Print and keep this checklist handy for the next time you send a promotional email to your list or to a prospect if you want more email opens, product sales and online profits…
__ Do you get to the point right away? Do not tell them about the last four hours you spent watching television or mowing the lawn unless it’s pertinent to the story.
__ Are you telling a story? Ideally you should tell an interesting story in every email you send to increase your open rates.
__ WIIFT… What’s in it for them? Don’t just tell them how great your product is. Tell them what they get for taking the action you’re promoting.
__ “So what?” Read the email as if you were the recipient, and see if they would ask, “So what?” You want to fascinate and excite them to click that link.
__ Is your writing boring? Uh-oh. Not talking about what’s in it for them, or writing “so what” emails are leading causes of massive email boredom.
__ Are you using action verbs? Contrast these two sentences to see the importance of using action verbs: 1. The cat seems healthy. 2. The cat raced across the yard and dove into the bushes chasing the terrified ground squirrel. Which one keeps the reader awake and reading?
__ Is your email just long enough to get them to click the link, and no longer? You’d be surprised how many marketers talk themselves out of getting that link clicked by rambling too much.
__ Is the formatting super easy to read? Or is it all one long indistinguishable paragraph?
__ Have you read it through and cut out all the fat? Seriously. Get to the point. Now.
__ Have you established credibility? Give them a good, honest, believable and credible reason why this is THE product they should buy.
__ Are you using bullet points? If not, are you crazy? Bullet points are your best sales tool in an email or a sales letter.
__ Have you given them a reason to respond right now? Preferably one that doesn’t sound cheesy?
__ Have you included your call to action? Don’t assume they know what to do next.
Use this checklist on your next 5 emails, and compare the results with your last 5 emails. You should see a significant bump in conversions.
