37 Tips for Writing Emails that Get Opened, Read, and Clicked

An extremely well written email and an eye-catching subject line are both crucial if you want to give your email marketing campaign a chance to be successful. But that’s as far as creativity will take you! Unless you give the “Publish” button more power, your emails will go unopened, unread, and will certainly not generate decent click-through rates.

If this aspect of your online marketing strategy is proving to be difficult, then you’ve just found the ideal post to read. Make sure that you send out emails that are guaranteed to be opened, read and clicked!

Craft emails that your audience looks forward to getting

This aspect of an email marketing campaign is all about creating an emotional connection between your brand and your audience. You have to drop the corporate tone, and learn to approach your subscribers using a conversational and friendly tone.

The ideal way of starting to address each subscriber as a friend is to stop looking at your email as a speech that you’re reading in front of a crowd, and start thinking of individually-orientated ideas and thoughts.

Your subscribers will look forward to receiving your emails if they know they are going to be met by a friendly email design that’s not overwhelmingly business-orientated. They understand that you’re running a business, or else you wouldn’t have sent them this email. But it doesn’t have to look like that! Underline the fact that you have at least one thing in common: loving the product/service that you offer, without losing perspective!

These are the tips that will help you create the ideal email:

• 1. Don’t mention your mailing list. This tip is directly connected to taking an individually-orientated approach. Give the reader the impression that you’ve sent this email to capture his attention, and his attention only. Don’t treat the subscribers as a crowd!
• 2. Give your email a purpose. Don’t send emails unless you have reading-worthy content or information to share.
• 3. Be a giver. Treating your subscribers as friends involves care and attention on both ways. Don’t reach out to readers only to help yourself. Treat your friends with generosity!
• 4. Sign emails with your real name. Give your emails even more personality by showing the reader that you’re a real person. It’s easier to create a connection when you know there’s a man behind the brand.
• 5. Be honest. Of course your subscribers understand that they will receive sales emails when they sign up to be on your mailing list, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t tell them that up-front, when they’re registering. It’s all about being honest and straightforward.
• 6. Don’t get too personal. You can definitely use your mailing list to personalize emails, but addressing the subscriber by name once is sufficient. Don’t get too personal, because it can come off as intruding.
• 7. Assure them of your support. Let them know that you’re more than a sales guy. Share empathy, link your struggles to theirs, and encourage them to share their difficulties. Let them know you want to help!
• 8. Make it worth their while. You don’t have to financially invest in emails in order to make your readers feel like they’ve gained something by reading. Share an interesting fact, give them inspiration, or brighten-up their day!

Get them to open your emails

The majority of personal email inboxes are overflowing with unread emails that just lack the “read me” factor. This is a user habit that’s difficult to overcome. This is why you need a sensationally well-chosen subject line! This is the element that will decide if the reader even gets to the decision of reading and clicking-through your email.

Similar to headlines and CTAs (calls to action), your subject line has only one chance to catch the reader’s attention, and it has to make him want to open your email.

Use these tips to get your email opened:

• 9. Give them a glimpse of what’s inside. Don’t worry about giving it all away in a subject line. Let them know exactly what they gain by opening and reading your email. Make them want to read more!
• 10. Make it relatable. Get the readers emotionally involved in what you’ve got to say. Use strong words with confidence in order to stand out in an endless list of emails.
• 11. Include numbers. It’s just a psychological fact: numbers will get more attention. Use 6, 25 or 46, they will all have the same effect.
• 12. Make it slightly odd. Take advantage of the fact that readers don’t know exactly what your content is about yet. Make them eager to find out more by using unconventional words.
• 13. Use negatives. Get their attention by promising to teach them the “don’ts” of something or another. We have endless “To Do” lists, and not enough “Don’ts”.
• 14. Ditch wittiness. Play safe and work with clear and straight-forward texts. They can take the time to read something witty once they’ve opened the email.
• 15. Switch it up. Try out different strategies, and don’t be afraid to go outside the norm. You’ll never be in the spotlight if you’re doing what everyone else is doing.
• 16. Study other success stories. There’s nothing wrong in getting your inspiration from already successful email marketing campaigns. Become a subscriber and use what you learn to improve your own emails.
• 17. Don’t generalize. You are addressing a diverse group of individuals that have an interest in your brand in common, among other things. But they are all individuals! That’s why it’s crucial to nourish a relationship between you and your readers!

Make your emails reading-worthy

Now that you’ve learned how to get the emails opened, it’s time to polish your email writing style in order to keep your subscribers engaged, and get them to click-through!

These are writing tips for subscriber-friendly email content:

• 18. Don’t over think it. Write on a whim, and don’t do endless edits. Let your true self shine through!
• 19. Make it brief. The previous tip can lead to a novel-email, so keep in mind that you’re only getting a few moments in the spotlight.
• 20. Communicate. Don’t forget that this email is supposed to initiate a conversation. Ask for opinions, encourage feedback and ask questions. The reader has to feel that you’re talking with him, not to him.
• 21. Ditch the script. If you want to build a long lasting relationship with your subscribers, a scripted email won’t do. It gets old fast!
• 22. Create a personal connection. Share personal opinions, struggles and perspectives. Let them know you’re just like them!
• 23. Don’t use a formal greeting. Add a touch of attitude to your greetings. Think of it like writing a letter to an old friend.
• 24. Address them with you. This is the word that will draw the most attention, because this email is all about the reader.
• 25. Don’t use the corporate tone. Make the readers feel like they’re having a one-on-one conversation with another person, not with a marketing team.
• 26. Give it attitude. Don’t focus solely on the business-aspect of the email. Use phrases that you casually use in your day-to-day life.
• 27. Skip boring parts. This is an email, and your reader has a set amount of time to spend reading it. Make it worth their while! Make your statements concise and strong.
• 28. Share emotion. Avoid being monotone and impersonal. Show your subscribers that they are a part of your success.

How to make the sale through emails

All these email marketing tips have a financial purpose, of course. Or else you wouldn’t bother making them extremely subscriber-friendly. The final step is making the sale, and it’s an essential barrier that your email has to get the reader over.

These are the tips that will help your email make the sale:

• 29. Figure out the perfect timing. Give your subscribers a reason to trust you as a source of prompt and concise information.
• 30. Emphasize advantages. Focus on what your product/service can do to improve your reader’s life, instead of focusing on the product itself.
• 31. Use reverse psychology. Assure them that you will help them get rid of certain risks, issues, and struggles. This is the opposite of the previous method.
• 32. Avoid blueprints. Make each email unique in order to make sure the readers are curious enough to read each new email.
• 33. Build up curiosity. Share a relatable story that concludes with your actual sale content.
• 34. Set a time limit. It will make the decisional process faster.
• 35. Repeat links. Link the page to several words throughout the email in order to increase the change of getting the click.
• 36. Craft a surefire call to action. At the end, your readers should know precisely what you want them to do, and why they should do it.
• 37. Add reminders. Use the time limit to your advantage. Remind subscribers of your offer.