Think Inside the Inbox with this email marketing training

Learn to write better email newsletters, marketing emails

Two thirds of email recipients open your email on their smartphones, not their laptops. Some 7% read your email newsletters in the bathroom. (And the other 93% are lying.)

Problem is, reading your email newsletter on the small screen is like reading War and Peace through a keyhole. It’s not easy to get the word out on a 5.5” rectangle. When reading emails on their mobile devices, recipients:

• Click 40% less often (Mailchimp). There go your click-through rates.
• Are more likely to unsubscribe. More than half of consumers have unsubscribed from brand emails because they didn’t work well on mobile (Litmus).
• Find it 48% harder to understand content (R.I. Singh, et al., University of Alberta).

No wonder subscribers rate the ease of reading email on mobile devices 3.3/7 — aka miserable (Nielsen Norman Group).

So what’s a digital marketer to do?

Learn to write emails that get opened, read, clicked and shared at Ann Wylie’s Think Inside the Inbox email marketing course.

“I learned, I laughed, I became a better digital writer.”

– Gigi Zenk, communication & outreach director, Washington State Department of Licensing
Read more rave reviews

In this digital marketing course, you’ll learn to write emails that:

• Address the Envelope. If you’re just finessing the subject line, you’re missing 75% of the elements your recipients consider before opening your email.
• Write Emails That Get Read. Get step-by-step instructions for organizing a message that increases readership, engagement, sharing and more.
• Cut Through the Clutter in Email. How can you reach recipients who spend only 51 seconds reading email newsletters and 11 seconds reading marketing emails?
• Lift Ideas Off the Email. Just 19% of recipients read emails. The rest scan. How do you get your message across to nonreaders?

(Yes, these techniques will also help you get the word out via landing pages, affiliate marketing, social media marketing, content marketing and other online marketing, as well as your email campaigns.)

What you’ll learn in our email marketing training

Whether you write email newsletters or email marketing campaigns, in this workshop, you will learn how to:

Address ‘the envelope’

Some 68% of emails aren’t getting opened — let alone read. In fact, an average of 276 emails languish unread in inboxes at any given time. That’s an increase of 300% in just four years.

In this environment, what’s a communicator to do? In this session, you’ll learn how to grab attention in the inbox to get your email opened. Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

• Go beyond the subject line. Make the most of the four key elements recipients consider before deciding whether to open your message — or to delete it without reading further.
• Write email subject lines that aren’t too long. Chances are, yours is twice as long as the recommended benchmark.
• Tap the No. 1 technique for getting opened. Carnegie-Mellon researchers proved it … now it’s up to us to use it.
• Avoid 3 common subject line approaches that reduce opens. That trick you’re using to draw them in? It may be keeping them out.

“From the shock value of the mobile-reading statistics to the humor and incisive recommendations, this class changes the way we write.”

– Teresa McGaffic, senior copywriter, Golden I Credit Union

Write Emails That Get Read

Recipients read, on average, less than 200 words of each email newsletter they receive. (How does that affect your email marketing strategy?) Assuming the folks on your email list do open your message, what are the chances they’ll be paying attention to it?

You’ll learn how to:

• Tap the No. 1 reason people find newsletters valuable. And avoid the No. 1 reason they quit, which is responsible for 67% of unsubscribes.
• Decide when to personalize. Yes, slapping a name in the subject line may boost opens. But it can also creep readers out and make them worry about their privacy — unless you also do these two other things.
• Make it clever … but not too clever. Readers complain when your email isn’t edgy, insightful or witty enough. They also complain if it’s too cutesy. Find the fine line between interesting and silly.
• Pass the 1-2-3-4 test to put your message where your subscribers’ eyes are. Tip: Test your emails on your smartphone for best results.
• Stop sending email leads that squelch readership. Steal our four great email leads to try — including one fill-in-the-blanks formula that will change your life — and stay away from our four bad email leads to avoid. (Use these for your blog posts, too.)

“This is definitely a must for all digital communications professionals.”

– Chet Jechura, audience engagement manager, Bread for the World

Cut Through the Clutter on Email

The No. 1 piece of advice email recipients give a writer who writes email newsletter content is to keep it short. So how do you write concise emails that recipients will read?

In this session, you’ll learn to:

• Solve the Goldilocks Conundrum. Recipients are turned off by e-zines with too much information — and by those that don’t offer enough. So how much is just right?
• Pass the 1-2-3-4-5 Test for getting your email paragraphs read on mobile phones.
• Choose between three “most valuable” e-zine formats. If you’re struggling with opens, unsubscribes and conversion rates, bring one of these email designs to the rescue.
• Avoid the Mobile Paradox: The No. 1 activity for mobile users is wasting time. But mobile users get “visibly angry” at verbose e-zines that waste their time. How do you avoid enraging readers on mobile devices?

“Good tips and how-tos for punching up your online content and getting the job done in fewer words.”

– Sara Stewart, account coordinator, Maxwell PR

Lift Ideas Off the Email

People skim 69% of their e-zines. They read only 19%. (That’s the good news. On mobile, they skim 74% of their e-newsletters.)

In this environment, how do you reach the three-quarters of subscribers who don’t read our paragraphs? Before you click Send, make sure your email messages:

• Avoid the worst link problem. It decreases accessibility, reduces scanning and cuts your chance of getting clicked.
• Pass the Squint Test. Because if your piece looks easier to read, more people will read it.
• Don’t get your head cut off. What’s the right length for email headlines that don’t get cut off by email apps, social media — or humans?
• Avoid the Curse of the Smartphone. More than half of recipients have unsubscribed from brand emails because they don’t work well on mobile.

“This was a densely-packed training that offered expert guidance and real-time practice sessions on sharpening our skills. Every word that Ann uttered had value – there is zero wasted time.”

– Elizabeth Seaberry, communications specialist, Disability Rights Oregon

Formats for email marketing training

Choose from these formats:

• In-house training programs: Bring Ann in to train your whole team with on-site or online courses.
• Public Master Classes: Build your own email writing skills when you attend one of our writing workshops near you.
• Association workshops: Bring Ann to your conference or chapter for a keynote, breakout session or professional development program.

Browse all writing workshops.

I’m ready to boost my email-writing skills!

I’d like to:

• Book Ann for an in-house or association workshop.
• Register for Think Inside the Inbox, Ann’s online master class, Jan. 12 – Feb. 9.
• Attend Ann’s next public Think Inside the Inbox workshop online.
• Learn about our corporate communications trainer, Ann Wylie.

Questions? Contact Ann.