Instructed by Roberta Rosenberg.

1. 10 Best Practices:
Writing Killer Email Copy
Roberta Rosenberg
The Copywriting Maven
MGP Direct, Inc.

2. Today’s Agenda
You’ll learn:
• How to get your email opened
• How to get your email read
• How to get your email acted on
• How to distill your message to its core essence

3. Today’s Agenda
You’ll learn:
• How to determine the right tone and voice for
your emails
• How to dig beyond the features to the core
benefits of your products/services
• When to use short copy vs. long

4. Today’s Agenda
You’ll also learn:
• How to use graphics to support your
message, not overwhelm it
• How to incorporate social media sharing
• And more!

5. Move The Needle
Even in the age of social media, traditional
email marketing remains a key, if not THE
core component of effective B2B lead
generation and B2C sales promotion.
10 Best Practices to Writing Killer Email Copy

6. Move The Needle
But could you be doing it smarter for better
results - higher open and click-through
rates which ultimately lead to more quality
leads and higher revenues?
10 Best Practices to Writing Killer Email Copy

7. Move The Needle
Yes, you can!
10 Best Practices to Writing Killer Email Copy

8. Move The Needle
Here are 10 best practice copywriting tips
that will help you:
• Get your email opened more
• Get your email read more deeply
• Get your email clicked!
10 Best Practices to Writing Killer Email Copy

9. Get Your Email Opened
#1 – Keep subject lines short; personalize
the “From” line
• You don’t know where your reader is
retrieving their email – desktop, cell, tablet.
• Shorter lines produce higher opens, CTRs
• If writing to customers, use brand identity in
“from” … to prospects, consider name/title

10. Get Your Email Opened - Examples
• Do THIS to unlock your man’s heart...
• Famous Brands & Celebrity Designers...
QVC Has It All
• The dangers of Pinterest
• Remarketing Is Now Simpler
• The New SEO: Content Marketing Explained

11. Get Your Email Opened
#2 – Tease; Match content and voice to
brand and reader expectation
• Don’t “give it all away” – entice reader
interest to the actual open
• Don’t “bait and switch” – it only confuses,
disappoints your reader when they open
• Be what your reader expects you to be

12. Get Your Email Opened - Examples
• Quick tips to convert the toughest
personality type
• New Webinar: Landing Page Mastery -
The Team, The Tech, The Tests & The
Timing
• Free Shipping on Jewish Art for the Most
Beautiful Rosh Hashanah Ever

13. Get Your Email Opened
#3 – Ask a question or add a sense of
urgency to pop interest
• “How-to” questions are a fave technique
• Don’t ask Yes or No questions unless you
want readers to self-select before open
• Use specific rather than general deadlines

14. Get Your Email Opened – Examples
• Email-aholic? This is how the pros cut
down on their email time
• Today Only! 30% Off + Free Shipping -
Shop Now, Save More
• Did Romney just give away the election?
• $4,800 for a "long article"?

15. Get Your Email Opened – Bonus Tips
• Offer a quick, easy way to do something
• Use a strong benefit to talk to the reader’s
self-interest
• Share newsworthy, good news
• Arouse curiosity, ideally related to the
previous bullets

16. Get Your Email Read
#4 – Write to the reader’s self-interest
• Emphasize “you”, downplay “I” or “we”
• Reader cares about you/your company in
context of their needs/wants and desires
• Be the “aspirin” to their “headache”

17. Get Your Email Read

18. Get Your Email Read
#5 – Share a compelling, relevant story
• Stories cut through reader apathy and
mistrust, keep them engaged
• Reader cares about you/your company in
context of their needs/wants and desires

19. Get Your Email Read

20. Get Your Email Read

21. Get Your Email Read
#6 – Features tell; Benefits sell
• Features are the “physical” detail of your
product/service – they are the “what” is
• Benefits reflect the “how and why” of the
reader’s mindset – product use, emotions
engaged, desires met, fears diminished
• We “buy” from the heart, rationalize the
want from the head

22. Get Your Email Read
#7 – Long vs. Short Copy
• When writing to customers about familiar
products/services, short is more effective.
• When writing to customers about new
products/services, test short and long
• When writing to prospects, test long

23. Get Your Email Read

24. Get Your Email Read

25. Get Your Email Read

26. Get Your Email Read
#8 – Design to enhance, not impede
• Design and layout must enhance reader’s
ability to engage with the message
• Add social media icons/links at the bottom
of the email – don’t give readers a reason
to click away too early!

27. Get Your Email Read

28. Get Your Email Read

29. Get Your Email Read – Bonus Tip
“So what?“ turns features into benefits:
• Product: standard #2 pencil
• Features: yellow, is lightweight, made of
wood and graphite, includes a pink rubber
eraser, and is cheap and low-tech.
• Benefits: Wood is easy to hold, no fatigue,
sustainable. Works anywhere. Eraser
makes it easy for me to get a do-over.

30. Pencils are the key to POSSIBILITIES!

31. Get Your Email Acted On
#9 - “Frontload” CTA with finesse
• Cue your reader to what’s coming, but
don’t try to close too early
• Be clear over clever - always
• Rephrase the CTA a few different ways

32. Get Your Email Acted On

33. Get Your Email Acted On
#10 - Replace “Click here” with a richer,
benefit-centric call to action:
• Download your ebook now!
• Learn more now …
• Get the whole story >>>
• Click to save 10% instantly!

34. More Bonus Tips
• No “tricks” in the subject line
• Test subject headlines, email headlines,
and calls to action text and graphics
• Think scannable, easy to read: shorter
paragraphs, subheads, and bullets
• Write with nouns and verbs, use adjectives
and adverbs sparingly

35. 1. Choose clear over clever
2. Write to motivate, not entertain
3. Respect your reader and get to the point
4. Write to your reader’s self-interest
5. Design to enhance, not impede the message
6. Show and tell the reader what to do next
7. Test all assumptions
7 Key Killer Email Copy Takeaways

36. Roberta Rosenberg is Director of Marketing & E-Commerce
for the American Council of Engineering Companies.
She’s also Chief Strategist of MGP Direct, Inc., a direct
marketing consultancy. She has 25+ years of B2B/B2C
marketing expertise in publishing, IT, medical, association,
professional services, and e-commerce.
Roberta writes and speaks extensively about landing page
copywriting and design. She developed the popular
Landing Page Maven Makeover series at
Copyblogger.com, and is a copywriting instructor
for MarketingProfs, OMI, and AWAI.
About Roberta

37. To reach Roberta Rosenberg:
•Roberta.Rosenberg@gmail.com
•@Copywritermaven
•http://www.linkedin.com/in/RobertaRosenbergMaven
www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org
Thank You