You want to make sure
that you have all the details of your offer sitting in front of you before you start
writing because you’re literally going to be plugging this information into a
formula. And if you want it to flow together nicely, you need to be focused on the
"big picture" – the overall structure and layout – when you are
writing … not scrounging up the details as you go.
You’ll need to prepare answers to the following 10 questions
in advance:
1. What action do you want your readers to take?
Promotions that focus on a single offer will pull much better results
that promotions that include several offers.
2. How will readers benefit from responding to your call to action?
Benefits are an extremely important component of your e-mail promotion,
because it’s the benefits that push the readers to follow up through on your call to
action.
3. How to create urgency in your offer?
Urgency is critical because it’s what compels your readers to act
TODAY rather than put it off with the intention of "coming back" another time.
4. Does your offer include NUMEROUS compelling benefits or just one?
If you need to communicate multiple benefits, you may want to write
copy that includes bullet point, which allow you to cover information quickly in a small
space and keep the text "scannable" by maintaining lots of white space.
5. How long should your copy be?
Once you’ve decided how many benefits your letter will include,
and which format you will be presenting it in, you’ll be able to decide on letter
length.
6. What links will be included and where should they appear?
If you’re including a link to your web site, you need to make sure
that it doesn’t appear too early in the letter. Your "call to action" with
your link should appear after you’ve presented your benefits and created urgency.
7. Who is the audience you’re
targeting?
It’s really important that you decide this in advance, because the
more personal you can make your letter, the more sales it’s going to generate.
8. Who is e-mail coming from?
This should be an easy decision – you should ensure that all of
your e-mail promotions come from the same person within your business.
9. What contact information will you
provide?
The last paragraph of any e-mails you send should include a contact
e-mail address for anyone with questions. Always remind your readers that you’re a
real person.
10. What "extra" benefit will you include in your P.S.?
So it’s a good idea to include an effective P.S. that either
restates the biggest benefit of your offer or includes a "bonus" grabber benefit
that isn’t mentioned in the body of the e-mail. |
