Being able to write an email advertisement that sells is one of the most important skills when it comes to running a business. It is to say that we are able to make generate sales simply with 2 things – Email communications, and a list of prospects. And having been through some of the most effectively executed emails from a multitude of different industries, all with the intention of closing as many sales as possible, it’s easy to identify recurring themes among them, which all centre around presenting information in a clear manner.
If you feel discouraged because you do not know HTML or Photoshop, know that some of the best performing emails are in plain text. If this little factoid isn’t enough to convince you of its simplicity, did you know about a time where an internet marketer named Frank Kern reportedly made over a million dollars with ONLY plain text emails? Exactly the same period where graphic emails were all the craze.
“just because you do not know HTML or Photoshop, know that some of the best performing emails are in plain text…”
That is why we want you to know that writing an email advertisement that sells is easily achievable; if you knew exactly what to include and what to leave out. In essence, we are striving to craft an impactful email sales copy which answers the questions it conjures, leads the reader towards a desired action, all this while remaining congruent to its subject title.
For demonstration purposes, let us just say that we are a travel agency named “Jetset Travels”, and the list we are marketing to is a cold one. Which means that they’ve never heard of us, and the only thing we know is their age range and gender. If we are using database marketing, we are able to filter through their income level and district of residence even.
A standard email copy consists of 3 key components, each serving its own function:
- Opening
- Body
- Closing
1. The OPENING is to offer confirmation of congruence to the email’s subject title.
Any typical email from a sales person would probably start off with the classic “Hi, My name is… and I’m calling from… we deal with”. And in many cases, this could be identified as a cold email in an instance. Things that we are used to coming across have the tendency to make our email look canned, since everyone seems to be using the same introductory phrase. Advertising innovator, Howard Gossage puts it best when he says “Nobody reads ads. People read what interests them. Sometimes it’s an ad.” That is why it’s vital to differentiate in order to sound interesting while still providing confirmation of congruence to the email’s subject title.
So if your subject title is “Holiday packages for Couples”, a good opening would look like this:
Hey name, Here’s our upcoming Holiday packages for 2. Destinations: Korea, Japan, Taiwan and more!
See what we did there? We went straight to the point and mentioned “upcoming Holiday packages for 2” which directly relates to the email subject. Secondly, the opening messaged is bolstered with “Destinations: Korea, Japan and Taiwan.” This highlights some very popular destinations which are likely to appeal to local audiences, further providing reason to read on by piquing interest.
The idea is to launch into something relevant to the subject at hand, thus creating an impact, rather than state the mundane which discourages further reading on all angles.
2. The Body consists of paragraphs, and paragraphs serve as Call-to-Actions (CTAs)
Call-to-actions are traditionally phrases which calls for the reader to perform a task, such as clicking a link or providing their email and looks like this: “Click here to reserve your ticket” or “Shop now to save 20%”.
In this example, we will be using CTAs slightly differently whereby they are presented as short (single or double sentence) paragraphs which highlights features or benefits. Within these short paragraphs will be either keywords or phrases that link to the destination URL. This allows every paragraph function as a CTA.
Here’s an example (Underlined the parts that can contain links).
CTA 1: Plan your trip for the fast approaching holidays. Check out the latest of travelling deals on our website for the best airfares.
CTA 2: Or if you are planning for some relaxed leisure travelling, choose a cruise or private tour here to enjoy early bird discounts.
CTA 3: For all your travelling and vacation needs, visit Jetset Travels for easy travel bookings anytime!
As you can see, each paragraph is kept extremely terse. And within 3 sentences, we managed to indicate that we offer travelling deals, and that our services also include cruises & tours, and lastly the only mention of our brand name is presented as a destination for easy travel bookings for the added anchoring effect.
3. The Closing concludes the email and further defines a path for the reader
The closing of any email can serve various purposes. If we were to conclude our original email above which objective is to promote our Travel Agency business, we can close like this: With our one-stop hub for flights, hotels and holidays,
your travelling needs are now a click away!
If the objective is to secure an appointment, the closing could lead to: Shall we have a quick discussion soon about….
If you would like to ask for a sale, the closing can be: Click here to reserve 2 return tickets to Korea at $XXX, only for the first 20 customers
And there we have it. Put it all together with some finessing and we have:
Hey name,
Here’s our upcoming Holiday packages for 2 to
destinations: Korea, Japan, Taiwan and more!
Plan your trip for the fast approaching holidays by checking
out the latest travelling deals on our website for the
best airfares.
Or if you are planning for some relaxed leisure travelling,
choose a cruise or private tour here to enjoy early bird
discounts.
For all your travelling and vacation needs, visit Jetset
Travels for easy travel bookings anytime!
With our one-stop hub for flights, hotels and holidays,
your travelling needs are now a click away!
And what makes this an effective email advertisement you might ask…
Here’s the things we’ve accomplished within this really short copy, and incidentally the same things which make it effective.
- Gave the reader a clear idea of what to expect in the email
- Provided reason to read on (if there is an interest in travelling packages)
- Indicated our offer of travel deals, cruises and tours
- Anchored our Brand name as a place for easy travel bookings
- Further enforced the message of Jetset Travels being a hub for travelling needs in closing
- Avoided plenty clichés and fillers in the process
And that is how you write an Email Advertisement that sells. But of course, bear in mind that the email subject title is equally important and determines whether or not the email gets opened in the first place. For a quick guide on just that, click here (First things first, a compelling email subject).
Thanks for this, very helpful.