Now, as powerful as email marketing is as a marketing tool, we cannot ignore the fact that its success doesn’t come solely from the products or the special deals your eCommerce brand offers to your customers. Copywriting also plays a big part.
Here’s a scenario—
You’re walking through a department store looking for a new kitchen appliance–let’s say it’s a food processor.
You walk into the aisle where they keep the food processors and you’re greeted by a bunch of SALE signs and stickers. 50% off, 70% off, BUY 1 TAKE 1 promos, you name it!
You take a closer look at the box of one of the highlighted food processor products and you see an extensive list of features.
Yet after all that, you somehow still not convinced to make the purchase.
Now, as you’re about to move on to another part of the store, a voice catches your ears.
You turn to see a staff member with a simple-looking headset–the one that comes with a mic.
You notice that he’s doing a demonstration of one of the food processors for sale.
“Sir and ma’am, please watch how easy it is to operate this food processor. I just put in the ingredients, close the lid and twist it to lock. With just a push of a button, it does the job for you!”
“The entire pitcher part of the processor is easy to clean! Just wash it under running water and as you can see, all the food particles are gone! Not only that, but the blades are also easy to remove, clean, and re-install!”
“Do you have kids? Well, worry not! This model comes with a special safety feature which makes sure it will only turn on when the lid is securely closed and locked. And when you take off the lid while the blades are spinning, the processor automatically turns off!”
You hear a collective ‘wow’ come from the group of onlookers, including yourself.
Now, you’re feeling more inclined to make the purchase after hearing all of the benefits that the particular food processor model has to offer.
As you asked the staff member for that model, you were surprised to see it was the same model you looked at earlier.
Now, why did the same model appeal to you the second time? What was the difference between the first time you saw it and the second time?
During the first time you were exposed to it, you were only shown the incentives and the features of the product. During the second time, there was someone who was demonstrating the use of the product, describing the experience of using it and explaining the benefits you can get from using that product.
Going back to marketing emails, what exactly can you do to recreate what the staff member from our scenario did to sell the product?
The answer is one word—copywriting.
It is through effective email copywriting that your products will truly shine.
But how so?
What exactly does copywriting do for your marketing emails?
And why should you consider hiring an expert copywriter?
There’s a lot that goes into writing marketing copies for your marketing emails than you think.
But before we get to what goes into copywriting for email marketing, let’s talk about some mistakes that you can commit due to underestimating the importance of a good copywriting for email marketing.
What are some copywriting mistakes you may already be committing without realizing it?
Let’s first ask the question—what exactly is copywriting?
Copywriting is basically creating a direct conversation with your consumers.
It’s more than just sales talk. So you can only imagine the negative effects of underestimating the necessity for good copywriting.
Not understanding its importance can lead to some mistakes which on the surface might not have any obvious negative consequences, but they will become more apparent in the long run.
Such mistakes include:
Hiring an affordable copywriter
Ask yourself—how much do you value your customers?
Because if you think cheap quality writing is enough for your marketing emails, then that already says a lot
Copywriting is all about giving value to your customers when selling them your brand’s products.
Always remember that when hiring a copywriter for your emails.
Focusing on web copywriters
While it is important to create quality content for your website, you shouldn’t focus all your attention on your eCommerce brand’s website.
Email marketing is what reaches out to your target audience.
And because it is one of your main methods of reaching out to your potential customers, you need to make sure the marketing copies in your emails are of quality standards to maximize the chances of your customers checking out your website, or even better—pushing through with a purchase.
Not having a process in copywriting
As with everything, there’s always a process and copywriting is no exception.
While you might think you can just leave your copywriters alone to work their magic, there’s a process you need to establish to make sure their outputs align with everything you need.
Give them information like the identity of your target audience and that of your eCommerce brand.
Because while your copywriters can highlight the features of your products, they need that information in order to effectively engage with your potential customers and in turn give them enough reasons to actually buy your products.
Focusing only on the features
Features only make half of an amazing product.
The other half pertains to the benefits your products can give your consumers.
Features don’t always equal benefits. How so?
Well, features are what your products have. While benefits are what your consumers get out of using your products.
And when it comes to talking about either, which one do you think would appeal to your potential customers more?
This is why it’s best to have your copywriter’s focus more on highlighting the benefits your products have for your potential customers than just simply enumerating your products’ features.
Not setting goals for email copies
What’s the number goal of copywriting? It’s to sell.
As creative as copywriting can be, don’t let it divert too far from its goal of selling your brand’s products.
Not understanding who your audience Is
Telling your copywriters to just write about your products without really understanding who your target market is is like bringing a knife to a gunfight.
Knowing what you’re selling is one thing, but knowing who you’re selling your products to is far more important.
Because no matter how good your email marketing copies are, they won’t really sell anything if your recipients don’t find them relevant.
Not optimizing your copies for scannability and legibility
While it is important to include as much information as you can about your products in your email marketing copies, don’t do it to the point where your potential customers will see nothing but blocks of text.
Make sure your marketing emails are easy to scan. A lot of people nowadays do not have the patience to carefully read through paragraphs of text, especially when it comes to promotional content.
When making email copies for your products, don’t have more than 2 or 3 sentences in one paragraph. Also, add spaces between paragraphs and lines to easier scannability.
When it comes to legibility, avoid using any of the fancy yet hard to read font styles. There’s nothing wrong with using the basic font styles.
Not backing up your statements
You can say whatever you want in your email marketing copies. But if you can’t back up what you’re saying with legitimate data then your potential customers won’t feel convinced enough to make any purchase.
Because one of the things customers would look for in your marketing copies would be proven facts about what you’re saying.
Now that you’re aware of the mistakes, it’s time to discuss why copywriting is important for your marketing emails and what copywriting can do for your eCommerce brand.
So, without further ado—
How can effective copywriting boost your email marketing performance?
You can creatively build your image to your customers
What’s the best way to build your image and introduce yourself as an eCommerce brand to your customers without boring them with a 3-page document of your company Mission-Vision?
Effective email copywriting can use the art of storytelling to help craft creative and interesting ways to get your message across to your customers.
Stories make your brand more memorable. They can help customers paint a picture of the products your copies are describing, and compelling copywriting content can make your eCommerce brand stand out from your competitors.
You can build customer relationships
As we mentioned earlier, copywriting is basically a direct conversation with your customers. Effective copywriting shows your customers you understand them well enough to know what they need from your brand.
The more relevant your content is to them, the more convinced and trusting your customers will become towards your brand and your products.
You can persuade your potential customers without them knowing it
The last thing any customer would want is being blatantly told what to do, especially by marketers.
Also, it’s going to take a lot more than just special offers and discounts for your marketing emails to get your customers buying from you.
Effective copywriting can evoke emotions from your customers. It can help them experience your products before they buy them.
When done right, your customers will press that CTA of yours and make purchases without you directly asking them to.
What are some of the best copywriting examples in email marketing?
So, you’ve come this far and you’re ready to start pumping out some compelling marketing email content.
Are you still struggling with where to start?
Worry not, for we’ve compiled some of the best examples of copywriting in email marketing from several big brands you can use for reference:
Jaybird
In this email copy from Jaybird, they focused more on what customers will gain from using the product.
Benefits such as “sweat-proof,” “music and calls,” and “a full week of workouts” help customers picture themselves using this product while going about their workout routines.
UNICEF
UNICEF gets straight to the point with their email copy.
Their use of the word “you” helps subscribers feel included, engaging them into the email.
Emeals
Emeals got their other content involved by including their short overviews and links in their email copy.
This way, their emails can also bring more traffic to their website.
The Telegraph
Here’s another great email copy, this time from The Telegraph.
Like the one from UNICEF, The Telegraph made sure they didn’t beat around the bush and they immediately let their subscribers know the purpose of their email.
Notice their CTA as well. It says “Start free trial” instead of “Buy now,” emphasizing the benefits.
Carbon Based Podcast
You know what else makes readers click? It’s when your emails sound like an actual person instead of a generated message. As much as possible, try to avoid hard selling language and try your best to be conversational–like you’re talking to the recipient.
This sample from Carbon Based Podcast is a great example because its tone is very friendly and approachable.
Takeaways:
Email marketing is more than just sending promotional emails to sell products.
Quality copywriting is all about saying a lot while saying less.
This involves engaging your potential customers through compelling writing, arousing all sorts of emotions.
These emotions then lead your customers to respond in kind. They would start looking at your brand in a more relatable light, which would then develop healthy customer relationships.
Now, let’s say your email copies are better than ever before and you can’t wait to get them out there and start converting.
But are your marketing emails reaching the right people?
Let’s make sure your target audiences are enjoying your quality content by letting us help you optimize your email marketing strategies.
How? Just schedule a free 30-minute strategy call with us and your eCommerce business will be getting the most out of its email marketing.
Resources:
Are you looking for an expert who can help teach you the way of email copywriting?
Hubspot invited Joanna Wiebe—a copywriting expert—who created a course all about writing emails that sell.
If you’re looking for an in-depth guide to email copywriting, Growth Lab has the ultimate guide for writing emails that rake in subscribers and conversions.
Finally, if you’re into reading, Growth Lab had put together a list of 20 Copywriting Books you should definitely get your hands on if you want to master the art of copywriting.
