readable emails

Email is still very much alive today. 59% of marketers find email to be their most effective channel in terms of revenue generation. Plus, for every $1 spent on email marketing, $44 is earned back (study by Campaign Monitor). But, successful and professional email writing today all boils down to how well you optimize your email for more reads, clicks, and bottom-line ROI. It takes a ton of work to create standout email today… Which probably has something to do with the fact that nearly 105 billion emails are sent daily (and this number is expected to reach over 246 billion by 2020). Yeesh. So… What’s the difference between effective and ineffective email marketing? One gets read. The other doesn’t. Of course, getting read is always easier said than done. How do you get your emails opened and read? To start, get inspired by taking a look at the professional email writing examples I’ve listed. This is the easiest route to see proven emails that successful companies have used – these actually got opened, read, and acted upon. So, check out the examples we’ve listed, and be inspired to boost your email marketing for the better. Then, after that, follow my easy-to-implement tips for writing and crafting emails with a high probability of being read. Ready? Let’s go! [bctt tweet=”How do you get your emails opened and read? Here is @JuliaEMcCoy’s ultimate list of professional email writing examples + 5 email writing tips.” username=”ExpWriters”] 4 Professional Email Writing Examples That Make You Give a Sh*t If you want people to give a crap about what you have to say in your emails, look at how other businesses have done it. Here are some top examples for your perusal: 1. SmileDirect Club The folks at Smile Direct Club use a clever subject line and an inviting message to encourage you to review their service and website. The click-worthy subject (“Did we make you smile?”) is friendly, cheerful, and personal, and plays directly into the company’s service, which is helping people get straighter teeth with no-fuss invisible aligners. The play-on-words continues with “Please leave us a glowing review” and “We’re all about making people grin.” At the end of the email, you even get a little push from the social benefits for others: Leaving a review will help them “as they get started on their new smile.” The mixture of cleverness, distinct tone-of-voice, and authenticity rings true and makes you want to click. 2. gfJules This email from gfJules, a purveyor of gluten-free flour blends, hits a major pain point of their target audience – when you can’t have gluten, good bread is hard to find. This email hooks you right from the beginning with the plea, “Please don’t go another day without really great, moist bread!” At this point, the gluten-free customer is leaning in and thinking, “Believe me, I don’t want to! Tell me more.” After that hook, the email draws you in with a tempting promise: Learn how to make yummy, easy gluten-free bread without a mixer, a bread machine, or a bread pan. A little social proof (a positive user review of the method/recipe) sweetens the deal. Sold! Sign me up. 3. Dropbox Usually, “come back!” emails are annoying, but Dropbox manages to be cute and non-intrusive with their own attempt to get back on your radar. This quick message is both to-the-point, informative, and a little funny: “Recently your Dropbox has been feeling kind of lonely :-(“ Plus, the inclusion of the text emoji somehow manages to add to the charm of this email, rather than making the company seem unprofessional. This is an effective email that is persuasive without even trying. 4. Roku In their email, Roku hits the snappy copy bullseye. They drive their point home by riffing on their featured free movie, There Will Be Blood, which is about a struggling man and his son who hit paydirt and find an oil field. (“Strike it rich this week…”) The intro text is compelling, too, and makes you want to read more: “Passion and danger. On the house.” All told, this email is a fun way that Roku promoted its free streaming channel. How to Write Emails That Get Read: 5 Sure-Fire Tips Ready to improve your open rates, get people to read your emails, and invite more clicks? Take the professional email writing examples from above, gather inspiration, then apply the following tips. Many of these have worked for me personally. Let’s get to it! 1. Limit Your Links Here’s an interesting fact: Great email copy that gets read and opened is not stuffed with links. For me, I’ve found that limiting the number of links I include in my emails has boosted my open rate by 5%! This is a HUGE tip – and can immediately help improve your success with email marketing. Need extra proof? Look at the professional email writing examples above – each of them has less than two links at most in the entire body of their message. The truth is, adding more links just seems spammy, which can turn people off. Look at this email from a rubber stamp company that went straight to the spam folder: According to Google, it looked similar to other spam messages: Reading the email, it’s clear that it isn’t spam. In fact, it’s perfectly legit and well-intentioned, but too many links and a strange sender address made Google get suspicious. Don’t make this mistake, and you’ll improve your open rates and ensure your messages aren’t instantly relegated to the spam cemetery. [bctt tweet=”‘Great email copy that gets read and opened is not stuffed with links… limiting the number of links I include in my emails has boosted my open rate by 5%!’- @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”] 2. Optimize Your Email Subject Line with Free Tools Tip #2: Do NOT neglect your subject line. I find that optimizing my email subject line helps nudge my open rate up another 2-3% (5 words or less seem to perform well). The easiest way to do this is to use a … Read more