Anatomy of a Killer Email

Why do businesses rely so heavily on email? The short answer is because it works!

Not only does it work, it’s extremely cost-effective. With a ROI (return on investment) currently hovering around $38 for every $1 spent, the sheer volume of email campaigns racing down the digital highways should come as no surprise.

What is surprising, is the alarming number of marketing emails that still arrive in inboxes begging to be deleted.

The days of writing an average email and garnering great success has passed. These once-popular run-of-the-mill emails are no longer enough to reserve a seat at that coveted 3800% ROI table.

In today’s competitive marketplace, getting an invite to the feast requires crafting emails that are compelling enough to motivate readers to open, read, and then click through to the sales page. Whether that be:

A free download (white paper, case study, eBook, you name it)
A trial subscription
An actual call to action to buy a product or service

I think we can all agree that weak email copy will stop your campaign dead in its tracks. Inversely, I’m sure there’s no argument that the better your emails, the better your results will be.

So, how can you elevate your email copy from average to pretty darn good?

A key ingredient in the recipe is understanding how to build the foundation of a killer email in the first place.

Below, I’ve dissected an email into its core components and offer suggestions on how to strengthen each individual element. Try using one or more of these strategies to help your email stand out from the crowd.

The “From” line:

You don’t have much control over this slot in your email. You are who you are! If you’re company (or name) is XYZ, then that is what will be on the “From” line.

Why bring this up?

Because, who the email is from carries significant weight in determining whether or not it gets opened.

If your reader is familiar with you (or your brand), or is expecting a series of emails from you, they’re more likely to check out what you have to say (verses an unsolicited email). Even if the subject line isn’t all that strong. This alone is reason enough to stay in touch with your list.

This is so important that it’s worth repeating, it pays to keep in touch with your list. If you ignore them, they’ll likely return the favor by ignoring you.

You’ve heard the idiom out of sight, out of mind, right?! The takeaway here is to stay as visible as possible without becoming a pest.

Losing business to the competition is more likely to happen if you find yourself collecting dust on your prospect’s digital basement shelf.

And, while we’re on this theme, never treat your customers as a “one-and-done” transaction. Unless, of course, you’re not interested in growing your business. You’ve already earned their trust. They’ve purchased your product or service.

It’s much easier to sell something to a customer, than to a prospect or lead.

Nailing an “open me” Subject Line:

The subject line is, by far, the most influential factor in determining whether or not your email gets opened. You could say the subject line is the door to your email. If it’s inviting enough, your reader will swing it open to see what’s on the other side.

If you can’t entice them to open that door, your email campaign will have derailed before it’s had a chance to leave the terminal.

The subject line needs to grab attention, communicate a benefit, and focus on a single idea.

Here are some useful tips:

Keep it short – Try to stay under 40 characters, including spaces. This is especially important with the truncated display on most mobile screens (35-40 characters). That gives you 5-7 words to grab your audience’s attention.

Keep it clear – Steer clear of confusing or clever subject lines. Tricking your audience into opening your email will work only once.

Remember the old adage: Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me? Keep that in mind when you write your subject line. Today’s readers are savvier than ever and won’t tolerate being so overtly manipulated.

Use intrigue│Ask a question – These play into our natural tendency towards curiosity. Consider including a benefit, as well.

Avoid spammy language – This means don’t use:

ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
Strings of exclamation points (You won’t believe your eyes!!!!!!!)
Unrealistic claims (Lose 20 pounds in one day, guaranteed)
Words like earn $, 100% Free, serious cash, extra income

Don’t Forget the Preheader (or preview text):

When viewing your inbox, the preheader is the short blurb of text that follows the email’s subject line.

Here’s an example straight from my own inbox: From “Cursed” to “Calling” – Do you feel like you were cursed with a day job you hate? Does that day…

Subject line: From “Cursed” to “Calling”
Preheader: – Do you feel like you were cursed with a day job you hate? Does that day…

As Courtenay Worcester (U.S. Director of Marketing, GetResponse), recently wrote: [Preheaders] “allow you to follow up a compelling subject line and entice your readers to open the message. And they deliver a seven percent higher open rate, on average.”

Don’t waste that prime piece of real estate. Use it to your advantage. And don’t forget to keep it short.

Salutation:

Salutations vary from niche to niche. My advice is to study emails from the niche you are writing for and go from there.

With that being said, if you have the choice, use personalization whenever possible. Write like you’re talking to someone face-to-face. Use introductions in your marketing copy like:

Hey there John,
Hey John,
Hello John,
Hi John,
OK John- (This works if you are very familiar with client.)
Dear John, (Pun intended. Using “Dear” should be used after trust has been built. Otherwise, you sound like some stuffy mega-corporation sending out impersonable mass emails to everyone and their brother.)

These seem to work well because people still like to hear their name, even when they’re fully aware they’re not the only recipient of the email.

Body Copy (keep them reading):

Great job! Your email was opened because the strong subject line and preheader you wrote worked beautifully. Now all you have to do is guide them down the copy and convince them to click on the link.

Now, let’s say you’ve written a persuasive and compelling draft that appeals to the self-interest of your client’s list. You might ask yourself, “Is this enough?”

Hopefully you countered with an emphatic, “No, not really.”

Persuasive copy alone won’t do the trick. It’s important that you complement your copy using email best practices. Together, they’ll create the flow necessary to keep your reader engaged.

Use short sentences and short paragraphs.

Which is easier to read:

They somehow manage to get their thoughts and ideas across so very clearly and economically, which means that their readers can follow what they write with incredible ease.
Readers enjoy their clear and economical writing style.

Now imagine trying to wade through three consecutive sentences like option #1 (above) in a single paragraph. Enough said…

Break up your text.

Don’t give your audience the opportunity to become bored with your copy. Breaking up your text helps keep them absorbed in your email message. Try using some of these techniques:

Use bullet points (like I’m doing here)
Bolding of subheadings and key words (accommodates the skimmers)
Short paragraphs (easy on the eyes by creating plenty of white space)

Make every word count.

Avoid bogging down your copy with boring corporate speak and worn out clichés. The idea is to keep your readers engaged, not lull them to sleep.

Try infusing power words into your copy to keep your readers attention.

And whatever you do, please do not dump a semi-truck trailer full of pointless adverbs and adjectives into your email copy. Wordiness is not your friend. If the adverb or adjective serves no purpose, remove it. You want to avoid forcing your readers to stumble through your email copy. Your goal is to get the reader to click the link, not defer to the delete button…

Inserting Links:

No matter how awesome your killer email is, it’s worthless if your readers can’t get to your website’s landing page.

So how do you get them there?

You do it by using strategically placed links to carry out your call-to-actions.

Helpful Tip: Be sure to make your links easy to identify and relevant to the content.

Use a Strong Call-to-Action (CTA):

Make your CTA benefit-centric and easy to follow. This strategy tends to get the highest click-through rates.

To be successful, your CTA needs to be strong enough to convince your reader to act.

Remember, the call-to-action has two core objectives:

To communicate what the reader should do – click the link
And to give them the motivation to do so. – a benefit that solves a pain point

If you’re going to invest a ton of energy and money into an email campaign, don’t ruin it with a half-ass CTA. Because if you do, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Try to avoid the worn out “click here” or “click now” call-to-actions. Instead, try using two to five-word phrases that deliver a sense of urgency.

For example: “Reserve your seat today”, “Get your free eBook here”, or “Subscribe Now”.

The P.S. Can Be Useful

Some people like to use a P.S., others don’t. I like to put them in text-only emails to give those readers that are on the fence a final nudge.

The P.S. is a perfect (and strategic) place to put timely offers, guarantees, and limited time bonuses. Or even to reiterate an important point.

If you do choose to use a P.S., don’t forget to follow it with a link.

Unsubscribe:

The CAN-SPAM Act requires that all commercial email messages include a way for customers to opt out.

It also requires you include your “valid physical postal address. This can be your current street address, a post office box you’ve registered with the U.S. Postal Service, or a private mailbox you’ve registered with a commercial mail receiving agency established under Postal Service regulations.”

So There You Have it…

So, there you have it, the anatomy of a killer email. Feel free to leave a comment if you found this information helpful.