Email Copywriting 101: Best Practices to Boost Conversions

What happens when your audience opens your high-quality-looking emails? Do they find what they’re looking for? Does the email copy follow the lines of your attractive subject lines? This is why email copywriting is as important as an attractive subject line, if not more.

If you don’t know yet, email copywriting is writing an email for a prospective customer with a goal in mind. This goal can be to push them to a sale, sign up on your website, subscribe to your newsletter, etc. This guide will discuss the components of a successful email copy, the dos and don’ts of writing one, and the tools you can use.

What is email copywriting?

Email copywriting is creating compelling written content for emails by using persuasive language, storytelling, and clear CTAs to engage readers and drive desired actions like purchases or sign-ups. It often includes writing compelling subject lines, an introduction, body content, and clear call-to-action (CTAs).

Benefits of email copywriting

Email copywriting is essential if you want your email campaigns not just to look valuable but also to offer value to your prospects. Here are a few ways your email campaigns can benefit from email copywriting.

1. Higher engagement and conversion rates

Email copywriting captures your audience’s attention and encourages them to take action. When your email copy is relevant and resonates with your audience, they read your emails and click on the links and CTAs in your emails, resulting in higher conversion and engagement rates. Writing emails that are easy to read, provide value, and do not mislead will help your business create a huge impact.

2. Stronger relationships with the audience

A good email copy goes beyond communicating what’s important for your brand. It delivers valuable information to your audience and resonates with them on a deeper level, making them feel understood and valued. This nurtures trust and customer loyalty over time and creates a long-lasting relationship between you and your audience. Creating a unique brand identity that speaks to your audience directly and makes them feel comfortable and understood can make a huge positive impact on your conversions and engagement rates.

3. Increased return on investment (ROI)

When your emails are crafted right, they will increase engagement and conversion and be a powerful tool to drive revenue. Stronger relationships also lead your audience to promote your services and products to their acquaintances. As a result, the time and effort invested can yield enough ROI to justify the investment.

Email copywriting is perfect to start:

• 0$ startup cost.
• Every business needs emails
• Possible to make money after 7 days (I did)
• Copywriting is simple if you understand the basics
• And it’s an evergreen skill you can use your whole life

— Emelie Jochems (@EmJoServices) January 7, 2024

Anatomy of an email copy

When crafting a good email copy, it is important to understand the key sections of an email copy. It is important to note that each section has its own importance, and nailing every section is important to have an effective copy that converts. Let’s take a look at the different sections of an email copy.

1. Subject line

Data from Hubspot suggests that 64% of recipients decide to open or delete emails based on the subject line. The subject line is one of the first things your recipient sees. It is technically your email's first impression on the recipient; he carries it with him the entire time he engages with that email. A good subject line is concise, intriguing, and relevant and gives a clear picture of what the email holds.

2. Pre-header

Pre-header text, also known as the preview text, is a brief snippet of text that accompanies the subject line in most email clients. An ideal pre-header will complement the subject line in encouraging the recipient to open the email. Ideally, it should also make complete sense either by itself or by expanding on the idea of the subject line.

3. Email body

The email body is the heart of your email. A good email body must be concise and organized in format and convey the email's main idea with as much clarity as possible without unnecessarily elaborating.

Needless to say, your email copy must be engaging and relevant to your recipients and must also align with your subject line and pre-header. You can also include images, interactive elements, and other visual elements to make the experience better for the readers.

4. Call-to-action (CTA)

The CTA represents the actions the brands want recipients to take after reading the email. It’s technically the desired outcome of the email. A good CTA should be attractive, have good visibility, be compelling, and must clearly communicate the action it performs or leads the recipients to. It could be something like ‘Shop now’, ‘Register’ or ‘Subscribe’.

Here is an example of a CTA button asking users to check out more features.

Tips for effective email copywriting

If you practice copywriting and aspire to write email copies that convert, follow these tips to take your email copywriting game to a new level.

1. Do: Focus on the goal and the target audience

The first step to writing an email copy is identifying the "Who," "Why and "What." Ask yourself before email copywriting:

• Why are you sending the email? Is it to get more sales? Is it to communicate the features of your products?
• Who will read the email? Identify your potential customer or the target audience that will eventually read your email.
• What are their preferences? What tone would they like to hear from you? Is it casual or formal?

Once you are clear on why you are sending the email and who you are sending it to, you can craft a compelling email that the users will be enticed to open. Also, focus on "When" you are sending the email. This can also define the type of copy to write and will help send emails at the right time to your email list.

2. Do: Embrace brevity and clarity

It's extremely important to keep the email content short and clear as you merely have a few seconds of user attention which might go to waste if you add extra information or information that is not clear. Keep your feet in the user's shoes and understand if they would be compelled enough or if they would be able to understand your message. Writing email copy that is clear, brief, and understandable can make all the difference.

3. Do: Make subject lines compelling

A great email contains a compelling subject line. Subject lines are the first impression you make on your readers, and human beings usually have a shorter span of attention. Try to make the best use of your email subject line. Keep them short and precise so you can grasp the reader's attention. Use capital letters, punctuation marks, and even emojis to make it attractive. You can also try using an AI subject line generator to quickly generate compelling email subject lines and get inspiration.

4. Do: Keep it conversational

Talk to your customer directly. Writing your email copies in the second person gives a perception that you are talking directly to your audience. It creates a conversational tone and makes them feel as if they are talking to a real person. This creates a sense of friendliness and makes the user trust you more. Nobody likes talking to a robot. Introducing yourself in your emails gives a personal touch to it, and the readers feel like they are talking to a human. It gives your emails a human touch that would otherwise be a message from a faceless identity.

5. Don't: Use spammy language

Try not to overuse spam trigger words in the subject line and the body of the email, as they can trigger spam and land you in the spam folder. Here are some types of spam-triggering words include:

1. Urgent
2. Cash
3. Extra cash
4. Money
5. 100% satisfied
6. Earn
7. $$$
8. Promise
9. Guaranteed
10. Free gifts
11. Get paid
12. Giveaway
13. Prize
14. Act now
15. Loans
16. Free Investment
17. Save up to
18. Winning
19. Lower rates
20. Big billion

Make sure not to use only caps letters in your subject line as they can also trigger spam. Use action words that will help the user make a decision rather than face feeding them your product or service. These action words are usually positive in nature. For example:

• Improve
• Enhance
• Maximize
• Enhance
• Boost
• Accelerate
• Succeed
• Empower
• Seize
• Unlock

Use these power words instead of spam words to make a difference in your emails.

6. Don't: Use too many CTAs

One of the most important parts of your email body copy is the CTA. Your CTA (Call-to-action) drives the conversions. So, it's important to make them clear and concise. Ensure not to use too many CTAs, as it can distract the user. Only use CTAs that are relevant and speak to your target audience.

Here's an informative guide on creating call-to-actions with examples.

7. Do: Align with your brand

Your brand describes you and your goal. To better communicate with your customers, it's important that the tonality and voice of your body copy and subject line align with that of your brand, and this brand voice must be kept consistent. Here's an example of Frooti using quirky fonts and color palettes that align with their brand identity and make users remember the brand.

Source: The Frooti Life

8. Don't: Be too pushy

One of the most crucial best practices of email copywriting is never to force the user to take an action. Nobody wants to be forced to purchase a product or service. So, if you become too pushy or salesy when writing the email copy, you might lose the user's interest. Engage the user first, then offer what you have.

9. Do: Watch the layout and design

Email copywriting also includes how you present the information in a clear manner. If your formatting and layout are too cluttered or messy, the user might end up getting confused or even perceive the message as spam. Take this example of Shopify, where they have simplified the email layout using concise and brief copy followed by imagery and a clear CTA at the end.

Here's a complete guide on email layout and design.

10. Do: Test and analyze

A/B testing various copy variations can help you analyze what works best and iterate accordingly. You can test different versions of subject lines, body content, and CTAs and analyze the results to refine your approach. Testing and analyzing your email copy can not only improve your email marketing copy but also boost your open rates.

11. Don't: Use technical language

Your users come from various backgrounds and careers. Some might not understand the jargon you are trying to convey about your product. This can create difficulty in understanding your product/service by the user. So, make sure you use a language that is easy to grasp and can be understood by all.

12. Do: Personalize your email

Personalization connects you with your audience directly. Using the recipient's first name and personalizing the content based on their preferences or past interactions is the best way to create a deeper connection with the user and boost engagement and conversion rates.

Using the recipient's name in the subject line grabs their attention and makes the email feel more personal. For example:

• "John, Unlock 20% Off Your Next Purchase!"
• "Sarah, Your Exclusive Invitation Inside..."

In Mailmodo, you can create this personalization very easily. You can choose from various personalizations we offer, including Name, customer ID, contact number, location, etc.,

Check this guide out for different types of email copywriting templates to try.

Tools to use for email copywriting

Crafting effective email copies requires a mix of creativity and strategy. Most of them come with a free trial so you can always test the tool before committing to it. Here are some tools you can leverage to help you in the different aspects of your copywriting.

1. Email marketing platforms with built-in copywriting features

Email marketing platforms now leverage AI to offer insights that help you in your copywriting efforts in real time. Lavender is a great example. It offers an AI coach that finds and fixes anything wrong with your email copy. It also has features that offer personalization suggestions and even starts writing the email copy for you.

2. Copy analysis tools

Copy analysis helps you understand and improve the quality of your email copy. Grammarly and Hemmingway App are email copywriter tools that I personally use and recommend. They are highly effective and can identify and remove spelling and grammatical errors. They even suggest rephrasing complete sentences that may be too complex to read and offer suggestions to improve the readability and conciseness of your copy.

3. A/B testing and optimization tools

We’ve seen earlier in this article that testing your emails is very important to maintain your brand image and credibility. Mailmodo, for instance, allows for A/B testing of subject lines so you can gather insights on which one resonates best with your audience. It allows you to experiment with different email elements and helps you optimize your emails for the best results.

4. Subject line generators

Subject line generators can help you develop attractive and intriguing subject lines based on the copy of your email. Some subject line generators even offer you more than a few options along with a subject line score which shows the probability of success of a subject line. You can even check out Mailmodo’s new AI subject line generator.

We often use tools like Grammarly and LanguageTool (which is a great free alternative) for basic grammar and style checks – correct spelling and grammar is the bare minimum for coming across as professional in your email copy. And professionalism matters a lot in our industry. Hemingway App is another good tool to use to ensure readability. Combining these tools with a deep understanding of our client personas helps us tailor our messaging effectively.

-Teresha Aird, Co-Founder and CMO, Offices.net

Final takeaway

Email copywriting is a very important aspect of email marketing. It delivers your most important message to your audience, which is why it deserves a lot of attention and effort to be perfected. You can use the tips we’ve discussed in our article to elevate the email experience you deliver to your audience and create perfect-looking email copies using the tools we’ve discussed. It will take your sales game to new heights.