Most people treat email marketing like it’s a game of chance. They send out random blasts and drip-feed sequences to new signups, hoping people click their links to buy. But email marketing isn’t a game of chance. When done right, it’s a powerful way to generate sales and build a trustworthy reputation at scale. And since the people on an email list actually want to hear from you, it’s much easier to influence them.
The goal of email marketing is to build an audience that looks forward to every message you send, even if the subject line isn’t all that great. The ultimate list consists of people who don’t even read the subject line before opening your emails.
In this article, we’ll explore ways to write emails people actually open by building trust and valuable content.
- Start by getting better leads
Growing your email list isn’t hard. Growing a qualified email list is where most people fail. If you want a subscriber list that reliably opens your emails, you need better leads from day one. The easiest way to accomplish this is to hire a professional marketing team. Companies that hire pros generate far more qualified leads compared to DIY attempts.
Agencies flawlessly execute high-level strategies that DIY marketers struggle to figure out. There’s more to email marketing than just tossing up a lead gen form on your website and sending emails four times a week. You need a strategy from start to finish.
Better leads come from a well-targeted audience
An experienced agency will pinpoint who is most likely to convert, stay engaged, and buy again. Any marketing campaigns run will target these people specifically. When you start with a specific target audience, you won’t spin your wheels or waste money chasing people who aren’t likely to buy from you. Not every website visitor is your ideal customer.
Professional agencies build effective funnels that attract motivated subscribers who want your content, value your expertise, and open your emails because they want to see what you have to say. They’re not generally people who signed up for your list to get a discount or freebie.
- Master subject lines without resorting to clickbait
Unless celebrity gossip is your niche, nobody likes clickbait. Subject lines are less likely to be opened when they look like a gimmick. The subject lines that get people to open emails are typically intriguing or provide clarity and intent.
Some people use extremely short subject lines like:
- Bonkers
- Lost everything
- 37,924 sales
- It’s not this
- Mon……day
You can also use humor to capture attention. What works best will depend on your particular list, but it’s worth mastering because some people will open emails solely based on the subject line. That means if you’re sending out four emails per week, some of your subscribers will pick and choose what emails they open based on the subject alone. You’ll get far more clicks when you master this part of the email delivery.
Some email marketing applications allow you to resend an email to people who never opened the original email, but with a different subject line. This feature is gold. However, don’t just measure open rates. Track other important metrics like click-through rate (CTR), click-to-open rate (CTOR), and your conversion rate.
- Write email content that makes people want to open future emails
Getting someone to open one of your emails isn’t hard, but if the content doesn’t deliver value, they’ll either unsubscribe, mark your emails as spam, or just ignore you completely. When you write emails people get value from, they’ll continue opening your emails in the future.
No matter what people say to the contrary, avoid using AI to write your emails as much as possible. AI is excellent for brainstorming, but people can tell when something was written by ChatGPT – and they don’t like it. These emails feel inauthentic, repetitive, and impersonal. Sending out emails written by AI makes people think you’re too lazy to invest five minutes in your list, and that kills the vibe.
Make it a point to write emails that engage your audience on points they care about and that provide immediate value. For example, offer immediate solutions to problems, discounts, deals, or insights. The more human and relatable you are, the more people will want to open your emails.
Email marketing is about building relationships
When people sign up for your email list, it’s because they want to hear from you. Your email campaigns will be more successful when you attract the right leads, write like a human, and provide real value for your list. Once you nail this, people will open your emails because they trust you and are interested in what you have to say.