5 crucial elements made a perfect E-mail
Posted by Andres Aguerrevere on
Can you imagine how an effective email would look like?
No business loves it when their emails are not read, but only a few businesses know how to get people to open and read their emails, and that is what this article would talk about.
So, how does a perfect email look like exactly? What is inside it?
To help you on your way, we’ve put together the following 5 components that makes a perfect email, hence help you get the positive outcome (high open rate, lots of clicks, millions of traffic, etc.):
- Subject line
- Pre-header
- Headline
- Body copy
- Footer
Now, are you ready to dive in?
Subject line
The first and primary element which would be discussed in this article is the subject line of an email. It can also be referred to as the title of the email.
A report made by Invespcro has it that over 47% of emails are opened based on the subject line. Think of subject line as an invitation to open your email. When people check their inbox, all they see is your Subject line. So, it has got to be so compelling and convince your readers that what you have to say is important. Lots of people don’t open some emails because they don’t feel interested in the subject line, and you might have done that too.
Let’s move to a couple of tips for writing effective subject lines:
- Be Concise: A concise subject line is made short and contains the necessary information.
- Be Captivating: Getting the reader's attention is the second important task to keep in mind when creating a subject line that would yield results.
- Make it personalized: A personalized subject makes the reader feel relevant and want to know more. You can do this by either including the reader’s name, or an event the reader attended, or a location that the reader has been to.
- State the email content: Show your audience what you’re talking about. No one is asking you to spill the full details, but getting them curious by giving a little of the information in the email would help. Also, do not sell straight up in the subject line. Remember: Tell don’t Sell.
- Avoid unnecessary CAPTIONS and exclamations: Don’t make a subject line look to authoritative by using captions and exclamations. Keeping it simple would do better.
Include your readers’ name in the Subject line, why don’t give it a try?
In general, the best way to know how to create effective subject lines is by testing with these tips mentioned. While testing, observe and you would have a better insight on how to go about it.
Pre header
An email pre header refers to the text that shows right after the subject line, and this is also seen in the inbox before opening the mail. A pre header is the first few words from the mail, but it can be customized to suit the sender’s needs.
Just as the subject line, the pre header also helps in determining whether the recipient gets to open the email or not. Below is an example of what a pre header looks like in Gmail.
The pre header reads, “you only have 4% chance to opt-in, or you lose the seat. Closing time is near”. It is left for you to judge whether it’s captivating enough or not.
A pre header is determined by how well you start the email because it is the first line of the email that makes up the pre header.
One proven way to create pre headers that work is by using the FOMO (Fear of missing out) psychology. This psychology allows email writers to get the attention of the recipient by stating discount offers and special deals. Also, the pre header in the sample uploaded above contains a FOMO tactic. The receiver has only 4% chance to opt-in, if not, he will lose his opportunity.
A pre header must be seen as an extension of the subject line. There should be some connection at least.
Difference between a subject line and a pre header
A subject line and a pre header serve the same purpose which is to enable email recipients to open the email. But does it mean that they are the same thing? No, they are not.
The subject line is the first thing email recipients get to see in their inbox. It is bolder than the pre header and hence, it is the primary attention grabber. But the pre header is like an extension of the subject line. It gives further attractive details to what the email contains.
A mistake that should be avoided when writing an email is making the pre header the same as the subject line. The pre header is only an extension of the subject line and encourage people to read your email.
Headline
The third written component of an email is the headline. The headline is completely optional, you don’t have to include one. It depends on the design of the email. But if you do include a headline, it’s usually different from the Subject line.
If the Subject line is an invitation to open the email in the first place, the Headline calls attention to the hierarchy of the email itself. It’s the most obvious thing people see when they do open your email. When someone is already reading your email, you can entertain them a little bit more. So if your Subject line is very descriptive, your headline might be a more traditional copy writing headline style, like you might see in a newspaper of magazine.
Body copy
- What are the details you want to pass across to your subscribers?
- What information do you think they should have about your company?
- What do you have to promote to them?
- Are you just checking up on them?
Questions like this do provide writers a clear idea of how to write a body copy. A body copy is the largest part of an email where the writer conveys every detail in full to the receiver. The body copy is where companies get to communicate with their audience.
When an email body copy isn’t reasonable communicate with the reader, they get tired quickly and end up closing the email. When communicating with the reader, always try to make it feel like a personal discussion rather than a generic or random email body copy. Also, it is important to make sure that your readers see the value you are offering them in the body copy. You don’t just want to sell and make profits without them getting any value.
One effective tip to increase engagement is to create urgency right in your body copy. You can add a countdown timer, or annouce the number of hot items left… to pull readers to your website and place an order.
You can at some point in the body engage them, but don’t forget to keep it a bit professional. When the body copy can engage the readers, you already have their attention. Also, you can promote a product with a call to action anywhere in the body copy. Although, call to actions are better when placed at the center and towards the end of an email body copy. Here is an example.
A lot of email writers worry about how long the body copy should be. Here is a straight answer to that: short (not too short) email body copy works, same as long body copy, just find what fits your audience and work with it. Also, the type of email that you are sending out might help to determine the length. Informative and educational emails can be either long or short, but for more conversions, it is best to keep promotional emails short.
Footer
The footer is another crucial part of an email, but a lot of persons quickly ignore and overlook the importance of this section. We have come across a lot of emails with a very poor footer and the senders do this out of ignorance.
When creating an excellent email footer, it is best to understand that the footer can also deliver your business information to readers. Information such as social media profile, phone number, office address, and even sources to download a company’s mobile app can be shared in the footer section. Here is a sample below.
You never can tell how many of your subscribers would end up downloading your mobile app and also follow your brand on social media. Organizations and individuals are to explore this part of the email to get more results on brand awareness.
Conclusion
From the subject line to the email footer, all of the mentioned email elements should be placed in high esteem. None of the 5 elements mentioned should be underrated or overlook. Businesses have experienced immerse growth with the help of email campaigns and you too can get the benefits. Also, one way to get results is by trying things out and finding what works for you and your email readers. And, we’d love to know which elements you face challenging the most in the comment section below!
Author Bio
Hannah started as a copywriter, but it turns out her true passion is e-commerce marketing.
She is naturally inquisitive about human behavior and its interaction with the digital world. Now, she’s part of the HappyPoints team with a goal to help Shopify merchants boost their business.
Her team helps merchants launch their e-commerce websites and optimize their sales conversions with fully managed Shopify store setup and theme customization.
