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Writing Effective Conclusions For Your Blog Posts

The conclusion is the place where you really want to drive home your message. Crafting a killer conclusion is simple, yet some people don’t do it well. You’ll want to make sure that you have some powerful statements that motivate your readers to take action on the things that they just learned.

Include the SEO Keywords In the Header

Google got wise to people stuffing keywords into blog posts at random to make them look like the most relevant blog posts. Now, search engines want to see keywords only where they make sense. The Conclusion header is a place where SEO keywords do make sense.

Including your SEO keywords in your conclusion header will not only reinforce the topic in the mind of the reader, it will also boost your SEO keyword juice.

Engage with Your Readers – Ask Questions

As you close your blog post, these readers have taken time out of their day to read all the way through to the end. Ask them a question about what they have learned. Ask them how they plan on using the content in their lives.

Asking questions gets people to write comments in the comment section. This is great for SEO. It shows that people are interested and value your website enough to make comments.

 

Ask For Questions

You can ask your readers what questions they have on the topics that you just covered. This can be very beneficial in helping you determine what you need to cover in future blog posts.

Be careful about asking for questions in the conclusion. You ONLY want to do this if you are willing to answer the questions that are asked. No one wants to come back to see if their question was answered only to discover that it wasn’t.

Not every copywriting client wants to have questions, so always make sure that you are following the brand’s voice.

Add a Call to Action

Finally, add a call to action for your readers. You can ask them to sign up for your awesome newsletter, or read another related blog post. If you have a social media strategy, you can encourage them to engage with you on social media.

If your call to action is to sign up for a newsletter, this will be written into the link that they will click on. It won’t always be within the text of the blog post.

A call to action can include checking out a product that is relevant to the topic and will help your readers in their daily lives. You can tell your readers to check out the latest widget in your store.

Conclusion

Killer conclusions are conclusions that really emphasize your message. A powerful conclusion can be simple, but strong enough that your readers are going to remember it. The best conclusions get your readers to take action. They get them to take the next step in the customer journey whether it is signing up for your email list or buying the latest gadget. Powerful conclusions will lead your customers to action.

Watch my Youtube video on writing a killer conclusion:

https://youtu.be/sQ_BI10ltow

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How To Outline Your Blog Posts For Maximum Results

Creating an outline for your blog posts is part of the writing process. Some people view it as an extra step, but it is a step that makes the whole process more smooth. I find that outlines help me write faster and alleviate some of the writer’s block that can creep up when you don’t have a goal or target.

Outlining Basics

When creating your outline, you’ll want to make sure that you have your target market in mind and some keywords to focus on. Create a working title and 3-4 headers to focus on.

Under each of the headers create some logical subheaders that you can write about. Make notes under your headers with important points that you want to touch on.

Include some resources that you may want to reference – pictures, statistics, quotes and case studies are great.

Work Quickly

You should write your outline quickly. Don’t spend more than half an hour on your blog post outline. Remember, whether you are writing for a client or your own blog post, this is a business and time is precious.

If you can’t think of things to write for one subheading, move on to the next one. Often this will keep the creative juices flowing and you’ll come up with topics to add later.

Remember, this is an outline. It is your FIRST DRAFT. It isn’t meant to be seen by anyone else. A FIRST DRAFT outline shouldn’t be perfect. In fact, your first draft will often be crappy.

“I always like to have a basic outline, but I like to leave some things to be decided while I write.” –J. K. Rowling

If the author of Harry Potter, one of the most popular children’s books, uses an outline, then it definitely shows that it is good practice to write with a basic outline. But also, don’t be afraid to add things as you write. The outline isn’t the final draft.

 

Schedule Outlines Into Your Writing Day

Set a time limit for your outlines. Plan on spending the first half hour of your writing session on an outline. This will ensure that you actually get your outline done and that you don’t waste a lot of time on it.

Great planning and outlines help to prevent writer’s block. Therefore, you’ll want to ensure that you’re doing them consistently.

“If you do enough planning before you start to write, there is no way you can have writer’s block. I do a complete chapter by chapter outline.”-R.L. Stine

 

Use a Template

Templates can help you stay on track. They guide you through the writing process. A basic template can be created in Google Docs or through the Wealthy Affiliate writing platform. The template will remind you to come up with a variety of topics and encourage you to meet a word count goal. The rest is up to you.

Writing with a template can also help to keep the document organized. You will create headers and subheaders and can jot your notes down within the framework before you edit it and expound on the knowledge that you are sharing.

Final Thoughts

Use an outline even when you are writing a short blog post. Your readers will appreciate that you thoughtfully put your ideas together and used headers and subheaders. Your writing will be more cohesive and enjoyable to read.

I hope these tips have helped!

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Blog Post Formatting That Attracts Readers

Believe it or not, but SEO isn’t the only thing that will attract or repel your readers. A great blot post format can determine whether people stay or leave your website.

It’s true! People are looking for scanable information when they read blog posts. They want to find that information quickly.

So, I’ve gathered some tips for formatting a great blog post.

Short Sentences and Paragraphs

When people are reading online, they want the information NOW. They want to be able to quickly scan the blog post and determine if the answers to their questions are going to be found within the blog.

Keep your sentences short and to the point. Readers don’t want to dig through flowery language to discover your point.

Keep your paragraphs to about 2-3 sentences. This will break all the high school rules that you learned for constructing paragraphs, but visually it will be easier on your reader’s eyes.

Draw Your Reader’s Eyes to Important Aspects

When readers see a sea of text, it can be difficult to scan through and discover the important information. You want visual variation. Use bold and italics to emphasize the main keywords and points.

Visual variation makes your blog post more scanable. Readers can quickly discover the most important topics when their eyes are drawn to bolded words.

Use Headers and Subheaders

Break up your content into sections. Use headers and sub headers when you start to talk about something new. This will not only provide some additional visual variation, but it helps the readers scan the blog post and discover whether it will contain the information they want.

Many times readers will discover new content and simply scan it and bookmark it to come back to it later. Often people access the information on their phones. They may not have the time to read the full blog post, but they will be determining whether it is worthwhile and they should visit the site again.

Make sure that your sub headers are cohesive and related to your headers. If you are discussing many things under your header, you may want to number your sub headers.

Keep it Readable

While readability is a bit different that formatting, it is extremely important. People should be able to easily understand your blog posts. Avoid using complex industry jargon and stick with a middle school reading level.

To determine the writing level, you can use the Hemingway app. Enter in a few sentences and it will let you know what grade level you are writing.

Here’s an example of a post-graduate sentence that would turn many people off. It is simply too complex and does not get to the point quickly:

“With astronomical advancements regarding efficiency and visual communication in design best practices, creators are taking more process-oriented approaches to the development and building of their products than they ever have before.”

Whew…can you see the complexity? It is a bit too much.

Whenever possible, you should use the more simple word. For example, you can replace utilized or leveraged with the simple word “used.”

The following sentence is another example of being too wordy:

“I strategically leveraged my mobile device in order to locate the place in which I would consume my dinner.”

That can be changed to simply:

“I used my phone to find a restaurant.”

Do you see how much easier the second sentence is to understand. The first sentence requires a bit more thinking to grasp the meaning.

Use bulleted or numbered lists

Readers love lists. They draw out the important elements quickly and easily.

Here are five great reasons to use a list in your blog article:

  1. Lists are easy to write.
  2. They create welcome white space in the article.
  3. The reader’s eye is drawn to the lists and causes them to stop.
  4. Lists are very scanable.
  5. Give the impression of getting more information with little reading.

You read it, didn’t you? Most likely your eyes were drawn to the list as well.

Try to work a list into each of your blog posts.



Use Relevant Images and Graphics

Researchers discovered that website visitors scroll through 100% of an article if it contains images and videos.

They will scroll – not read- but it is still useful.

Graphics catch the reader's attention.

Scrolling and scanning your article means that readers are more likely to pick up on your message. They will also be more likely to click on another one of your links in your website. In increases the chance of seeing your call to action.

Images and graphics keep your visitor engaged. You should try to find relevant images and infographics for all the data that you share on your website. Insert the graphics and images throughout the article, not simply at the top.

Use Image Captions

When visitors come to your website, often their eyes wander to the blog post image before even reading your first paragraph. Make the image count by adding a caption to it that will hook your visitors.

The image caption should fit the theme of the picture, but it also should be engaging and descriptive of the article. You could include questions, power statistics and intriguing information. Captions are almost as important as the headline of an article, so don’t neglect them.


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Supercharge Your Blog Post Titles with These Words

What matters most when it comes to copywriting and creating great titles and headlines is the ability to trigger an emotion. The right words will prompt readers to click on the title and take action.

Certain adjectives will trigger curiousity. Other adjectives will trigger a fear of missing out or allude to specialized knowledge. These emotionally charged words are powerful when you use them in your titles and headlines.

The right verbs and adjectives will turn an average blog post title into a clickable and shareable blog post title.

“On the average, five times as many people read the headline as read the body copy. When you have written your headline, you have spent eighty cents out of your dollar.”~David Ogilvy

Nouns

  • Hack
  • Secrets
  • Tricks
  • Tips
  • Mistakes

Adjectives

  • Great
  • Urgent
  • Awesome
  • Super
  • Cool
  • Secret
  • Sexy
  • Rock-solid
  • Best
  • Top
  • Quick
  • Fast
  • Ultimate
  • Effective
  • Efficient
  • Amazing
  • Shocking
  • Explosive
  • Unbelievable
  • Stupid
  • Dumb
  • Exciting
  • Dangerous
  • Enticing
  • Funny
  • Free
  • Huge
  • Special
  • Massive
  • Exclusive
  • Pretty
  • Worst
  • Bullshit
  • Mega
  • Creative
  • Brilliant
  • Fantastic
  • Total
  • Continuous
  • Master
  • Proven
  • Bad Ass
  • Kick-Ass
  • Magnetic
  • Easy
  • Magic
  • Miracle
  • Sensational
  • Bargain
  • Remarkable

Descriptive words are more clickable. They entice the reader more because they entertain a reader’s imagination.

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Grow Your Copywriting Business with Guest Blogging

Getting started in copywriting can be difficult when you don’t have writing samples and no one knows your name. That is where guest blogging comes into play! Guest blogging can not only help you gain experience, but it can help you to identify some excellent opportunities.

Creating Backlinks to Your Website

Your online website is the perfect place to showcase your blogging and copywriting talent. However, you probably won’t be listed on the first page of Google without backlinks to your website. Guest blogging can help you out with that. Most websites will have a biography to credit to the guest blogger. This is where you can add a link back to your website.

Sometimes, you will use your online Google avatar. The link will direct readers back to your website.

Get Well-Known Within Your Niche

When you start out in copywriting, unless you have been super active in multiple forums across many platforms, most people won’t know your name. In business, people like to hire those individuals that they know, like and trust. When people start to see you participating in groups and forums, they will become familiar with you.

As you gain more experience writing for the niche, you may even build a following. This can help you market yourself even more. When you have followers who read your work, you can charge more for your writing knowing that more people will be reading it.

Get Those Necessary Writing Samples

Business owners like to see examples of someone’s writing before they hire you to write a blog post. Sometimes they will ask for a test piece when you apply for a position. Other times they want to see that you have been published by other companies.

This will give the companies a feel for what your writing voice sounds like. They can see how well you connect with their audience. When you offer to write a guest blog post, it creates a deadline for you. No longer can you procrastinate creating those needed writing samples for your website! You have a deadline to meet!

Earn Some Cash With Guest Blogging

Most guest blogging opportunities are not paid, so don’t expect to be paid for every guest blog post that you write. However, there are some companies that will compensate you for your well-written and researched blog posts.

Brain, Child

Alaska Parent

Adoptive Families

Family Tree Magazine

Genealogy related articles.

MetroParent

Parenting magazine for families in Southeast Michigan.

The Penny Hoarder

Personal finance website with around 10 million visitors.

Doctor of Credit

For people who need help with their credit.

DailyWorth

Personal finance site for women.

The Motley Fool

Finance website. They offer a chance to work for them for pay.

  • -Apply/Pitch/Submit Page: http://careers.fool.com/openings/
  • -Pay: $100 per article, more if you get hired
  • -Author Page/Byline: Yes
  • -Links allowed in Author Page/Byline: No

Elite Personal Finance

Personal finance website focusing on personal loans and credit cards.

Better Homes and Gardens

Focusing on: health, parenting, travel, and education.

Bless This List

Looks for unusual stories to share.

Belt Magazine

General interest magazine focusing on the “Rust Belt” of the United States.

The Kernel

They publish everything from tech to religion.

Gawker Media

Gawker is a news site, and they publish reported stories and essays.

  • -Apply/Pitch/Submit Page: http://gawker.com/about
  • -Pay: Contact them to find out how much.
  • -Author Page/Byline: Yes
  • -Links allowed in Author Page/Byline: Yes

The Mix

They had out daily writing assignments, so submit a pitch.

  • -Apply/Pitch/Submit Page: http://themix.hearst.com/
  • -Pay: Yes, but join to find out
  • -Author Page/Byline: Yes
  • -Links allowed in Author Page/Byline: Yes, but they are not hyperlinked

Eureka Street

Promotes Jesuit spirituality. Topics covered range from the environment to popular culture.

Narratively

Collection of stories on the human condition.

  • -Apply/Pitch/Submit Page: http://narrative.ly/contribute/
  • -Pay: Unspecified
  • -Author Page/Byline: Yes
  • -Links allowed in Author Page/Byline: just a list of posts by the author

ListVerse

ListVerse is a fun website covering any topic under the sun in a list format.

The Washington Post

Insights from common people on the street. Everyone has a chance if you can write well.

Cracked

Funny and biting articles.

Upworthy

Offers an alternative view on everything from fitness to business.

Conclusion

Guest blogging is a great way to get your foot in the door as a copywriter. Get started today by reaching out to some of the above blogs and pitching story ideas.

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How to Write Copy That Turns Website Visitors Into Customers with Marie Forleo

Today, I’m going to review the lessons that Marie Forleo teaches us in her video, Marketing Strategy: How to Write Copy That Turns Website Visitors Into Customers. She gives some great gems that all copywriters should be following.

It is always a good idea to look to other copywriters and more successful people for tips on how to improve your own writing practices.

Peanut butter is one of those things that gets the mind going in one of those directions.

These tweaks will help you connect better with your target market. She answers a question from Dr. Cheryl.

“Hi Everyone, I created my site 15 years ago without the help of this program. Marie goes over the website and critiques it in this video.

The Spotlight Method (1:34)

In business, the spotlight can either be on you or your customers. If the spotlight is on you, it is highlighting your passions, your goals and your cleverness.

When you shift the spotlight to your customers, you focus in on their aspirations, their goals, their passion. Your focus then becomes the people that you serve.

Most people get this wrong especially when it comes to our writing. In business, we know that our customers want to feel seen, heard and acknowledged.

Dr. Cheryl’s Website Example (2:37)

As you can see, Dr. Cheryl has a beautiful, clean website. The header reads, “Dr. Cheryl is the go-to Modern Day guru of mindful loving.” The problem with this header is that it is about Dr. Cheryl. It is missing a hook for the website visitor. If they’re coming to this website, most likely the visitor is looking for help with their relationship, not a mindful guru.

Most people don’t even know what a mindful guru is! Let alone how one would help with relationships.

So, how do we fix this?

Change the Header to Be Customer Focused (3:22)

Using the Spotlight method, we can write some new headlines that are more customer focused. Here are some ideas:

  • Need Relationship Help? Let me help you get your love back on track.
  • Get the Passionate Playful Relationship You Want. I’ll Show You How.
  • Relationship in Trouble? Let’s get your Love Life Back On Track.

You can see how these are more customer focused than Dr. Cheryl focused. If you landed on the page now, you would feel more like Dr. Cheryl understands and wants to help.

What are some other areas that can be customer focused?

The Navigation (4:26)

The navigation bar is another area where you can focus in on the customer. Many people may not even think about this.

The current navigation has “What I have to Share,” which is all about Cheryl and not about the customer’s problems. A simpler navigation inspired by the Spotlight method will include

  1. About
  2. Services
  3. Couples Workshop
  4. Resources
  5. Connect

These are all simple things that the customer might be looking for when they land on her website. Services, Resources, Connecting are all clear, customer focused language.

Having a navigation bar will put the focus on the customer rather than you. :

How Can You Bring the Spotlight on to Your Customers? (7:23)

The last part of the video, Marie engages her audience. She asks, “What is one piece of copy on your website where you can use the Spotlight method?”

She also leaves us with a promotion for her program at http://thecopycure.com.

Remember, Stay on your game and keep going for your dreams!

Watch the whole video here:

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Top 12 Reasons to Start a Blog Today

Many people toy with the idea of starting their own blog. The ones who stick with it and consistently blog will actually create a valuable asset that earns them money and connects them to other interesting people. 

So, what are some other great reasons to start a blog?

1) Blogging is Still Alive and Well

Many people may assume that it is dead, but it is one of the best ways to establish your expertise and influence. Regular posts will help to show your expertise in any area. 

It certainly isn’t as easy as it was in 2002, but blog posts lend to great influence online as well as in business.

2) Create a Support System

Over the years, you have to face many challenging decisions. These range from whether to quityou job, move aborad or get involved in exciting business ventures. Sometimes family members mya not understnad your dilemma or be supportive. However often blog readers become the support system that you don’t have in real life.

This is especially helpful early on before you see results. Your support system can encourage you to keep going through the tough times that you want to quit. 

3) Get People Hanging on Your Every Word

Well, they’ll be hanging on the words that you write for your blog. 

As your audience grows, people will start caring about what you have to say. We have become a world where so many people don’t have a voice. To become an influencer is a  powerful thing. 

4) A REAL Reason to go on Social Media

If you’re anything like me, you’ve wasted hours on social media and want to break that habit. However, now your social media presence, whether it is Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Pinterest will have some meaning. 

Social Media is the free tool that bloggers use to promote their blogs. 

5) Worldwide Friendships

You will connect with people who are all over the world that speak the same language you do. Maybe even some that don’t with Google Translate!

I have met people from Australia to Singapore through the wondderful world of blogging. 

Blogging is a great way to gain friendships. 

6) Improve Your Writing

Writing is one of the best skills that you can learn to be successful online. Blogs help you to practice writing. Not only will your content improve as you blog, but your blog gives you a way to test out different styles of writing and refine your voice. 

As you gain experience getting people interested in your topic, you can practice engaging and entertaining them. 

The sky’s the limit!

7) Adds Consistency to Life

The biggest key to success  online is consistency. However, it can somtimes be tough to know what to work on. When it comees to blogging, you set and post a schedule. This provides you with the consistency that you need. 

Working on a daily blog acan be a great way to hone and develop good habits. These will see you towards real success over the long run. 

8) Free Experiences

As your audience grows, you’ll have more opportunities come your way. If you work diligently at it, the chance for free or sponsored experiences will be some of the most powerful events in your life. 
Health bloggers often get free samples of the latest products to review. Travel bloggers often can stay free at hotels in exchange for a review. 

Remember, bloggers are influencers too. Many people look to bloggers to discover the best things to do in an area, the top rated fsoftware or the latest exercise tren

9) Gain Internet Skills

The internet is here to stay. Only kowing Word and Excel won’t cut it anymore. A blog is a useful and fun way to learn what the hell you are doing on the interenet. 

Blogs provide you with the technical skills that are beneficial today. 

Not sure where to begin? Start with your favorite topics that you enjoy reading about online. Can you create a blog from those?

10) Make Extra Money

You can turn your blog into a full-fledged business. It can be a nice side income through affiliate marketing. You can use the blog to advertise on as well. 

Your blog can be used to promote an online course to create a steady cash flow. You can sell guest posting spots when your audience becomes large enough.

11) Learn Photo Editing

Knowing how to make your photosstand out among everyone else’s. It can go a long way when it comes to gaining followers and adding creditbility that many don’t have. 

The photo below has been featured on numerous websites, blogs and even Golf Digest. 

The Old Course Hotel at St. Andrews at Sunrise.Sunrise on the most famous golf course in the world last October: St. Andrews.

12) Attract Copywriting Job Offers

Blog posts allow you to demonstrate your skill and knowledge of a subject. People may stumble upon your blog and offer you a job to guest post on their blog, or speak at an event. Maintaining a blog positions you as an expert on a topic. 

Many people who start blogs will end up with offers from clients who need web copy either in the form of blogs or newsletters. 

As you can see, blogging helps you to develop many, useful skills. It gproduces lots of opportunities to connect with people and gives you a chance to monetize your efforts if you choose to do so. So, what are you waiting for? Stat your blog today! 

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How to Make a Logo for Your Business with LogoAi

A logo will help you to establish your brand. This can help to build trust. It makes you appear more professional as well. When we think of a company, often the first thing that comes to mind is their logo. Therefore, a great logo is important.

Today, I’m going to go over the steps of building a professional looking logo in LogoAi because I’m currently searching for the perfect logo for my own brand!

What is LogoAi?

LogoAi is an online logo maker that helps business owners to create professional logos.

How Artificial Intelligence can be used for creating logos?

I’m not sure what type of Artificial intelligence is used for the logos. They have many templates and concepts to select from. This will give you a lot of great ideas about colors, styles and symbols.

Once you have selected the logo that you want, you can purchase it through their website.

When not use a free logo maker online?

LogoAi allows you to use a clean interface. It also allows you more options and you can edit it to match your website colors for better branding.

Getting Started

First, go to the LogoAi website.

 

Enter your business name into the box and click the “make logo” button.

After you’ve clicked the button, you’ll be taken to a page with 10-12 logos. The top of the page gives you the option to add a slogan and search for symbols.

Click on the one that you like the most and you’ll be give the opportunity to edit it. 

You can enter a slogan for your business that helps to define what you do. I’m currently testing out the slogan “captivating copywriting” for my business.

I searched for some symbols that go along with writing and there was what looked like the tip of a fountain pen, an open book and what looked like a feather. Not a ton of symbols for the writing niche, but they did look modern and sleek.

Once you have entered your business name, slogan and selected a symbol, simply click on the “Make More” button.

They will make more logos for you. You can edit them and select a different font or change out the colors.

Below is the logo that I came up with for my copywriting website.

 

LogoAi is very simple and intuitive when it comes to creating logos. While I would have appreciated more symbols for copywriting, I was pleased with how easy it was to create my own logo.

Editing the Logo:

There are four ways to edit your logo on the editing page:

  1. Text
  2. Symbol
  3. Font
  4. Colors

The selection that you will have will be based on the logo that you choose. The text allows you to write in your name and slogan. You can change the font size, letter spacing and line spacing of your business name and slogan.

 

The Font section allows you to swap out the font that you use. you can select from vintage, futuristic, handwritten and modern type fonts.

The colors section allows you to select the color for the icon and text. You can also reverse and have the text colored with the background white. For this design, there weren’t a lot of colors to choose from. However, it was easy to test out different colors with the click of a mouse. Another great feature was the gradient. You didn’t have to have a solid color.

 

 

LogoAi Pricing:

Creating the logos are free, but if you actually want to use one you’ll have to purchase it. The pricing is very affordable for start-ups with the basic low resolution logo costing only $29.

 

 

The professional package will get you a high-resolution JPG, vector EPS and PDF files, black and white inversions and brand guidelines with the ability to make changes and re-download.

Finally, the Designer assist package costs $99. It provides you with the same things in the professional package along with 3 custom revisions with one of their designers for a personal touch.

 

Review:

LogoAi is a great way to get a logo for a new business. It will help you establish your online brand quickly at a low cost. LogoAi is perfect for startups, blogs, coaches and consultants who are establishing themselves online.

 

LogoAi Ratings

 


Overall

4/5

  • User Interface – Easy to Use! 
  • Pricing – Affordable – great for startups! 
  • Editing Features – Basic
  • Available Symbols – Limited in my niche

LogoAI’s user interface is very simple and straightforward. This will help you to quickly make the logo that your business needs. 

The editing features allow you to customize your logo and really make it your own.

The pricing is perfect for any startup, online coach or new website blog. It is much more affordable than a designer and can be customized a bit more than the free online logo makers.

The one area that I wish was more extensive was the available symbols for the writing niche. However, they did have a few great ones that are easily recognizable and customizable. 

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Create Email Copy that Converts – 5 Tips for Writing Better Newsletters

Today, I’m reviewing the Youtube video by Ashlyn Writes. Ashlyn Writes gives you five simple tips to getting your emails opened in her video.

It is very important to get in touch with your clients through your newsletter. Once you build your list, you need to send out regular emails for your list. This will build a great relationship with your readers.

So, how do you get them to open your emails?

How can you serve your email list?

Come at the newletters with the attitude that you’ll serve your list so well that even if they don’t buy from you, you’ll be happy.

The First Tip is to Use a Formula. An easy way to know what to say with your newsletter is to start with the end in mind. Think about what your audience is trying to achieve. Perhaps you write 3 Tips to Get X accomplished or An Easy Action to Get a Win.

The Second Tip is to Use a Great Subject Line. The subject line is the first and only opportunity that someone has to interact with your email. Therefore, it is important to make it great. Ashlyn recommends starting a swipe file of outstanding subject lines.

The Third Tip is to write conversationally. Write to your audience as you would speak to them. Writing conversationally will help you to sound less robotic. We don’t read online like we used to. When it comes to sales copy, the grammar rules don’t always apply and they can be bent.

Use line breaks. It will help visually not to see a sea of text.

The Fourth Tip is to ensure that you Land in their Inbox. Let’s face it, you don’t want to go to all the trouble of writing a great email newsletter only to have it end up in spam.

There are four main things that can impact whether your email lands in the spam folder or not – subscriber engagement, limiting negative metrics, authentication, and content.

Think about content. Emails from Target, J Crew, etc. tend to end up in your promotion folder if you’re a gmail user. This is because they tend to have many images and complex HTML. Plain, simple emails tend to end up in the inbox.

Ashlyn Writes recommends ConvertKit email marketing services.

The final tip that Ashlyn Writes recommends is that you keep it to one call to action per email. Make it super clear what you want the reader to do.

Bonus Tip: Split test your subject lines. ConvertKit allows you to easily put in two subject lines that will be sent to 50% of your readers.

This was a pretty simple video that shared easy to implement tips for beginning copywriters. It is nice that it was only 9 minutes. Ashlyn Writes promotes her favorite email service in it. So, you may want to check out ConvertKit.

Watch it here:

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How to Write Email Copy that Gets Opened – 11 Tips to Get Readers to Click

Struggling with a low open rate is a real concern for businesses that are building their email list and trying to connect with their customers through email. Not only are you missing out on potential sales, but you are also paying for an email service without your list even reading your content. No good!

We’ve discovered some of the ways to get your emails to stand out in the inbox.

“When it comes to email marketing, the best subject lines tellwhat’s inside, and the worst subject lines sell what’s inside.”
— MailChimp

11 Tips for Email Subject Lines That Get Opened

  1. Promise something exceptional. If your free giveaway is run-of-the-mill, not one will bother opening it. However, if people know specifically what they’ll learn and it is outstanding information that will improve their lives, you better believe they’re going to click on your email. They’ll be dying to read more.
  2. Use powerful words. Emotional and sensory words will attract attention. Use words that trigger emotion or involve the senses to stand out in their inbox.
  3. Use a number. Numbers will stand out in an inbox because they aren’t words. Your eyes will be drawn to them and it will stimulate curiosity. Numbers tend to stop wandering eyes. Share a statistic or the number of benefits your readers will have when they read your email.
  4. Generate curiosity. I tend to delete half of the emails that I read because I can tell from a bland headline that they will likely be selling me something I don’t need or care about. However, the great copywriters will trigger my curiosity with unique or bizarre words. They may share some unusual information that isn’t common knowledge.
  5. Use common mistakes. Admit it, you’ve opened one of those emails that starts out, “Avoid these common mistakes when buying your…” We all want to be smart when making purchases. Therefore, we want to know what the common mistakes that other buyers are making. You want to be smarter than the average buyer out there.
  6. Use simple and specific subject lines. Trying to be too clever or use alliteration in every subject line may be a bit too much for your audience. People want to cut to the chase quickly. They don’t want to waste their time. Copywriting isn’t about flowery language, similes and metaphors. Save that for English class. Be succinct.
  7. Mix it up. After a while, the same things don’t work in email marketing. It is good to mix up your emails with a different style or different message. If you only send out sales promotions, your readers will stop reading them when they don’t want to buy something. However, if you send out some informational emails, some sales promotions and some useful training videos, your audience may take more interest in your emails. They may stand out a bit more.
  8. Learn from the masters. Subscribe to your competitors email lists. Analyze and take note of their subject lines. You’re bound to learn something from your competitors.
  9. Know your audience. Knowing your audience’s hopes, fears and desires is key to appealing to them. If your target market is senior citizens, they won’t be opening emails about how to pay for college. Most of them have already paid for college and are more interested in funding a retirement. Make sure that every email you send is targeted to your list.
  10. Use a call to action. A call to action will generate a sense of urgency and a fear of missing out. For example, “Grab your tickets for X before they sell out!” The headline not only tells the reader to do something, it also lets them know that without action, they may miss out on a great event.
  11. 56% of brands using an emoji in their email subject line had a higher open rate than those that did not. Jazzing your subject line up with an emoji is a good way to draw attention to your email.

Examples of Great Headlines

Sumo’s Best subject lines provide us with some examples of their top headlines.

Subject Line                                                                                           Open Rate
1. I was right – and that’s not good for you                                                69%
2. 13 email marketing trends you must know                                          64%
3. Before you write another blog post, read this                                      61%
4. Are we still on for 12?                                                                                61%
5. You don’t want FOMO do you?                                                                 60%
6. We’re starting in 5 HOURS                                                                        59%
7. Missed you, how’s Thursday?                                                                   59%
8. How 35 influencers grew their sites from 0-10K visitors                   57%
9. It’s time to rethink Black Friday                                                               57%
10. How to Google-proof your mobile site in 2017                                   53%

As you examine these headlines, you notice that they use the 11 tips that I mention in their emails. Each email either promises something great, generates curiosity, is powerful or uses numbers. All of the subject lines are simple and to the point. Because they all follow these guidelines, they have a really high open rate.

Conclusion

Email marketing that doesn’t get opened is absolutely useless to your business. Your customers need to be drawn in by a fantastic headline. Then they need to be engaged in interesting, funny or useful content. Practice recognizing good headlines and writing them out. Before long, you’ll master engaging headlines. Your audience will be eager to read your emails.

“A subject line is like a newspaper headline, a title on a book’s spine, or the key slogan of a print media ad. It tells the user what this is all about. And it should do so in sparkling style — seamlessly channeling your brand.”
— Win Goodbody, senior product manager, Sitka Technology Group