How To Craft An Effective Email In 15 Minutes Or Less

Welcome back to the 6th article in this 8-part series on email marketing.

So far we’ve covered…

1) Email Marketing: What’s Working Today

2) Which Email Marketing Service Is Right For You?

3) The Cold Hard Truth About Email Frequency

4) The 5-Step System For A Perfect Autoresponder

5) 3 Ways To Double Your Email Open Rates

Today’s article is going to be one that can change the way you run your business.

Because in the next few minutes, I’m going to show you how you can realistically craft effective, sales-increasing emails in 15 minutes or less.

It’s very, very simple.

Anybody can do it.

And it can dramatically increase your sales.

Here’s how it works.

FIRST: Determine Who The Voice Is

Whether you’re writing a broadcast or an autoresponder, you must know WHO the email is coming from.

The voice of the email does not necessarily have to be you. In fact, many times it’s helpful to write the email coming from someone else, such as…

• An employee of yours
• A customer/client
• Your spouse, child or other relative
• Your pet (these can be funny!)
• A pen name

Remember, email is all about building relationships, entertaining your audience, and building trust. The sales happen because of those three factors.

Just in case you’re not quite sure what I mean here (very few people get creative and write emails in other people’s voices), here’s an example of an email written by an employee.

(This email is fictitious, by the way, but feel free to swipe it and use for yourself. In this example “Dr. Frank” will be the owner who USUALLY writes emails, but in this email his employee Kristen will be writing it.)

Subject Line: He’s gone… it’s prank time!

Hey <firstname>,

This is Kristen from Dr. Frank’s office. And I have a fun surprise for you today.

Here’s the deal.

Dr. Frank is away at a convention for the next 7 days.

We’ve been secretly trying to devise a fun prank to play on him when he gets back, and I think we’ve figured it out!

Until April 31st, we’re offering a 50% discount on all teeth whitening kits. At a normal price of $299 (today just $149), you’re saving $150.

But here’s where it gets fun.

In order to get your 50% discount, you have to be willing to blow up a balloon.

(We’ll provide the balloon)

We’ll then tie your balloon to a string with a little weight at the bottom and place it in his normal parking spot.

That way when he gets home, the parking lot will be filled with hundreds of balloons!

I know this is a bit childish, but I think it will be funny. We’re also going to record him on video as he pulls into the parking lot, and we’ll post that video on our blog so you can watch his reaction.

I think this is going to be fun.

But… I need your help in making it happen!

So come on in. Remember, he comes back next MONDAY so you have to come in before Saturday. That gives us enough time to set it all up by Monday morning.

If you have any questions, give me a call at xxx-xxx-xxx. Again my name is Kristen.

Talk to you soon,

*Signature*

See how simple that is? It’s fun… it’s entertaining… and it builds both trust and a deeper bond.

(By the way, that email took me 8 minutes to write)

SECOND: Determine Your Goal

Every email you send should have a specific goal you’re trying to achieve.

• Some emails are going to pitches (like above), with the goal of making a sale…
• Some emails are going to be pure content, with the goal of adding value and building trust…
• Some emails are going to tell stories about you, with the goal of establishing yourself as the industry leader (and building authority)…
• Some emails are going to be very personal and ask the audience to reply back to you, with the goal of establishing a deeper bond…
• Some emails are going to be “getting started” emails, such as the thank you email after a purchase…

You get the idea.

This may seem a little basic. But I can’t tell you how many people I talk to who tell me it takes them hours to write emails.

That’s because they don’t have an end goal in mind and are trying to shoot in the dark.

Set your goal BEFORE you start writing, and your mind automatically feeds you the creative ideas you need to finish.

THIRD: Set The Length

Different styles of emails are going to have different lengths. Everybody has a different opinion about this topic, because everybody has different experiences.

Here are mine, which have been tested in several dozen different markets.

When To Write Short Emails

The best time to write short emails is when you are sending that person to a landing/sales page which contains more information about your offer.

For example if you’re sending them to a sales page which can sell the product on its own, short emails are a fantastic way to increase the amount of people you get to that page.

Short emails will increase CTR (clickthrough rates), but also lower conversions because it’s more of a curiosity play. They aren’t quite sold at that point, but are looking to get more information.

Here’s an example.

Hey <firstname>,

Just created a new video for you.

I think you’ll really enjoy it.

(It took me 32 hours to create it!)

Watch the video here.

Inside you’ll discover…

• Bullet
• Bullet
• Bullet

Watch the video here.

Enjoy.

*Signature*

THAT’S IT.

There’s nothing more needed. I’ve seen emails like this get 40% – 50%+ clickthrough rates.

(Also, that took me 15 seconds to write. No excuses about “I don’t have time”!)

When To Write Long Emails

You obviously can’t create short emails every single time. Mixing your style between short and long keeps things fresh and will help increase your results.

Long emails are best written in several scenarios…

• During the beginning portions of an autoresponder, so you can build authority, trust and credibility…
• When you want to pre-qualify people before hitting a page…
• When you aren’t pitching anything…
• When you want to tell a story…
• When you want to lead people into a second email which then asks for a sale…

Let me give you another example. This is one I use for my own autoresponder for prospective clients who get in touch about me creating copy for them.

Hey [First Name],

Yesterday I went up for a break and my wife was vacuuming the
upstairs. We have a huge house so it takes her awhile. It does
help that almost the entire first floor is hardwood though.

Anyway, I saw the cutest thing.

My son was right next to her with his own (fake) little “vaccum,”
trying to help her out!

Ok… in reality it wasn’t a vacuum. It’s a fake little lawnmower. But
he’s 19 months old so doesn’t really care about the specifics. 🙂

Anyway, it got me to thinking…

All of my BEST relationships came out of me simply doing my
best to HELP someone. Taking myself out of my own ego and
just doing what I could to add value to that person”s life.

Take my business partner, Jon, for example.

Awhile back, he came to me as a client. I finished the project
for him, and he was happier than my son watching Thomas The
Tank Engine (he loves that show).

Within days, he literally asked me…

“What do I have to do to get you as a partner?”

I told him, and he did it.

Fast forward about a month, and we were partners.

What’s interesting though is what happened next.

Within a few weeks… he sent me his own SISTER to work with
me.

I have to say – that’s trust if I ever saw it.

He then sent me another referral which didn’t pan out. Then
another which did. Then, just yesterday, he sent me a big
whopping check and hired me again for a different project.

AND… told me he’s got another referral coming for me.

Question is – why did he do all this?

TRUST.

In a few days, I’ll be back to go a little deeper into this. For
now, I want you to think of a few ways you can develop
more trust in your marketing.

(Hint: Emails are a great way to do it)

Talk to you in a few days with some interesting ideas on
adding more trust into your marketing funnel. 🙂

Jeremy Reeves
www.JeremyReeves.com

As you can see in this email, I’m doing several of the bullets points I described above. My telling a story about my family, I’m building trust and showing I’m “real.” By telling the story I did (about referring me to his sister, asking me to partner, etc.), I’m establishing trust, building authority and increasing desire to work with me.

Then, in the next email, I provide a clear call to action.

(This email took me roughly 15 minutes to write)

FOURTH: WRITE

By this point, you already have your mind “trained” to write for you.

In the beginning, you’ll struggle. But the more emails you write, the faster you’ll write them.

When I write emails that go out to my own list, it rarely takes me more than 15 minutes.

(Disclaimer: I take longer for clients, because I put more thought into them, considering they’re paying me good money to get the best possible results.)

What most people don’t understand is that your emails do not have to be perfect.

One of the most important business lessons I’ve ever learned is that people buy from people, not companies.

If you simply “write like you talk,” there is NO reason it should take you longer than 15-20 minutes to write an email.

If it’s taking you longer than that, you either need more practice or need to learn to write like you talk.

With that said, here are a few tips on writing faster…

1. Pretend you’re writing the email to a single friend, instead of a database.
2. Write like you talk in a conversational matter. (It’ll increase your sales too!)
3. Tell a quick story, which relates to a quick lesson, which transitions into a soft pitch.
4. Don’t edit yourself as you write. Write out the first draft as fast as possible, then go back and edit.
5. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
6. Write more often.

Follow those and you’ll be whipping up effective emails in no time. 🙂

FIFTH: SEND, TEST, AND TWEAK

If you really want to become an effective email marketer, you have to analyze the results you’re getting, make changes, and keep testing and tweaking.

That’s the real secret to success.

You will never, ever, hit your maximum potential on the first try.

So test new styles… test new formats (i.e. plain vs. html)… test new subject lines… test different stories… test images… test, test, test and keep testing!

I hope this has helped you.

Almost everyone I talk to hits a major roadblock when trying to craft effective emails.

Don’t let that be you.

Follow the system I just gave you and just keep writing. You’ll eventually hit your groove and look back in a few weeks or months absolutely amazed at the difference.

So get down in the comments below.

What did you think? Which of these strategies will you be testing?

Let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear your thoughts!