How to write a great marketing email

Learn to Think Inside the Inbox with Ann Wylie’s email-writing workshop May 6-7 in Los Angeles

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 an email copywriter to do?

Learn to write emails that get opened, read, clicked and shared at Ann Wylie’s Think Inside the Inbox Master Class on May 6-7 in Los Angeles. In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:

• Address the Envelope. Recipients look at four elements — not just the subject line — to decide whether to open or delete. Are you making the most of each?
• Write Emails That Get Read. Master a structure that boosts readership, understanding, engagement and more.
• Cut Through the Clutter in Email. Recipients spend, on average, 51 seconds reading e-zines and 11 seconds reading email marketing blasts. Now what?
• Lift Ideas Off the Email. Only 19% of people thoroughly read emails. How do you get the word out to nonreaders?

“This workshop was extremely valuable. Even as writing director, I found great insights that I’ll be taking back with me and using on Day 1. Highly recommended!”

– Libby Waterbury, creative and copy director, Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield
Read more rave reviews

What you’ll learn in our email writing workshop

Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

Address the envelope

Your subject line is only one of four elements recipients consider before deciding whether to open or click. In this session, you’ll learn to address all four. Specifically, you’ll learn how to:

• Write email subject lines that get clicked. Carnegie-Mellon researchers have identified the top two reasons subject lines work. Don’t keep sending email until you apply this to your own email marketing strategy.
• Increase campaign revenue by 760% (Direct Marketing Association) by going beyond personalized emails.
• Multiply campaign success by 1000% (Eloqua) by adding one more data point to tailored emails.
• Avoid dropping the key element on your envelope. 24% of recipients check this before opening. Too often, senders forget to write it — or, worse, have never even heard of it.
• Go beyond the subject line to convince readers to open your message.

“Excellent! This workshop helped me get a different perspective on my writing and inspired me to think more like the audience I’m trying to reach.”

– Laurianne Riley, senior manager, Marketing, Community Associations Institute

Write Emails That Get Read

American professionals receive an average of 121 emails a day (The Radicati Group). In each of their two or more inboxes (Nielsen Norman Group). No wonder 276 emails languish unread (NNG).

In this environment, how do digital marketers write good emails that get read?

• Write email leads that get read. 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 content marketing and social media pieces, too.)
• Avoid the No. 1 reason people unsubscribe. Two-thirds of recipients quit brand emails for this reason.
• Make it clever … but not too clever. Readers complain when your email isn’t clever, 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 get the word out via emails on mobile.
• Write sentences that email recipients can actually understand in emailing campaigns.

“Would recommend to anyone, even experienced professionals and confident writers.”

– Nicolette Querry, outreach coordinator, Maryland Association of Counties

Cut Through the Clutter on Email

Assuming your audience members do open your email message, people spend an average of just 11 seconds on each email they review. So how do you write concise emails that recipients will read? In this session, you’ll learn to:

• Reach readers who spend an average of 51 seconds (NNG) on email newsletters with our simple formula.
• Write email marketing blasts that get the word out to the average email recipient, who spends just 11 seconds (NNG) on email marketing messages.
• Avoid the Goldilocks Conundrum. Keep your email message short — but not too short. Readers complain about both ends of the spectrum.
• Pass the 1-2-3-4-5 Rule for paragraphs that are easy to read on smartphones.
• Hit the right grade level for email recipients.

“This is the most engaging workshop I’ve ever attended. Ann is the best.”

– ML Jordan, team leader, Social Security Administration

Lift Ideas Off the Email

Just 24% of people fully read email newsletters on mobile devices. The rest skim — or only glance at — their messages.

So how do you get the word out to flippers and skimmers? In this session, you will learn how to:

• Reach nonreaders via email. Learn how with our simple test.
• Choose the right email template for your email newsletter. Three formats have been proven in the lab to increase readership.
• Sidestep fat-finger/no-bars syndrome. Mobile email readers click 40% less often. And they click on fewer links than desktop or laptop users. Learn to optimize links and buttons — and where to put your call to action — for mobile.
• Don’t get your head cut off. What’s the right length for email headlines that don’t get cut off by email apps, smartphone screens — or humans?
• Avoid the worst link problem. It decreases accessibility, reduces scanning and cuts your chance of getting clicked.

“Love it! Ann’s expertise has helped my writing in countless ways.”

– Sarah Julian, director, communications, Oklahoma Public School Resource Center

• Class overview
• About the trainer
• About our public workshops

Location, fees, logistics

Class runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 6-7, 2020 at:

Fees

Please learn about our discounts, cancellation policy and more in our FAQ.

“This is one of the best workshops for your time and money. It includes takeaways that you can implement immediately.”

– Jeanne Arnold, managing editor, Investment Company Institute

PRSA members: Earn 4 APR maintenance credits.

Save up to $100 with our group discounts.

Questions? Ann@WylieComm.com.