3 Ways to Create Better Emails
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
1 give it some personality
Have you noticed a lot of “big names” in the email game are sending paragraphs and paragraphs of text. I’m sure it can and likely does work, or else they probably wouldn’t be doing it that way. However, you have to keep in mind that they have had years of building an audience, getting them used to knowing what they say is valuable and likely worth reading (I still don’t read them). But, personally, for me it’s a bit of a snooze fest. You can’t throw one gif in there? Or a fun photo? I rarely take the time to sit and read, I want to be entertained!
Anyone can put words on a page, I want to get a tiny piece of your personality.
Don’t get me wrong, lengthier emails can have a time and place. Just not every time.
2 Keep. Them. Short!!
Now, just because you’re making your emails “creative”, does not mean you need overthink it! A photo or silly gif and some text is perfect! If your email is too long, it doesn’t really matter how creative it is, chances are most people likely won’t sit through it.
I was in an intensive with a client recently and I asked her, “do you ever get those long emails with SO much black text on a white screen?” Her eyes lit up and she said, “Oh my god yes! I usually just delete them.”
I’ll say that louder for the people in the back…
I USUALLY DELETE THEM!
Why would you spend hours writing something people are just going to delete? Keep the simple and short and to the point.
My rule of thumb: write your email, then delete everything that you don’t need but it still makes sense. This isn’t a blog post or school, you don’t need to hit a certain word count.
3 Keep them simple
Again, often I find people are simply overthinking their emails. They truly do not need to be complicated. You do not need to tell a huge long story, unless you have a good one, people do love good stories! But maybe they don’t need to know every tiny little detail about what your Grandma was eating the day you told her you were quitting your full time job to run away with your boyfriend. Use your best judgement!
Honestly, a photo and some text and a CTA (call to action) button is more than sufficient!
Again… use that rule of thumb in Tip #2 - delete everything you can that still allows it to make sense.
