How to Write Kick-Ass Emails People Want to Read
SUBSCRIBE ON:
APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER
Watch on Youtube:
Ah, emails. We get tons of them. Some we love. Some we delete without a second glance.
So how do you make sure YOUR email doesn’t meet a tragic digital demise?
In this week’s episode, we're diving into the anatomy of a killer email. I’m showing you the 5 things your email needs to actually GET OPENED. And then, how to inspire your readers to take action. ⚡️
Ready for the secrets? Listen to the episode in the player above or click on one of these links:
APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER
And here’s a link to the the book I mention:
“Scientific Advertising” by Claude Hopkins: https://amzn.to/45Kd42c
Curious how I do emails?
👉 Click here to get my weekly emails.
You'll never miss a new podcast episode, plus you’ll get exclusive content and tips that are only shared through my email list. It's an inbox party you don't want to miss!
Also, be sure to follow and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or your favorite platform. That way, you'll receive automatic notifications whenever a new episode drops!
-
(This is transcribed by 🤖 so please excuse the funky sentence breaks, misplaced periods, and typos. The robots are doing their best!)
[00:00:00] If you remember anything about this entire episode, remember this, there is no such thing as too long, only too boring. So people always wanna talk about how long should an email be? Um, you know, how long should a sales page be? How long should anything be? And the fact is, is that it doesn't matter how long it is, if everything is of substance.Hello and welcome to the Copy Lab podcast, the marketing and business podcast that teaches you how to write better, sell more, and ignite your business even if you suck at writing. I'm your host Sara Estes, entrepreneur, copywriter, marketing strategist, and founder of Copy Tiger, where I help change makers, disruptors, and dreamers get their message to the masses.
Let's get started.
Hello, hello and welcome to this week's episode of Copy Lab. I am super excited to be here with you, as always. Today I want to chat about books. I have been reading a lot lately, and there are a couple things that I wanna talk to you about. These are non boring books. These are amazing books that I've found, um, that are just, I just need to talk about 'em.
So the first one is Alex Oz's new book, $100 million Leads and it is, So good. He basically talks about all the ways that you can generate leads for your business. It's great if you're a copywriter, a marketer, an entrepreneur, or you know you are in a marketing department somewhere in somebody's business.
But it is, it's just full of absolute value and I really enjoyed reading it. I learned a lot. So if you are interested in that kind of thing or if you have anything to do with legion processes anywhere, I highly recommend getting your hands on that. Book, he offers it for free on his podcast so you can actually go and listen to the audio book.
It's on his podcast. Everything is free, which is dope, but there's also hard copy books that you can get. I got the hard copy and I listened to it on audio. Um, Which is something that he, he talks about this in the book, but I love to read and listen to a book at the same time because it kind of sticks in your head in different ways so it, so you can read along as you listen to it and kind of go back and forth between that physical copy and the audio copy and just things hit different when you're reading it versus when you're listening to it.
So it's kind of this sort of surround sound full experience of. A book when you get to listen to it and read it. So I love doing that when I can, and I did it with that book. Now, a second book that I've read recently that I absolutely loved is Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. Now this is talked about a lot in the advertising world.
And it's, I just now got a round to reading it. That's how it goes. But it was so great because it's got all these little digestible chapters. So I literally kept it by my bedside table and read a couple chapters every night. Finished it in like a week, and it was fantastic and I loved it. If you are interested in.
Learning copywriting better on the marketing side and on the salesmanship side. This book is fantastic, so highly recommend it. It's called Scientific Advertisement or Scientific Advertising, sorry. And it is by Claude Hopkins. The third book that I read recently an Absolutely Loved is a, uh, sort of cult classic amongst the copywriting world, and it is a book called Kick Ass Copywriting, secrets of a Marketing Rebel.
And it's by John Carlton, and now this book is kind of hard to get your hands on because it's not on Amazon or in any normal bookstores. You have to go to the Marketing Rebel website, and it's offered as a P D F and as a, as like audio files on their website. Um, kind of different sort of experience, but you get the content, you get the information.
That's what matters the most. The audio book is read by John Carlton himself, and he is pretty hilarious. I think he's just got a very unique voice in the copywriting space, very dynamic, funny, charming, and the book is really, really great and I learned a hell of a lot from it. And then, and he also really points out some things that are very poignant and good things to keep in mind.
I will actually wanna read one part that I loved so much in his book. And that is where he talks about knowing your customers as a copywriter and a marketer. So here's, here's what he wrote, and again, I just, I love this so much. He said, your customers are just like you and you are just like them. You don't respond to boasting self-righteous or silly clowns who make you feel like a sucker, neither will your customers.
And then he goes on to say, one of the dumbest things a market a marketer can do is go after a customer he doesn't respect or feels superior to. This is nonsense and will lead you straight to bankruptcy. Your number one job as a marketer is to get in sync with your customers inner most desires. You should read what he reads.
Watch the same television shows, listen to the same music, eat at the same restaurants. You cannot understand her dreams and worries unless you feel comfortable moving in her world. I love that. And you can't do that sitting in a cozy office on the ninth floor, become a student of human nature. Get out there and talk to mechanics.
Seven 11 clerks, secretaries, retired jet pilots, new homeowners, daycare workers. If you're selling a diet and you've never had a weight problem, you better find out quick what goes on in the head of someone who does. And he goes on to talk a little bit more about that, but it's a concept that I just really loved and I think he said it perfectly about the fact that you really need to understand the people that you're trying to sell to.
And for me as a copywriter, that's my absolute favorite part, is really getting into the mindset and the headspace of the person that I'm trying to connect with, with my copy. So loved that little section, and again, the whole book is just fantastic. Highly recommend. All right. Let's get into the meat of the episode.
This week we're talking about how to write a kick ass email, so emails. Ugh. We get a ton of them, some of them we love. Some we send straight to the trash without even a second glance. So how do you make sure that your email doesn't meet this tragic digital demise? How do you make sure that people actually read it and they don't send it to spam?
So today we're gonna dive into the anatomy of a killer email. Are you ready for the secrets? If so, Grab your pins or you know, just open a new tab with a Google Doc or however you take notes and we are going to get started. We're gonna talk about five elements of an email. The first one is length. Now this is a heated, controversial topic and I want to put some rumors to rest.
So first off, and this is the only thing you need to remember, if you remember anything about this entire episode, remember this, there is no such thing as too long. Only too boring. So people always wanna talk about how long should an email be? Um, you know, how long should a sales page be? How long should anything be?
And the fact is, is that it doesn't matter how long it is, if everything is of substance, that's the thing. There is no perfect length, there's no magic number of words that people love to read or don't love to read. The fact is, is that people's attention spans are just as good as they've ever been. I know everyone loves to say.
That our attention spans are shorter, but people will read long content if they're interested in it. They will read a long email if they're interested in it. Just the same way where, you know, people will binge watch a show for literally a 24 hour period. They'll just watch episode after episode and not get distracted.
It's because they're interested in that show and because it's actually entertaining them and it's good quality. Right. And same with a video game. I mean, kids can play video games for. Ever and ever and ever. And not get distracted. And not lose attention. The reality is, is that we have more things than ever that are fighting for our attention, and we're gonna pick the stuff we like the best.
So our standards are a little higher in terms of what we choose to consume and what we don't. So we're in an age where, yeah, you can't just, you know, throw someone some garbage writing and they're gonna read it. We have to really deliver something good. So I want you to get that in your head. When it comes to emails is that there, there is no particular link that you need to be writing at, and the fact is, is that people will read along email if it's entertaining.
So drop any expectation you have of how long something should be. Now, I'm not advocating for marathon length emails every single time. Balance and relevance are absolutely crucial, so if you can convey your message powerfully in two paragraphs, wonderful. But if you need a little more space to narrate that captivating anecdote that is gonna tie everything back, you know, beautifully into your main message, then by all means, let the writing flow.
Just keep the story going and say what you need to say. That is gonna be your best bet. So as we rethink our approach to long emails, remember to just keep your reader in mind and let that guide you.
The second part of an email is its structure, the architecture of your email. So in today's world, most of us are checking our emails on the go. In fact, 85% of people check their emails on their phone, so on trains in coffee lines or. Dare I say on Zoom meetings, I know I'm one of them. I do it too. This mobile first mindset demands a specific structure to your emails.
Think about it. Would you want to read a chunky block of text on your phone, or would you prefer little bite-size nuggets of information? Probably the latter. Most people want their information broken up into really easy, easily digestible fragments so that they can read it quicker. That's why breaking your content into shorter paragraphs helps people read without feeling overwhelmed.
So it's visually appealing and it's mentally digestible. I. Remember in school when you opened a textbook and you just felt instant dread, seeing those like tightly packed pages with tiny font, those dense paragraphs in emails give the same feeling. But on the other hand, shorter lines are just a chiller, cooler vibe.
Look at the emails you love. A lot of them will have one sentence per paragraph, or super short lines and paragraphs that have no more than two sentences. Another reason to love short lines in emails is it's all about pacing. By breaking up the text, you're naturally gliding them down the page, so they're not getting stuck anywhere.
It's just a frictionless read. That's the experience that you want for your readers. So the way your email looks plays a massive role in whether it gets read or sent to junk. It's not just about the content, but it's about the presentation too. So keep it short. Keep it snappy and above all, keep it scroll friendly on a phone.
Your mobile readers will thank you probably with higher engagement rates.
The third element of a kickass email is a great subject line. Ah, the elusive subject line, this is the gateway to your email. It's the first impression, it's the teaser. It's what stands between your meticulously crafted email and the dreaded unread status. So let's be real. Even if the inside of your email is a damn masterpiece without an intriguing subject line, it will never see the light of day.
Why? Because our inboxes are basically just jungles, wild, wild jungles, and that subject line has to stand out to someone. I want you to think back to the last email that you excitedly clicked on. What was the title? What was that subject line? Was it titled something like Company Monthly Update number 327?
Probably not more likely. It had a subject that piqued your curiosity, made you smirk, or reminded you of an email you would see from a friend. A great subject line is like getting a text from your buddy. It feels personal light, and most of all genuine. So imagine you follow like a rescue or a pet grooming place.
You're on their email list, receiving an email with a subject that says You won't believe what Oscar did this time versus pet update from Lydia's grooming. Which one makes you more intrigued? Probably that first one. We want a little bit of mystery and something that piques our curiosity in a subject line.
We don't want just a boring update, especially with some number that shows that this is like the bajillion email that they've sent and that you're just on some newsletter list that's just never ending. Right? Keep it exciting. Let's look at two other subject lines. Which one would you open an email that says, oh my God, did you see this?
Or an email that says So-and-so's weekly newsletter. You're probably going to pick the first one. So the magic of a casual subject line also lies in its ability to break down those formal barriers because people don't want to communicate with a company, they want to communicate with a person. So the more that you can make your emails sound like they're coming from a person, the better.
So you're not a faceless entity that's sending out these robotic emails. You're a friend sharing a quick laugh or an exciting piece of news. By adopting a tone that's very casual and friendly, you're gonna be signaling to your readers that your email is not just another piece of tedious correspondence, right?
So it's a conversation, an exchange, a shared moment. That's also why having your subject line in lowercase letters is generally best. They get the highest open rates, so you're not gonna, I see it all the time. Oh my goodness. Do not capitalize every word in your email subject line. That just screams company.
So keep the email in lowercase. You can capitalize the first letter sometimes, but in general, keep the email subject line in lowercase letters. Also, keep in mind, you want to have the subject line be short enough that all of it shows in a preview. So email subject lines will get cut off. You can, I mean, open up your phone and look at subject lines.
Um, the ones that got are getting cut off, probably aren't written by a great copywriter. Copy. Good copywriters are gonna keep those email subject lines short so you can see every bit of it in the preview window. In general, keep your subject lines between like five and seven words. That'll usually, uh, get it in in the right spot.
You can also use a free tool to see what your subject line will look like. On most smartphones, you can use, there's one called email. Tool test. It's online. It's just a free subject line preview tool, and you can use that. I use that to see how all of my email subject lines look on a phone when it actually comes through, and that's a great way to make sure that your sub subject line is fitting within the parameters of a phone.
Now it's worth noting that while brevity and informality can work wonders, relevance is actually key. So if your email is about a serious update or critical information, it's okay to be straightforward about that. Just remember to infuse a hint of personality whenever you can. After all, we're all craving connection even in our inboxes.
The fourth element of a kick-ass email is a great preview text line. Now, people forget about this all the time. The preview text is what you see. Again, open up your phone, look at your email, you'll see a subject line, and then in kind of a lighter color, you will see what's called preview text. It's that little sneak peek, the little snippet of the email that you see before you open it.
Most people don't realize, but you can put whatever you want in that. It's not just, it's not only a preview of the actual email that's in there, right? So you can put whatever you want in that preview text so that. You can manipulate what people see as a subject line and then what they see as the preview text.
This is very, very, very powerful, so use it wisely. Don't forget about this little section. Imagine that you're browsing through a bookstore. I. And the title of the book grabs your attention. Great. Awesome. But you're not gonna just buy it based on that title? No. You're going to turn it over. You're gonna read the blurb on the back, or you're gonna open up and you're gonna read those first couple pages.
That's basically what the preview text is. It is really important and it basically is the final. Hook line and sinker to get them to open that email. So the preview text is often overlooked and it's underestimated, but it is your secret weapon to turn that initial interest into genuine engagement. So how do you make this tiny little snippet of text compelling?
The magic is in how it plays with your subject line. So it has to be complimentary and add depth to your subject. So using our earlier example, if the subject line teases and says, you won't believe what Oscar did this time, exclamation point, then a compelling preview text might be, hint, it involves a curtain, a squirrel, and an ill-fated leap.
You see, it adds just a little bit of fun and cur more curiosity to the email so that people are just dying to open and figure out what is the story about this crazy cat Oscar. Now, the beauty of this little dance between the subject line and the preview text is that it adds. Layers to your narrative.
So even before the email is opened, it's all about building that anticipation. So your reader should be thinking, alright, I'm intrigued by the subject, but this preview now I've got to know the story. So remember, curiosity gets the email opened. And here's a pro tip test and tweak. Just because it's a short piece of text doesn't mean that you should set it and forget it.
Experiment with different tones, lengths, and content. Especially if you have an automated email that's going out several times, you can switch these things around and you can test it. So see what resonates with your audience, because in, in the world of email marketing, it's these subtle nuances that make a world of difference.
So don't be afraid to tweak it and test it.
All right, we are at the fifth and final element of a kick ass email, and that is a C T A A call to action. Again, something that a lot of people forget about. You want to have an option in your email where someone can take that next step you want to provide. Very clear direction as to what they can do if they wanna continue engaging with you.
And that can look like all different kinds of things. Maybe it is, you know, sharing this email with a friend. Maybe it's clicking on a link, maybe it is subscribing to something. It can be a number of different things. But you want that c t A to align with whatever your email is. So you don't want to, you know, have an entire email about your podcast episode, and then your C T A is something random that doesn't involve your podcast, right?
You want it to, you want to all align. So maybe you have an email about your latest podcast episode that came out, and then you would want the c t a to be maybe to share this episode with a friend or to subscribe. To your podcast or follow it on Spotify or what have you. So remember to keep the c T A in line so that it is a logical flow from the entire email.
And of course, the cherry on the top with having a great C t A is the tracking. It's kind of a nerdier part of things, but while CTAs are designed to engage people and invite them, you know, to go further into your world, they also serve a pivotal role in. Metrics by embedding a trackable link in your C T A, you gain these invaluable insights into your audience's behavior.
You can see which CTAs resonate the most and where to readers drop off. And these nuggets of data gold allow you to refine and tweak and perfect your approach. Because at the end of the day, it's not just about creating a kickass email, but it's an entire symphony of them. So you want to have emails that are going out that are really resonating.
With your audience and inspiring them to engage more with your brand, your product, or your business. Alright, those are the five elements of a kick-ass email. You've got length, you've got structure, a great subject line, an equally great preview text line, and a killer c t a, somewhere in the email. If you keep these five elements in mind, I guarantee you that your emails will get more engagement and higher open rates than they have been, especially if you've been having trouble getting them them.
Open, I want you to focus on the subject line and the preview text first. So before you go rewriting emails, play around with the subject line and preview text and see if that doesn't help you get better results. All right. That is a wrap on today's episode. I hope you're feeling inspired to write better, punchier, more engaging emails that really resonate with your audience.
And of course, the fun doesn't stop here. Please head over to copy tiger.com/newsletter and up for my weekly emails if you want to collect great subject lines. Sign up for this list and you'll get them straight from me. You'll see what I'm doing and see what I'm playing around with and testing. Plus, you'll never miss an episode of this podcast, and you'll get exclusive content and tips that are only shared through my email.
So it is an inbox party that you don't wanna miss. Also, be sure to follow and subscribe to this podcast on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. And remember, the right words can help you make a huge difference in the world. So keep writing. I'll see you in the next episode.