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Do you know that the average person receives an estimated 100-120 emails a day? That’s not even including spam mail.
Do you wonder why any business owner would have a hard time trying to create marketing emails? With so many emails bombarding one’s inbox on a daily basis (it’ll seem that much more if one never gets around to opening them all within that same day), getting a person on your mailing list to open up your email is becoming a huge challenge.
It doesn’t have to be this way, though.
This blog post will walk you through some hugely successful email campaigns you can model after, and the best ways to create good copy that’ll have your email list looking out for your updates because they can’t wait to hear from you!
I’ll also be showing you some awesome email marketing copywriting examples and great email copywriting best practices.
What Is Email Marketing?
Email marketing is a powerful and personalized form of digital marketing, where you interact directly with your audiences via email.
You first get them onto your list, and then you start building a relationship with them via weekly newsletters, updates, promotions, and more. You can craft copy that creates awareness and more knowledge about your brand or platform. You can talk to them about the latest world events and why it matters to them.
As they eventually get to know, like and trust you, you start promoting your products, services and offers.
Email marketing is all these, and everything in between.
Simon Sinek sends daily inspirational quotes as a lead magnet, in return for your email address.
Benefits Of A Great Email Marketing Campaign
Successful campaigns can completely change the way you do your business.
Reports show that for every $1 you invest in your email marketing, you get back $42.
According to Privy, Shopify merchants who used its platform generated an average of $581.72 per email sent, and merchants who send out abandoned cart emails make 2.6x more revenue than those without abandoned cart emails.
An email marketing strategy that works will be one that your subscribers look out for. They like whatever it is you’re offering and are ready to buy from you.
In the article that I wrote for Bootcamp, I mentioned how the names on your email list are yours. Unlike social media where a change in algorithm can affect your reach or an unexplained ban cause you to lose all your followers and content, an email list is yours to nurture, care for, and also monetize.
The Exciting Part: Email Marketing Copywriting Tips And Examples
Here are the 5 top tips you should be doing to get those email subscribers to open your emails.
- Subject Line: Hook, Line, Sinker
- Preview Text: I won’t let this go
- Personalized body copy: I’m talkin’ to you, yes YOU.
- Address pain points and be relevant: I’m not just a funny face, I can help you.
- Memorable email signature and sign-off: Remember me!
1) Email Subject Line: Hook, Line, Sinker
Imagine this: There are easily 50 unopened emails in your inbox right now. Why makes you open the ones you do open? What makes them stand out to you?
The answer? The subject line.
A subject line should:
– be short and sweet, and not too long – a truncated end of a message never looks inviting.
– invoke curiosity and capture your reader’s attention
– promise a story (you’d have to fulfill that end of the bargain, of course)
– contain emojis sometimes (a great way to stand out in the inbox)
Let’s look at some examples so you know what I mean:
Kate Doster talks about how your piggy bank wants you to open that email. You may not want to, but your piggy bank wants you to. Ergo, you have to.
Frank Kern invokes curiosity by telling you what he thinks is B.S.
Here’s another good example: Peng Joon has just ONE character in his subject line – the number 7.
In the email, he talks about how he has opened up only 7 slots for his upcoming mastermind event.
The point is, that number 7 aroused my curiosity so much that I clicked on it almost immediately, singling it out from all other emails in my inbox.
2) Preview Text: I Won’t Let This Go
If the subject line invokes curiosity, the preview line gives them a taste of what’s coming.
When you know your target audience well and are able to estimate their likes, dislikes, wants, hope, fears, and emotions, you’d naturally come up with snippets that you know will make them click and open your email because you’re offering them a sneak preview of what’s inside, and it is what they want.
Let’s check out some awesome preview text – here’s a great example.
If you were a blogger hoping for a great backlink from a reputable website – this will definitely have you clicking! And yep – she didn’t disappoint – Carly gave a proper explanation of how you can get a backlink from a big site too!
Here’s another one: I signed up for UpViral’s free trial and was immediately given an incentive to create my campaign right away – because I could get more views and go viral within 14 days.
The subject line is traditional, giving you a welcome to the platform, but then the preview text reinforces your decision to sign up for the platform by reminding you that you can get incredible results within 2 weeks.
This is one of the different ways to use preview text – you use it to further convince your new subscriber that his or her decision to have signed up for your freebie or subscribed to your newsletter was indeed the correct one.
3) Personalized Story-Selling In Body Of The Email
Now that you have an idea of how to increase your open rates, let’s get into the body of the email and discuss how great copywriting and good email copy can enable you to build real, personalized relationships with the people on the other end of the email addresses, and how you can eventually get them to buy from you.
Bear in mind that the average human is probably sitting in front of a computer and on his phone at the same time. The level of distraction is high – he is probably reading an email on his desktop computer, scrolling through Facebook on mobile, and feeding his baby boy lunch.
You’ll need to produce email content so engaging that it connects with your readers on a personal level. It refers to them as the second person, speaking to them in the second-person voice. Even if they aren’t able to finish reading it, because it’s so interesting, they make it a point to come back and finish reading.
I’m sure that has happened to you before. I know it has to me, many times.
This is what we call effective email marketing.
And the good news is, anyone can do this. You’ll need to create real intent behind your words, with a specific goal to induce them into taking action. It’ll definitely require a lot of brain juice, but after a while, you’ll be able to produce one great email after another – especially when you understand your target audience well, and are able to get the right people on your email list (more about getting the right people via an email landing page here).
In a nutshell, good emails need to be:
- Personalized
- Using a second-person voice
- Telling a story (where relevant)
- Familiar with the audience and what they’re looking for; and
- Not spammy (ie, pushy, with lots of exclamation marks and stuffed with reminders).
Here comes the fun part! Let’s check out some exceptional email copy I’ve received in the past:
I love Kate. Her emails always make me laugh. I genuinely look out for her emails because they’re so fun to read.
What she does:
Make it personal.
Bolds certain sentences that she wants me to really read.
Acknowledges my effort and tells me I’m on the right track before she starts her pitch.
She understands her buyer persona.
I find this email incredibly personalized and non-pushy.
Let’s see another one – this one is an email newsletter from Peng Joon ( I subscribe to him if you haven’t figured that out by now). Hee.
Alright, so there are several points to note inside this email (he had me reading all the way to the end. The twist is good).
What he does:
Hooks you with his reminiscing.
Pokes fun at himself.
Twist 1: I’m not supposed to be doing what I’m doing today – he means, he wasn’t supposed to be a millionaire and making 7-8 figures yearly and jet-setting around the world giving talks.
Tells a story.
Encourages you to go out and be you.
This was his welcome email – the first email you’ll get when you subscribe to his newsletter.
This is a superb tactic and the easiest way to ensure your readers keep opening your emails because you’ve told them all about your funny self and young days from the get-go. Your audience will be able to relate to you, and will not mind opening emails from you from then onward.4)
4) Targeting Pain Points
Attractive copywriting is good, but in the end, your copy has to be about your audience. It has to target their pain points and let them know why you’re the best solution to their problems.
It all begins with knowing your audiences, understanding their pain, and staying totally relevant (like maybe 80% of the time – the remaining 20%, you are probably allowed to be a jokester).
You want someone to read your email and go oh wow, that sounds like me!
They relate to you. They feel you understand them and that you’ve been through what they’re currently going through.
And most importantly, they like your style (I can’t teach you that – but I’m sure you’ll rock this one).
Let’s do a case study.
Kate knows exactly what you’re probably doing right now – and she’s not far off the mark. In fact, any reader will know that the only way she’s so on point is because she’s probably been through the same things before.
If you know your audiences well (pro tip: a younger, much less experienced version of yourself), it is an easy task bringing up all the challenges you know they’re probably going through.
How Kate does it:
Let’s you know she sees how frantic and busy you are.
Empathizing because you have kids around the house and you’re trying to get work done.
Makes a joke about it so it doesn’t seem so somber.
Eventually goes into the pitch of why her product will help you so, so, much.
The ultimate goal is to get the point across, and there’s no way better to do it than to fully understand your buyer persona (or email list persona, that is).
I’m having a lot of fun reading these emails, are you?
We’re at the fifth (and final) tip on how you can get your subscribers to open up your emails.
5) Memorable email signature and sign-off: Remember me!
If they don’t remember your copy, they’d definitely remember your sign-off. Make it quirky, fun, YOU.
Seeing “Best, Yours Sincerely, and Regards” at the end of the email comes across as very formal and safe, but not memorable at all.
Let’s check out some fun ones!
From Dianne Shelton (a friend of mine)
From Kate Doster
From Peng Joon
More Email Marketing Copywriting Examples
Right, so now you have those pro tips in hand. Go forth and conquer! But not quite yet.
There are several series of emails I’d like to share with you. Hopefully, you’ll be able to take these email templates and examples as inspiration when writing your own copy!
We’ll be looking at:
- Welcome emails
- Re-engagement emails
- Weekly newsletters
- Winback emails
- Coupons and discounts
- Video emails
- Emails with images and gifs
1) Welcome Emails
Whatever niche you’re in, when someone signs up for your products or freebie, you’d want to send out a welcome series.
A welcome series is a series of 3-5 emails sent over several days to let your new subscriber know:
- Who you are
- Where you come from
- Throw in some social proof
- Share a story about your journey
- Why you’re their new bestie
- And set expectations on how often you’ll be emailing them
Let’s check out Amy Porterfield’s welcome email:
2) Re-engagement Emails
Re-engagement emails are emails you send to your dormant subscribers. Meaning, they’re still on your list. They have not unsubscribed. However, they are not opening up your emails either – and because there can be quite a number of such subscribers, your open rates and click-through rates are affected.
In a bid to re-engage with these people, email marketers will send out emails that get them to re-engage (meaning to get them to open the email and click a link inside) by offering flash discounts, Black Friday offers, polls, votes, free templates, and more.
Some re-engagement emails also ask their subscribers if they still want to be on the list, and that if they do not respond within a stipulated time frame, they’d be unsubscribed. If they want to be on the list, they click on a link (that automatically tags them as active subscribers) that brings them to a blog, a landing page, or an online store (depending on your niche).
This is a re-engagement email I sent to my list earlier this year – sometimes people do not want to just read emails. They want a little goody bag, a nice surprise. This email increased my open and click-through rates and enabled me to re-engage with more dormant subscribers.
3) Weekly Newsletters
This is a fun one. I personally love crafting new emails every week for my list – because so many things can happen in a week, and I can’t wait to share them all. I can also share about the latest bargains and discounts I’d found, free Canva templates I’d downloaded (and share the link), and lots more.
Here’s a funny one from Liz (I’m a sucker for funny emails!)
She gives you a push, gets to you do your job (basically being an accountability partner) and she cracks jokes while she’s at it.
Let’s check out another fun one that I love receiving, heehee!
Amidst all the hustling and grinding daily, it’s great to be reminded of vacations and holidays once in a while.
4) Winback Emails
Winback emails are simple emails telling you that they want you to continue subscribing to them and that they’re sorry to see you go – will you consider staying on at a discounted rate?
You get the idea.
Here’s one from Elementor:
5) Coupons And Discounts
Coupons and discount offers can be part of a welcome email, or they can be a series of flash sales emails.
Basically what they do is encourage you to click, go to their sales page or landing page, and start shopping. Coupons and discounts are typically (not always, but most of the time) offered by those in the eCommerce niche.
An example here is this one here from the Anantara Vacation Club. (I know. I’m such a sucker for vacations!)
There’s another one from Zus Coffee:
6) Video Emails
Video emails, when presented correctly, can give you gorgeous click-through rates.
Your videos can be in the form of a loom or a YouTube thumbnail.
What happens is when your reader clicks on the image or the link, they’re brought to the Loom, YouTube, Vimeo, or any other platform that you have your video on.
Examples include these ones from Adam Enfroy (a huge blogger) and another one from Meredith Marsh – I interviewed her during my summit in 2021 and she’s just amazing. I love her. She lost her job but made 6 figures by going on YouTube within a year and growing so fast with her reviews on GoPro that she officially became part of the GoPro family.
7) Emails With Images And Gifs – Designed Emails
While most emails are written in plain text against a white background, some businesses do go out of their way to have their emails designed, much like what you would see on a landing page.
Here are a few examples of well-designed pages, with relevant images and gifs.
Elementor’s is a combination of design and video With so many options, you’ll find one that fits your bill (the email was way longer, and this is a cropped version). Hence click-through rates would be high on this email.
Twilio goes for the edgy yet eye-catching design – one look tells you about the event SIGNAL that will be taking place in November 2022.
You then go on to read their pink headline (much like what you see on a landing page) and then go on to check out their videos.
All in all, a superb email design.
One last example:
A blogging-ish style of design from Courier gets you scrolling and deciding which story of the day interests you more. It’s a great way to get subscribers to click the links and also bring traffic to the blog.
Wrapping Up
Writing amazing email copy can be challenging, but also incredibly fun and rewarding, especially when you get the conversion rates you aim for. It gets even more fantastic when they write back to you telling how they resonated with your stories.
It gets totally super when they buy from you because it shows that they trust you and what you create.
With all the examples above, I’m sure there are tons of ideas in your head at the moment and writing these ideas down and implementing them immediately is an excellent way to get better results.
Another tip: Subscribe to as many newsletters as you can from different niches, and check out their emails, how they’re written, and what you’d model after. Keep separate folders for every business you subscribe to, so it becomes easy to track and swipe the copy you personally really like (remember to change it to fit your style and brand).
Here’s to great email marketing copywriting!
