Email and Online Marketing Copywriting Secrets

You can’t make a sale from thin air. You need to establish some form of connection with your website visitor in order for them to trust you enough to invest. And that’s what copywriting is all about: making something valuable so that someone else wants it.

What follows are 12 email and online marketing copywriting secrets, each with a corresponding example, to help you win the heart of your website visitor and make the sale:

1) Make it look good – Your email subject line will only be opened if it looks like mail worth opening. So, what makes it look good?

— Using numbers in your subject line guarantees you’ll catch the eye (do you think I read every email with the title “Little House on the Prairie”?).

— Using words that look like ads (ever noticed how using all caps in your email subject line can get your deleted?)

— Making the subject line short and sweet – no one is going to spend time reading a 5-line title. If there is a question to be answered, give them one or two words answer.

2) Repetition is the Key – If your online marketing campaign (or any form of marketing) is to work, repetition is essential. The fruit fly ruled the earth for 300 million years before the humble leafy cabbage got there to take its place.

— Your email should look like a newspaper. Not in terms of length (that's not going to happen), but in terms of structure:

— Headline: First sentence or two.

— Copy: Full copy content block.

3) "The" Syndrome – Do any of these sound familiar? They should. They're all examples from my inbox… and now you know what's wrong with them! (You can click on the words to see an example. If the example link is broken, you'll need to go to my email archives and search for the phrase.)

— The No-Nonsense Guide to Health and Wealth

— The New Way to Better Health Without Doctors!

— The Magic Elixirs of Youth! Are they Real? How Can I Get Some? (There are no magic elixirs of youth. Unless you count beer).

4) Don't tell them what you're going to say – It's obvious. And it's also boring. Instead, tell them what you're going to say. Give them a reason to open your email, and then let your words do the talking:

— Are you tired of being told what to eat?

— Is anyone ever getting heard when they speak up at work?

— You’ve got nothing against the little old lady down the street or your kid’s teacher – but would you take their word for it if someone put a gun to their head and said otherwise?

5) Showcase – If you've ever posted a photo on Facebook, then you know how powerful visuals are.

Conclusion: Are you beginning to see that pictures can help you sell your product?

— Find examples, data, testimonials – any form of proof to support the copy. Here are a few ways to do it:

— Make a list of your customers and send out an email telling them about why they should buy the product.

— Get great before and after photos of your customers. These are not only great for personal use, but they are also excellent for showcasing on your website or in an email (and make sure these photos have watermarks on them so you don’t get sued).