5 Tips for Making Your Emails More Persuasive

by Victor Green
3 mins read

Regardless of your chosen industry, branded products and services, or even the particulars of your target audience, one universal reality holds true across all email marketing campaigns: If your email content isn’t persuasive, then your presence in the inbox won’t generate much of a response.Fortunately, crafting persuasive email marketing content isn’t a “you have it or you don’t” kind of skill. If you truly want to improve the quality of your offerings, there are plenty of methods for achieving this goal. To help you along on this front, here’s an in-depth look at the five best tips and tactics that are sure to make your forthcoming email offerings more persuasive and effective.

Understand Who You’re Talking To

The first tip for writing persuasive email content focuses on the need for knowing your target audience. While this might not be a technical “writing tip,” the HubSpot Blog’s Leslie Ye points out that having a sound understanding of the preferences and needs of your audience is the foundation upon which all great inbox offerings are built.Think of it this way: Without consumer data and audience insight leading the way, how can your brand possibly generate emails that resonate with its contact list membership? The truth of the matter is that the more you know about these valued customers, the easier it will be to touch on topics and concepts that speak to these readers and drive them to action.

Incorporate Social Proof Whenever Possible

Speaking of valued audience members, Ye goes on to note that one of the most effective techniques for being persuasive comes in the form of letting your satisfied former customers tell the story for you. In order words, if you can tap into Yelp reviews, social media posts, or even old-fashioned customer testimonials, go ahead and leverage these assets as part of your email marketing operations.The big reason that social proof works so well is that it plays into the tendencies of virtually any audience to look to their peers for insight and confirmation. Wary consumers would much rather hear from their contemporaries regarding a product or service than the offering brand itself if possible.If you use this tactic, just be sure to ask for permission from the source before incorporating social proof into your messages. Consent matters and your brand is much better offer acquiring these rights legitimately than it is dealing with the backlash that comes with the improper usage of consumer content.

Tell a Success Story

Much like leveraging client testimonials, telling a success story also plays into the propensity of viewers to relate to “down to Earth” or personal experiences. The only difference here is that this story can cover not just a customer, but the exploits of a staff member, an industry event, or any other relevant topic that helps support the key sales or promotional concept within your message. If the story is truly exceptional, don’t hesitate to break it up into a multi-part or cross-channel series that keeps your viewership engaged and bonded to your brand or organization.

Start with the Big Claim or Point

Another key way to bolster your persuasive nature – this time from the expert team over at Business 2 Community – is by skipping the fluff and jumping straight to your big claim or sales point. The modern digital viewer has a notoriously short attention span, so cutting right to the chase is a great way to add a little spice and appeal to your message.If you do lead with the astonishing claim or core concept of your message, the Business 2 Community team goes on to suggest that your brand avoid the temptation to follow-up with a lengthy or in-depth explanation after this big reveal. Doing so all but guarantees that you unravel the excitement generated by this tactic, so you’re much better off keeping things short, sweet, and to the point.

Put the Power of Choice in the Hands of the Reader

The final piece of the persuasive email puzzle comes in the form of reminding your readers that the ultimate choice of accepting an offer truly is in their hands. This simple user-based call-to-action (CTA) reassures the person on the other side of the screen that they alone have the power to make a choice and can actually double the chances that the consumer says yes in many cases.As you can see, being more persuasive in the inbox requires a multi-faceted approach that connects with the viewer on a variety of different levels. Thankfully, now that you’re up to speed with the finer points of this process, the only thing left to do is put this newfound understanding to good use in your upcoming email marketing campaign.

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