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#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Create Email Content That Stands Out with Shayla Price

June 19, 2024September 22, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

Are you wondering how to create email content that your subscribers will enjoy and that you’ll love to create? If so, you’re in the right place! Our latest #ContentWritingChat was jam-packed with amazing advice you can use to take your email marketing strategy to the next level. Ready to dive in? Keep reading for our recap! #ContentWritingChat Recap: From Subject Lines to Preheaders: How to Create Email Content That Stands Out with Shayla Price Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, September 19th at 10 AM Central to chat about email content with @shaylaprice! ? pic.twitter.com/IBSDXdEQ0T — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) September 12, 2017 Our guest host this week was Shayla Price. Shayla is a B2B content and email marketer, so she knows a thing or two about creating amazing online content. She shared some great advice throughout our chat, so you’ll want to take some notes! Q1: Why should brand put time and effort into building an email marketing strategy? Are you wondering if email marketing is really going to be worth the extra work? We say yes! But if you need a little extra convincing, here are some responses from our chat: A1.a: When brands devote time & effort to email, it helps build consumer relationships and grow their businesses. #ContentWritingChat — Shayla Price (@shaylaprice) September 19, 2017 A1.b: Plus, email offers the highest ROI. For every $1 spent, email marketing generates $38. (h/t @CampaignMonitor) #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/YYpqSTQRkj — Shayla Price (@shaylaprice) September 19, 2017 Shayla knows that email marketing can help brands build relationships with their customers, while also growing their business in the process. It also produces some pretty great ROI! A1 Email is a great way to build an audience over time and deliver value directly to their inbox (and mobile devices) #contentwritingchat — Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) September 19, 2017 As Bill mentioned, you can deliver value directly to the inbox of your audience through the power of email. It’s a great way to build an audience and establish trust over time. A1: Email is a great way to send catered content to the people that matter most – your target audience. #ContentWritingChat — Flying Cork (@flyingcorkpgh) September 19, 2017 If you want to send content that’s catered to your audience, email is the place to do it. A1 Email marketing is ?…@Entrepreneur says the ROI is 4,300%. (Every dollar = $44 return) https://t.co/7PZnwA5jWS #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) September 19, 2017 Julia also knows the value email marketing can provide because of its high ROI. Check out the link she shared from Entrepreneur! A1. Because your e-mail is your very own real estate. Social media is just rented land #contentwritingchat — Cheval John (@chevd80) September 19, 2017 Cheval made a great point about how your email list is your own real estate. When you build a following on social media, you’re doing so on rented land. Those platforms could disappear one day, but you’ll always have your email list. Q2: How can your subject line increase open rates? Any tips you can share? When you create email content, it’s pretty obvious that your subject line is very important. After all, it can make or break whether or not someone opens your email or sends it straight to the trash. Here’s some advice you can use to boost your open rate with your next campaign: A2.a: The subject line is the make-or-break moment. If it doesn’t catch the recipient’s attention, you will get ignored. #ContentWritingChat — Shayla Price (@shaylaprice) September 19, 2017 As Shayla said, your subject line is your one and only chance to catch the attention of your subscribers. Don’t blow it! A2.b: Effective subject lines are short, unique, and non-spammy. #ContentWritingChat — Shayla Price (@shaylaprice) September 19, 2017 A2.c: Here are a few subject line tips: use numbers, add a deadline, ask a question, and make it personal. #ContentWritingChat — Shayla Price (@shaylaprice) September 19, 2017 Her advice is to keep your subject lines short, unique, and non-spammy. You can also see results by using numbers, a deadline, asking a question, and keeping it personal. These are all great strategies to test out. A2: it’s just like sending out a good tweet – you want to hook them so they CLICK on the email not delete! #ContentWritingChat — Independent Retailer (@indretailer) September 19, 2017 If you want subscribers to open your emails, you have to hook them. A2: your subject line tells people what they’re about to open – if it’s not interesting/informative it won’t get opened #ContentWritingChat — Elizabeth Greenberg (@BettaBeYou) September 19, 2017 Use your subject line as a way to inform people what’s inside your emails. Elizabeth said to make it both interesting and informative. A2) Keep it short, but relevant. Does it spark curiosity? The SOLE purpose of a subject line is to click/open the email #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/ZRAmj88S7x — Jason Schemmel (@JasonSchemmel) September 19, 2017 For Jason, a great subject line needs to spark curiosity. He also feels it should be short and relevant to the content inside the email. A2: Subject lines are EVERYTHING. Currently obsessing over emoji’s in the subject line. Gets me every time. #ContentWritingChat — Haley Steinhauser (@h_steinhauser) September 19, 2017 Haley can’t resist a subject line with an emoji. Try adding them to your next email campaign! A2. I’m one of the most curious people I know. I can’t resist intrigue. Neither can others. #ContentWritingChat — Megan McCarthy (@ImMeganMcCarthy) September 19, 2017 Megan admits that she can’t resist intrigue and she knows others can’t either. Keep that in mind when writing email content. A2) Offers are a big incentive to open. “Save 40%? You’ve got my attention…” #contentwritingchat — Kyle Murray (@TheKyleMurray) September 19, 2017 As Kyle said, offers provide an incentive to open up your emails. Sales and discounts are definitely a good push. A2: Think of a subject line as a 1st impression. You get 1 chance to get them to open your email! Pique their interest! #ContentWritingChat — Flying Cork (@flyingcorkpgh) … Read more

#ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Create Customer-Centric Email Content with Kristen Dunleavy

December 31, 2020March 31, 2017 by Rachel Moffett

Could your email marketing use a major boost? If so, you’re in luck! This week’s #ContentWritingChat was all about how to create customer-centric email content. Keep reading for the recap and be sure to apply these tips to your next email newsletter! #ContentWritingChat Recap: How to Create Customer-Centric Email Content with Kristen Dunleavy Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, March 28th at 10 AM Central with our guest host, @KristenWritesIt! pic.twitter.com/hsbFAHiknB — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) March 21, 2017 Our guest host this week was Kristen Dunleavy. Kristen frequently joins #ContentWritingChat as a participant, so we were excited to have her step in and guest host. As the Content Marketing Manager for Movable Ink, she had tons of great tips to share on email content. Q1: How do you define customer-centric email content? So, what exactly does customer-centric email content mean? To kick off this week’s chat, we asked our participants to share their definitions of it. Here’s what they had to say: A1a. Customer centric email content spotlights your customer & their interactions w/ your brand. #contentwritingchat — Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) March 28, 2017 A1b. This includes using customer testimonials, personalized content & always, always addressing their needs. #contentwritingchat — Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) March 28, 2017 Kristen said that customer-centric email content spotlights your customer and their interactions with your brand. While this may seem simple, it’s a great way to show your customers that you appreciate them. They’ll love it! To do this, focus on your customers by using testimonials, personalized content, and addressing their needs. A1 Make it ALL about them. Don’t sell till you’ve become their friend/built a relationship. #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) March 28, 2017 Julia’s advice is to make your email content all about your customers. Don’t try to sell to them until you’ve built a relationship with them. After all, you need to build a level of trust first before they ever take that next step. A1:Customer-centric email content is email that a) provides value and b) speaks in a tone that your customer understands #contentwritingchat — Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) March 28, 2017 Maureen said this kind of email content provides value and speaks in a tone that your customers understands. This is key to remember not just for creating email content, but also blog posts, social media posts, and much more. A1: email content should be useful for customers while keeping your ROI goals in mind. Be a help, not a bother. #contentwritingchat — Elizabeth Greenberg (@BettaBeYou) March 28, 2017 As Elizabeth said, it’s important to create email content that’s useful for your customers, but it should also help you reach your end goals. Know what you hope to achieve with each email you send and create the content that will help you get there. A1 Customer-centric email content addresses the key pain points of your audience. Instead of asking, it gives. #contentwritingchat — Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) March 28, 2017 Give, give, give! One thing to remember when creating email content is that you should give to your audience more than you ask of them. As Bill said, you can do this by addressing the key pain points your audience is facing. Q2: What are the benefits of creating customer-centric email content? Now that you know what customer-centric email content it is, you need to know the benefits it can provide to you. Here’s what some of the chat participants had to say: A2a. Spotlighting customers builds trust with your biggest fans – your email subscribers! #contentwritingchat — Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) March 28, 2017 Kristen knows that spotlighting your customers is a great way to build trust with your audience. Having a certain level of trust is key if you ever want to convert those subscribers into customers and this is a great way to go about it. A2 Customer-centric email content establishes trust and value, which produces higher open rates and click-through rates #contentwritingchat — Bill Skowronski (@BillSkowronski) March 28, 2017 Bill agrees that it’s a great way to build trust with your audience. By adding value and having an audience that trusts you, you’ll see higher open rates and click-through rates. A2: Benefits of customer-centric email include trust, self-selection, tribe integration&satisfaction of a job well done. #contentwritingchat — Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) March 28, 2017 Maureen said its benefits include: trust, self-selection, tribe integration, and the satisfaction of a job well done. @ExpWriters A2. Benefits are creating a community around your business and you make friends at the same time #ContentWritingChat — Cheval John (@chevd80) March 28, 2017 Cheval said it’s a great way to create a community around your business. It’s also essential to help you build a relationship with your subscribers. A2. Customer will feel special and will start the journey to become an advocate for your brand #contentwritingchat https://t.co/F9yVqUiMK8 — Vivek (@vivektweetsso) March 28, 2017 Customer-centric email content is one way to make your audience feel special. When they feel special, they’ll appreciate your brand even more. A2 Email is a much more personal form of communication. Use it to your advantage and cater to them! #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/U0BPtgXAlU — HeyOrca! (@HeyOrca) March 28, 2017 Email is such a personal form of communication, so use that to your advantage. It’s an amazing way to connect with your audience. Q3: How is featuring your customers in your emails different from other mediums? Emails are just one place you can feature your customers. You can also do so on social media and your blog. But how is it different when it’s done through email? Check out these answers from the chat: A3. Email is super personal – therefore, your email content should feel personal too! #contentwritingchat — Kristen Dunleavy (@KristenWritesIt) March 28, 2017 As Kristen said, email is very personal so you should make your content feel that way as well. If people chose to let you into their inbox, you need to deliver content that speaks to them. A3: IMO, it feels like more of a 1:1 interaction … Read more

#ContentWritingChat Recap: Creating Amazing Content for Your Email Readers with Val Geisler of ConvertKit

December 31, 2020November 18, 2016 by Rachel Moffett

Could your email marketing use a major boost? Well, you’re in luck because that’s what we talked about in our latest #ContentWritingChat! If you want to learn how to get more subscribers, how to create amazing email content, and more, keep reading our recap. #ContentWritingChat Recap: Creating Amazing Content for Your Email Readers with Val Geisler of ConvertKit Join us for #ContentWritingChat on Tuesday, November 15th at 10 AM Central Time with @lovevalgeisler from @ConvertKit! pic.twitter.com/k1BIybRfxd — Express Writers (@ExpWriters) November 8, 2016 Our guest host this week was Val Geisler. Val handles marketing content over at ConvertKit, an email marketing software we absolutely love! She’s also the host of the Reach podcast. As part of the ConvertKit team, Val has a lot of valuable tips on email marketing that she shared with us. Q1: What makes a quality newsletter? And how often should you send one? To kick off the chat, we asked our participants what they thought made a quality newsletter. After all, if you’re going to send a newsletter, you want to make sure it’s great! A1: a quality email newsletter is one your readers open and engage with – no matter the content. Send them consistently! #contentwritingchat — Val Geisler (@lovevalgeisler) November 15, 2016 Val said a quality email newsletter is one your readers open and engage with. You want to think about what your unique audience is interested in, which will help you create the content they enjoy. Once you’ve figured out what to write, be sure to send emails consistently to keep your list warm! A1: A quality newsletter is one that provides value to your recipient BEFORE you focus on what you want out of it. #contentwritingchat — Annaliese Henwood (@MktgInnovator) November 15, 2016 As Annaliese said, make sure you’re providing value to your subscribers. That should be your top priority before focusing on what you want out of the email. A1: Quality = sending out content your recipients find useful/helpful/relevant/timely. How often? As often as needed.#ContentWritingChat https://t.co/lTVAXWF2V8 — ThinkSEM (@ThinkSEM) November 15, 2016 Sarah from ThinkSEM knows a great email newsletter is one that’s useful, helpful, relevant, and timely. It all goes back to giving your audience what they want. A1) A newsletter contains content that benefits your audience either through educating them, or offering them something. #ContentWritingChat — Jason Schemmel (@JasonSchemmel) November 15, 2016 Exactly right, Jason! Your email newsletter should contain content that benefits your audience. You can educate them or offer them something you’re providing. Q1: RELEVANCE. If your email isn’t timely and full of targeted content your subscribers care about, don’t press send. #ContentWritingChat — McKenzie Gregory (@kenziegreg) November 15, 2016 Relevance is key! McKenzie said you shouldn’t bother sending emails that aren’t timely and aren’t filled with content your audience is interested in. A1 Always put your best foot forward. NEVER send out rushed or without proofreading! (speaking from knowledge ?) #ContentWritingChat — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) November 15, 2016 Before you click send, always take the time to read through for errors. Be sure to check any links to make sure they’re working properly as well. It’s always worthwhile to double or even triple-check before pushing that send button. Q2: How can you write a subject line that increases open rates? Let’s face it. The subject line of your email can make or break the success of the emails you send. If you don’t have a subject line that grabs the attention of your audience, they just might click delete without ever opening it. Here are some tips on writing amazing subject lines: A2: The subject line could be the most important part of the email: https://t.co/Qn07vL0OJ8 #contentwritingchat — Val Geisler (@lovevalgeisler) November 15, 2016 A2: Under 60 characters if you want it read on mobile! #contentwritingchat — Val Geisler (@lovevalgeisler) November 15, 2016 For some great tips on subject lines, read the ConvertKit article Val shared with us. It’s filled with advice you need to know! You should also keep mobile users in mind when creating your email content. Val said to keep your subject line under 60 characters if you want people to read it on mobile. A2: Write a subject line that shares what subscribers will find in the body of the email. No clickbait, please! #ContentWritingChat — Rachel (@redheadrachel) November 15, 2016 My advice? Write a subject line that clearly states what subscribers will find in the body of the email. You want to let them know what they can expect to see if they open it. Don’t mislead subscribers either. Clickbait isn’t cool and if you do it too often, people will start unsubscribing. A2: When you want to hook them, don’t deceive. Your subject line hook should still be relevant to the email content. #contentwritingchat — Annaliese Henwood (@MktgInnovator) November 15, 2016 Annaliese agrees that deception isn’t cool when it comes to your subject lines. No matter what you choose for your subject line, it should be relevant to the contents of your email. A2: Ask a question to capture attention and leave them wanting to know the answer! #ContentWritingChat — Zola Creative (@ZolaCreative) November 15, 2016 One great idea is to pose a question in your subject line. It’ll leave them wanting to know the answer, so they take the time to open and read your email. A2 Emojis can make a BIG difference. I’ve seen more open rates w/ relevant emojis included. Example (using @ConvertKit) #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/ePLll5dP7D — Julia McCoy ? (@JuliaEMcCoy) November 15, 2016 Julia knows emojis are a great addition to any subject line. Not only do emojis add a little personality to your emails, but they also stand out in a crowded inbox. Q2: Test, test, test! Every audience is different, so it’s the best way to know what subject lines are right for yours. #ContentWritingChat — McKenzie Gregory (@kenziegreg) November 15, 2016 Test, test, test! McKenzie is absolutely right with this one. Everyone has a different audience and what works for one person … Read more

15 of the Hottest Email Newsletters & Why They Are So Successful

March 24, 2022September 3, 2015 by Josh McCoy

Alecs is our Client Accounts Manager and a ten-year-veteran copywriter. Email newsletters have been around for a long time, as a successful means of helping businesses communicate with their customers. When email introduced a new dimension to the traditional newsletter, it instantly became more marketable in the twenty-first century. Not all newsletters are great, entertaining reads, however. As someone who enjoys reading and learning from what I read, a newsletter gives me a valuable resource. Sadly not many companies that create newsletters do that with information in mind. Developing a Great Email Newsletter: 15 Keys to the Castle One of the key things about creating a great newsletter is that the information contained therein should be mostly informative. The content in your newsletter is an extension of the content that you create for your blog or website. This content has to be entertaining and engaging. Newsletters that don’t perform as well as they should forget this one overarching idea: that content is value and value is what sells. Let’s take a look at some of the more impressive email newsletters that have managed to make their way (and keep making their way) into my inbox. 1. The Skimm: Having information given to you in easily readable, bite-sized chunks is the aim of most content marketing. Less is more, since content seems to be downsizing. The Skimm builds a newsletter that embraces this trend by giving you all the news you need to know about in short, concise bursts. You don’t even need to click out of the email to be fully informed about what’s going on. As a newsletter, it brings immense value to the table in a nice, simple, clean layout that doesn’t distract from the story elements of the news. The stories make for viable inspiration for your own blog posts as well. 2. Community.is: This newsletter tries to fit into a number of molds at the same and time and manages to do so pretty well surprisingly. As a newsletter that is designed to “put people at the center of their work”, they have a wide and varied audience. Their unique combination of short, medium and long form content appeals to their different demographics really efficiently. This allows their newsletter to be properly organized without seeming confusing at all. When you’re trying to hit such a wide audience, that in itself is a task, but this newsletter accomplishes it easily. 3. Food Safety Update: A B2B email newsletter doesn’t need a flashy title and Food Safety Update’s title is relatively bland. When you take a look at their layout and content, however, you realize that the title is misleading. The content is organized into easily digestible chunks that are well-labeled, ensuring that you can find what you’re looking to read up on. Interspersed throughout the journal are thumbnails that help to break up the text and add flavor to the layout itself. Handy social sharing options allow for easy dissemination of articles you like and unsubscribing is pretty simple as well, although after you’ve read it you’d wonder why anyone would want to. 4. Austin Kleon: Minimalistic design has always been something that appeals to a lot of modern users. Austin Kleon’s newsletter goes into the minimalist design with great intentions and manages to be successful with its mix of simple design and informative writing. The thing that is most impressive about it is the tone. Reading this newsletter has a quaint, almost homey feel. It’s almost like getting a letter from a friend you haven’t seen in a while. This is probably the most impressive accomplishment of this newsletter, making the publication seem more human. 5. Litmus: Named after the chemical testing paper, this email marketing testing company has a newsletter that is unique in its design. Swathes of color are used to break up the sections into easily readable bits. You never feel as though you’re staring at a field of monotony with the color scheme. The colors are muted and give the sense of a background without being too outstanding to distract you from what you’re reading. The content is interesting as you would expect from a marketing testing company, and it’s definitely one you should look into if marketing and analytics are your thing. 6. NoshOn.It: If you’ve ever tried making something from a recipe book and the book doesn’t have a helpful, full-color picture of what it’s supposed to turn out as, you’ll realize the struggles of many aspiring foodies out there. NoshOn.It is a newsletter that is designed for foodies and gives them helpful hints along with recipes and included pictures to help their readers visualize what they’re creating. Combining them with simple red text-boxes that stand out over the images and announce what it is you’re looking at helps readers to go directly to the section they’re looking for. Innovative design, to say the least, and quite useful for someone who cooks. 7. InterDrone News: Since drones became commercially available, there’s no shortage of people willing to throw a few bucks at them. InterDrone news is a pretty informative newsletter that encapsulates information about commercial and industrial uses of drones. As is to be expected from a B2B newsletter, its design is simple but effective. The entries are easy to read and give you all the important information about drones and their usage. If you’re a drone owner or are just curious about how this new technology benefits us overall, this is a pretty good addition to your reading list. 8. Very Short List (VSL): The idea behind VSL is simple in its premise, but powerful in its delivery. What Very Short List does is give you a selection of three “cultural gems” every day into your inbox. These gems differ from day to day as does the style and variety of the pieces. This is because VSL tasks a different contributor each day with doing the editing and compilation of their newsletter daily. This ensures that their content is always fresh, and that it might differ vastly from one … Read more