If you’re looking for email marketing copywriting services, you need to understand the landscape in which you’re playing first. 
 
Similarly, if you want to maximize open-rates and click-through rates of your marketing emails, you need to follow best practice.
 
In this article, we’ll address many of the basic—as well as some of the not-so-basic—ways to drive in the most business every time you click “Send.” 
 
The three main factors of marketing email success
 
Pretty much any direct-response pro will tell you that the success of your outbound email campaign depends on the quality of three different factors: 

1. The list 
2. The offer 
3. The presentation of the offer, i.e., the creative/the email itself

 
This is true. Whether you think of these factors as a three-legged stool or links in the chain, you need all of them to succeed. 
 
And while this article will address mostly Number 3 above (since that’s what we’re often tasked with creating), we can offer you insights, as well as some counterintuitive tips, for Numbers 1 and 2 as well. 
 
The quality of the email list for outbound email campaigns
 
Obviously, you want to reach out to people who are amenable to your offer; ideally, you want to reach out to people who are dying to get your offer. 
 
There are sources, such as ZoomInfo (and plenty of others), where you can get lists. The prices, and the quality, vary widely. 
 
If you’re using a service that lets you filter for the results you want, then filter carefully. And create a few different lists so that you can A/B test. Vary the results by, say, company size, geography, or seniority of the recipient. 
 
Similarly, you’ll want to filter out whatever you possibly can. We often work with clients on campaigns to reach C-level executives, so do you think that “All ages 18+” would be appropriate here? Of course not. Do a little thinking, and save yourself lots of time, effort, and wasted impressions. 
 
Incidentally, the whole exercise of list-filtering isn’t just for email banks. It applies just as well to tools such as LinkedIn Sales Navigator. 
 
Un-linked on LinkedIn
 
We have a client that has a big list of LinkedIn connections and would like to email them periodically. But LinkedIn does everything it can to keep you inside its “walled garden,” so they don’t like to deal in email addresses (or outside websites, like ours). In other words, you can have—as is the case with our client—a ton of LinkedIn connections, but not many email addresses to show for it. This is because the connections themselves don’t often post their email address on LinkedIn, and even when they do, they often use, say, a personal email address, rather than a work one, either for business-privacy reasons, or because that’s simply the way they’d originally set up LinkedIn and never gave it a second thought since.
 
So what do you do in this instance? 
 
You can go to Upwork, that’s what. There, you can find inexpensive resources who specialize in researching and finding email addresses for LinkedIn contacts for you. It’s so inexpensive that it’s often worth the investment. 
 
Now, once you get these email addresses, you need to be careful. The CAN-SPAM Act outlines what you can and can’t do; for our purposes, know that your list should be either current or former customers, and/or those who have opted in to your list. 
 
Your Upwork work might yield a “gray area” of results. What do you do? In this case, proceed very conservatively. Add a few of these names to your scheduled emailings, and carefully monitor the bounce- and unsubscribe-rates. If they seem to sail through, you can trickle more of them into your list over time. You don’t want to get dinged by, say, Constant Contact for violating their terms of service. 
 
Offer the offer
 
We won’t dwell on this topic, but suffice to say we’ve seen too many bad ones to mention. A prospect will want to know your proven technique/solution for solving a pressing problem of theirs, replete with easy-to-grasp ROI. Then they’ll want to “Click to learn more,” or download your free white paper, or book a screen-share demo, or whatever. 
 
So the offer must be simple. And compelling. That’s a huge ask. It speaks to your business’ basic value proposition. As such, it goes beyond the scope of this article. But be sure to check out our other blogs. We have lots of posts that address this issue; scroll down to the “Categories” in the sidebar and have fun!
 
Marketing emails that increase business
 
Assuming you’ve got 1) the list and 2) the offer optimized, now comes the fun part. Because you know 1) who you’re addressing and 2) what they need. So give it to them! 
 
You need to open with the can-you-relate-to-that problem. Can you get that down to a single sentence or provocative question? 
 
Did you know that 85 percent of logistics executives see “automation” as their most pressing challenge?
 
The more focused, the better. The shorter, the better. 
 
That's the hook. Once you’ve got them hooked, you can start to pile on the problems and the pain-points. Note that all of the following italicized copy (just like the copy above), is completely made up, just for illustration purposes: 
 
It gets worse. When asked how they would surmount this challenge, most executives suggest “handing it off to their internal teams.” 
 
But aren’t their internal teams already overloaded? Aren’t yours?
 
See where this is going? 
 
I’d like you to kindly read the little PDF I’ve attached from ABC Enterprises. In just two minutes, you’ll see how we’ve solved this problem for logistics pros just like you, with 4x ROI in as little as 12 months. (If you’d prefer to read it online, it’s available right here.)
 
Have you detected the shift? The email drilled down from “All executives” to “You.” And the speaker shifted from third person (“Their teams...”) to second person (“Your teams...”) to first-person (“I’d like you to learn...”). It also went from formal (“85 percent report...”) to conversational (“In just two minutes, you’ll see...”). 
 
All of this is intentional. You’re starting as an authoritative stranger. You’re transitioning to a trusted friend. 
 
After you’ve reviewed it, simply write back. I’ll then be happy to book your no-obligation demo.... etc., etc., etc. 
 
Flying under the radar
 
We have some clients whose email systems limit their outreach. It’s not just numbers, i.e., how many emails they’re allowed to send in a given day. It’s also context, i.e., the exact language that’s sent. In other words, if their email provider detects that they’re sending out too many emails that say the exact same thing, they’ll get dinged. Similarly, there are recipients’ email providers that have algorithms for detecting what they perceive as spam, and then blocking “known spammers.” You do not want to be tagged with that label. 
 
Remember our “trickle the Upwork results into your email list” suggestion earlier? This falls under that rubric. 
 
So does the “alternate verbiage version” trick. Simply take your first email, and do a “Save as...” to make Version 2. Alter the language enough to make it different enough to avoid getting trapped. For example, you can take: 
 
After you’ve reviewed it, simply write back. I’ll then be happy to book your no-obligation demo....
 
and change it into: 
 
After you’ve read it, write back. I’d be delighted to schedule your zero-obligation demonstration....
 
How much should you do this? It’s a judgment call. We’ve seen success by altering the copy just a little, maybe ten to 15 percent. 
 
Get help with email copywriting and marketing services
 
We know about this stuff because we toil in this realm daily on our clients’ behalf. And we’re seeing the sometimes stunning open- and click-through rates that result. 
 
Need help with this challenge? We’d be happy to assist. Contact us today for a no-obligation initial consultation. 

​Tips for this essential marketing and copywriting service
 
We’ve heard it pronounced “Smeee.” We’ve heard it pronounced “S-M-E.” Either way, it refers to “subject-matter expert” or SME. As experts, SMEs are often tapped for their wisdom. That’s what this article is all about. 
 
Why would you need to conduct a SME interview in the first place? It depends on the assignment. Here at Copel Communications, we’re often tapped to ghost-write thought-leading articles for business leaders. This is a classic case of “call in the SME.” 
 
Or you might be crafting a strategic situation analysis for your company or another company. You need to know the lay of the land. Consider using a SME when you need to get well-informed opinions about topics such as: 

• The state of the industry (whatever industry that may be). 
• The state of the competition, including new upstart players and other “weak signals at the periphery.” 
• Trends in technology that are affecting that industry. 
• Recent or pending regulation, court cases, or taxes that could impact the industry. 
• Recent media coverage pertaining to that industry and its impact. This could be news and/or pop culture. 
• The future of the industry itself, where it’s heading, and what’s possibly disrupting it. 

 
Note, importantly, that we said “opinions” above. 
 
This is huge. 
 
The whole idea of interviewing a SME is to get opinions, more than facts.
 
Think about that. For “facts,” you could basically go on Wikipedia and seemingly get your questions answered. That’s not worth much, and it’s certainly not unique. The whole advantage of a SME is that this is someone who is toiling at the front lines, at the very bleeding edge of their area of expertise. So naturally they’ll have strong—and well-founded—opinions about all of the topics listed above. 
 
And that’s what you want to get from them. Every opinion they offer, of course, will be couched within the context of the facts that surround it. Such as “This new technology is the hot new darling of Wall Street, and the valuations of companies who manufacture it are going through the roof.” 
 
That’s the fact. 
 
Then comes the opinion: “But as far as I’m concerned, this is all smoke-and-mirrors; it’s another dot-com bust just waiting to happen.” 
 
If you’re not asking “Why?” right now, you need to hone your interviewing skills. 
 
Succeed in advance 
 
Clearly, the example above is made up. But it’s typical. We encounter these types of exchanges all the time. And they’re the best part of the interview. We’ll take ten minutes of opinion for every one minute of facts. Not only that, we love to probe in instances like this. Dig deep. Keep asking “Why?” Get your SME riled up, indignant, and on their high-horse. This stuff is solid gold. 
 
All of the above, of course, assumes that you’re already hip-deep in the interview. So let’s back up a little and help you set it up in the first place. 
 
Conducting a good SME interview is all about preparation. You want to be totally prepared. Some checklist items to consider: 

• Booking. You’ll likely have an intermediary (the SME’s boss/business owner, for example) helping to introduce you. Be as accommodating as you can to the SME’s schedule and needs.

 

• Advance communication. You’ll likely “meet” the SME via email prior to the interview. Thank them in advance for their time. Give them a timeframe for the interview (e.g., 45 minutes) and then stick to it. Give them a rough overview of what you’ll be asking about. Don’t send your questions in advance, if at all possible. This is not a play. This is free-form, with some guide-rails.  

 

• Questions. You want to craft a bunch of questions, such that you can cover in the timeframe allotted. The bullet list of topics, earlier in this article, is a fantastic starting point. But you’ll want to dig deeper. Learn as much as you can about your SME in advance. Read their LinkedIn profile. Read papers or articles they’ve published. Seek out YouTube videos of them to get a feel for their personality and cadence. It’s always better to over-prepare than under-prepare. It could well happen that you put a ton of work into a big list of questions, and the very first one lights up your SME like a Christmas tree, and you spend the rest of the interview frantically writing down fantastic notes. That can happen. At the other end of the spectrum, you might get a taciturn sphinx-meets-Calvin-Coolidge type, in which case you’ll need every single question on your list, and will be grateful to have them all. 

 
The medium for the message
 
Not long ago, we did all SME interviews by phone. Post-pandemic, that’s changed. There’s a lot more video going on. But that doesn’t mean that you need to use video. Let’s consider some of the advantages and disadvantages of each: 

• Phone. This is the easier of the two, for both of you. You can focus on your notes instead of your hair and clothing; ditto for your SME. You’ll need to type fast, although you can record, say, an audio Zoom call... with the SME’s permission. The whole “recording” aspect can get thorny; ask, in advance, for permission to do so, and don’t expect an automatic “Yes.” A downside of the phone/audio interview is that the output is limited: Either your typed notes, and/or a recording of a back-and-forth informal conversation.

 

• Video. This is harder for you both, in terms of looking presentable. The upside is that you can see your subject’s reactions, and they can see yours—helpful when, for example, they’re thinking about an answer to one of your questions. A huge advantage of video is the ability to record it—again, if you get permission in advance. A video-based blog, for example, is killer content for everything from websites to social media. But you need that permission. You’ll need to edit the video, and add titles, music, etc. So that adds time and money. 

 
Key takeaways
 
Depending on the assignment, you might nail the interview in one shot. Sometimes it will go so well, you’ll effectively get two interviews’ worth of information out of a single one. And sometimes the opposite is true: You’ll only get half of what you need. In that case, you’ll need to book a follow-up to complete the assignment. 
 
All of this, incidentally, is work. That’s in addition to having, and employing, “soft skills” such as putting the subject at ease, especially when they’re a highly technical person who might not be terribly social or outgoing. 
 
This is where we come in. We know how to do great SME interviews, because we do them all the time. We also craft the materials—everything from white papers to blog articles to case studies—that result from them, to our clients’ benefit. 
 
Need help with that next SME interview or the deliverable it will inform? Contact us today. We’d be delighted to discuss your needs.