How To Cut Through the Noise and Create Emails People Actually Want to Read
Email is one of the most widely used forms of communication today, and it's not always easy to get your message across effectively. Whether you're communicating with colleagues, your customers, clients, or friends and family, it's important to make sure that your emails are clear, concise, and easy to understand.
If you’re communicating with your customers via an email list, this opens a whole new can of communication worms in terms of the design and flow of your emails. To truly engage with your clients, customers and supporters put the emphasis on both the design and copy of your emails in order to stand out.
In this blog post, I’ll share some email tips that I’ve learned after over 35 years as a communication coach that can be applied to any email conversation, and some design/copy considerations you should make when you’re emailing a list of subscribers to cut through the noise of their inbox.
Tips For More Effective Everyday Email Communication
Use a specific subject line
Your subject line is the first thing that people will see when they receive your email, so it's important to make sure it's clear and informative. Avoid using vague or generic subject lines (1) like "Meeting" or "Question", and instead use something that clearly describes the content of your email. For example, "Meeting agenda for next week's team meeting" or "Question about the status of project X".
Keep your emails short and sweet
One of the most important rules of effective email communication is to keep it short and sweet. Long-winded emails can be difficult to understand and they usually contain too much information to be absorbed at once. Do your best to keep your emails concise and to the point wherever possible – the person on the other end will thank you for it.
Use bullet points and lists
Bullet points and lists are a great way to organize information in your emails and make it easy for people to understand quickly. If your email isn’t short and sweet by nature, you can use bullet points to break up longer paragraphs and highlight key information. This will make the content seem less overwhelming.
Proofread and edit
Not to be the grammar police here – it’s important to make sure you proofread and edit your emails before sending them out. This will help boost your response rate and ensure that your emails are easy to understand, free of spelling mistakes and professional.
Use a signature
A signature is a great way to add a personal touch to your emails. It can include your name, position, contact information, and a link to your website or social media profiles (2). It makes it easy for any recipients to contact you back and also helps establish your credibility.
Now that we’ve covered some general email etiquette that you can apply to any email conversation, let’s talk about best practices for emailing a list of subscribers.
Design Considerations For Your Email List
Your email list is a direct line to your customers’ inbox and can be used to share important information, promotions, and updates. And, not all emails are created equal. To truly engage your customers, you need to put some thought into both the design and copy. Here are a few tips you can implement immediately to help you craft emails that will grab your customers' attention and keep them engaged.
Keep it simple and use white space
When it comes to design, less is often more. In general, avoid using too many colors, fonts, or images at once or in the same area. Stick to a simple color scheme and a clean, easy-to-read font.
It’s also helpful to be aware of your use of white space – and whether the white space is active or passive. Active white space is negative space around important elements of your email (like your call to action) and passive white space is negative space around your other content and the spacing between different sections (3). Make sure that you’re using a healthy ratio of white space in your emails to make the content easy to digest.
Use relevant memes to your advantage
You can find memes all over the internet nowadays. In addition to being super entertaining they can be a great marketing tool to use in your emails. Like anything, you’ll want to use them in moderation. They can be an awesome way to break up heavy text in your emails or add some comedic relief throughout. Make sure you give credit to where you sourced the meme from to avoid any legal implications (4) or better yet – create your own!
Use images wisely
Images can be a powerful tool in emails, and they should be used sparingly. Too many images can slow down the loading time of your email and make it harder for your customers to focus on the message. Use images to break up text and to highlight important points.
Make it mobile-friendly
With more and more people checking their emails on their phones, make sure your emails are optimized for mobile viewing by using a responsive design that automatically adjusts to the size of the screen (5). On that same note, you’ll want to test your emails before you send them. Look at the email on your computer and your phone to make sure it’s designed/formatted correctly and that all your links work.
Use design templates
If you find yourself sending the same types of emails over and over again, consider creating templates. A template contains the basic structure of your email that you can customize with different messages – including the design and copy. This can save you tons of time and re-work.
For example, if you find you’re always sending emails with a header with your company logo, you can re-use an email you’ve previously sent with the header so that you don’t have to import the logo every time. Templates have been a game-changer for emails to my list and our emails to clients.
Copy Tips To Implement Into Your Email List
Use a strong subject line and personalize your emails
The subject line is the first thing your subscribers will see when they receive your email. To make the most of that critical real estate, make sure it's attention-grabbing and relevant to the content of the email. Personalization can also go a long way in making your customers feel valued. Use their name throughout the email and bonus points if you can include it in the subject line.
Be conversational
Write as if you are having a conversation with your customers and avoid using too much industry jargon. Ultimately – have fun! Don’t fall into the trap of making your emails too serious or professional. It’ll be more fun and connecting for your customers to read something that makes them laugh or smile. As long as you’re taking your brand voice into account and it’s appropriate to the content of your email, being playful is a great way to connect with your customers.
Include a clear call-to-action (and animate it!)
Every email should have a clear call-to-action, whether it's to visit your website, make a purchase, sign up for a newsletter, etc. Make sure it's prominently placed and easy to find. And if you want to take it a step further, you can include an animation around your CTA button to draw more attention to it. This would be done by embedding a GIF within the content of your email. To view an example of this, check out this blog post.
Conclusion
There you have it – how to create emails people actually want to read in 2023. There are lots of factors to consider when you’re sending an email – whether it’s to a colleague, your manager or to a list of subscribers and potential customers.
Specifically for your email list, it’s important to take the design and copy into consideration. Let’s face it, people receive multiple emails in their inbox throughout the day, so it’s important for yours to stand out. By applying the tips and tools in this post, you’ll be able to use the power of email marketing and email communication more effectively – whatever that means to you.
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Happy emailing!
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