March is Email Marketing Month! During the entire month of March, I’ll be giving you tips, ideas and off-the-wall insights about how to get your bulk emails opened, read and responded to. Because, hey, if you’re going to take all that time to write a great email or email newsletter, you want people to read it, right? Right!

 

What makes an email irresistible?

Actually, what makes anything irresistible?

According to the magic dictionary that pops up on my iMac dashboard, the definition of irresistible is:

“Too attractive and tempting to be resisted; too powerful or convincing to be resisted.”

Yeah, baby!

This is exactly what you want to achieve when you’re writing and sending emails to your clients or prospective clients! You want your offer, your message to be so dang tempting, so powerful, that your reader cannot help but willingly (and joyfully surrender) to the power of your magical email spell.

So, how ya going to do that, eh?

It’s actually easier than you think.

• It requires learning the rules, then breaking most of them.
• It requires showing up as yourself without any need or desire to impress, convince, deceive or delude.
• It requires knowing how to create the basic anatomical elements of emails that work.
• But it also requires moving beyond the basics and digging down into the blood and guts of the content you’re sharing every time you write and send an email to your list.

Next week, we’ll splash around in the blood and guts.

Today, you are enrolled in Email Anatomy 101, and we’ll cover the muscular-skeletal system of your email content.

First, let me be clear. The emails I am referring to here are the single-message variety, NOT your e-newsletter where you might offer a kaleidoscope of content, from feature articles to quick tips. This anatomical lesson applies to shorter text emails, like autoresponders, invitations, short promotional emails or updates.

Here we go!

The Subject Line

As I shared recently in a Tough Love Tuesday video, when it comes to getting your emails opened, your subject line does most of the heavy lifting. If your subject line is dry, boring or too vague, it will be easy for people to ignore and/or delete without ever opening.

When it comes to creating irresistibility, your subject line must be a first-class temptress.

Just ask the folks over at the Obama Reelection Campaign. Turns out, they’ve been writing some pretty irresistible subject lines.

How can you write a tempting subject line? Well, I have some tips for you, but first, let’s learn a few rules so we can break them! One of my favorite authority blogs is Copyblogger. Truly one of my favorite blogs of all time!  Those geniuses at Copyblogger offer a 4-point subject line formula that’s pretty darned helpful. It states that your subject lines should be:

• Useful: Is the promised message valuable to the reader?
• Ultra-specific: Does the reader know what’s being promised?
• Unique: Is the promised message compelling and remarkable?
• Urgent: Does the reader feel the need to read now?

Great guidance. Take it to heart.
And then go with your gut instinct and your awareness of your target audience.

For instance, I’ve found that the folks on my email list tend to go for subject lines that are:

• Non-specific – they don’t really reveal the “meat” of the message
• Intriguing – they spark the reader’s curiosity
• Promising – they promise something yummy inside.
• Casual or personal in nature – they sound like they were written by a friend
• Short – five words or less

(Shameless Plug: I’m going to be sharing all of my subject line secrets in an upcoming teleclass I’m offering in April, including subject lines that have proven to work well for myself and others. So if you’re interested in writing emails that connect and collect, be sure to check back next week for Part II of this series).

Here are just a few subject lines that have worked really well for me:

Just so you know…

Now, doesn’t that feel good?

Please, don’t make me beg.

Time to say goodbye

What’s interesting is that none of these are specific about “what’s inside.” They just infer that there is something of interest inside without really letting you know what.

Go through your own email inbox and notice which subject lines pull your attention and make you want to open them right away.

The Lead

Okay, your subject line did it’s job! Whoever received your email has opened up that puppy and is reading your email. What do they see first? Your greeting and then the first 2-3 sentences of your email.

THIS is make it or break it time!

Those first few sentences have to make an immediate, compelling connection with your reader. Otherwise, he or she will make a beeline for the delete button. Here are a few tips and techniques to help you create a lead that keeps them reading:

• Create suspense: It was 3:00 am, and he still hadn’t come home.
• Pose a provocative question: Did you get caught again?
• Set them up for more: I can’t believe I’m telling you this!
• Get right to the point: Tomorrow, at 2:00 pm EST, I’m giving away three custom Internet marketing packages. Here are the details.

The most important rule is… don’t be boring. Respect your reader’s time and intelligence by giving them something fun or exciting or incredibly valuable to read. Right away! Don’t waste words or their time.

And Your Point Is?

Once you’ve hooked your reader with your lead, you have to deliver the goods. You have to get to the point of your email, the heart of your message, the reason you are writing in the first place. While your reader may enjoy your dazzling lead, they are still on the hunt for the meat of the message. They are always asking, “what’s in this for me?”

Respect your reader’s time, interest and intelligence by quickly getting to the point of your message so they can decide whether to keep reading or get back to business.

Now, this doesn’t mean you have to be curt, matter of fact or unfriendly. On the contrary, your entire email should be engaging, personable and true to who you are.

Which brings me to the next (somewhat) anatomical element of any irresistible email:

Be casual and conversational… but not sloppy

Okay, this element isn’t really an anatomical element, but it’s so important I’m adding it anyway!

When it comes to email or any web-based copy or content, you will hear all the experts say: “Write like you talk” or “Be casual and conversational.” And they’re right.

Kind of.

I’d amend that directive to say, “Write like you talk… except better.” I don’t know about you but I tend to ramble, get sidetracked and add a lot of “ums” “uhs” and “you know’s” when I talk. I also tend to take too long to get to the point.

So, yes, let the tone and phrasing of what you write feel as casual, free and informal as one side of a two-sided conversation. But edit skillfully.

A good rule of thumb is to read your emails out loud. Do they feel and sound like something you would say? Or do you end up tripping on some of the words and knitting your brow over some of the phrases?

Another tip: shorter sentences almost always read better than long ones! Any time you can shorten up a sentence, do it! But only if it feels true to who you are and the way you communicate.

Tell Me What To Do

There will be times when you will write an email to deliver some good news, say hello or share your appreciation. But most of the time, you will always, always want include a call to action. You want to tell the reader what to do next. Not because you’re Mr. or Mrs. Bossy Pants but because your reader really wants to know. They are looking to you to tell them. So tell them.

It could be something as sweet and simple as asking them to acknowledge their own achievements or abilities. Or it can be as casual as an invitation to hook up on Facebook or one of your other social media hang-outs. Your call to action can be in the body of the email (be sure to register today) or in the P.S. Heck, it can be in the lead, if that feels right (Before you read the rest of this email…)

P.S. I Love You

If your reader decides to scan your email instead of read every word, there’s a good chance he or she will read your lead, scan the rest and then read the last phrase and P. S. At least, that’s what the experts say. And the only reason I dare believe them is that’s often how I read emails as well. I read the beginning, scan the body for the point, and then read the closing paragraph and P.S.

So, don’t throw away that precious real estate! Use it wisely to bring home the meat of your message, alleviate doubts and give the reader every reason to take the next step with you. (Or tell them that you love them… but be careful with that!)

More Than Skin Deep

So, now that we’ve covered the basic anatomy of an irresistible email, it’s time to dig down into the heart and soul, the blood and guts of writing emails that are truly irresistible, highly effective and unique to you and your message. We’ll get into it next week with Part II of The Anatomy of An Irresistible Email, which should be posted here on Wednesday, March 21, as we continue to explore Email Marketing throughout the month of March!

Meanwhile, if you have questions or insights relative to your own email marketing, please leave a comment here, and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.