call at (425)-485-3221.