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Copywriting Email: The Anatomy of a Strong Email Marketing Message
Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content , with 750K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.
Updated 6.7.25
Speed dating is hard. But copywriting email campaigns is harder.
Studies say speed daters have less than 30 seconds to make a good first impression and “connect” with a potential dating partner.
But 30 seconds is an eternity compared to the newest email marketing statistics.
With email, you’ve got 2 seconds to make a good impression.
Yep. Two measly seconds. A recent tracking study by Litmus (an email marketing and analytics solutions firm) tested 4 million opens.
- The bad news: 51.1% readers spent less than 2 seconds reading the email before punching the “Delete” key.
- The good news: of the best email campaigns that Litmus tracked, 77% recipients read the email from start to finish.
Are you able to write that way? I’ve got some tips for you to write those kinds of engaging email marketing messages. But first, let’s make sure we understand what we’re writing.
What’s an email marketing message?
An email marketing message is a targeted, strategic message sent to a person (or group) on your email list as part of a campaign or sequence. It’s carefully crafted to …
- Speak directly to your reader’s needs
- Offer value, insight, or a solution
- Include a clear call to action (CTA)
What’s an email campaign?
An email campaign is an email series sent to a specific group of people. It’s got a clear goal, such as promoting a product, introducing a mini-course, announcing a seasonal sale, nurturing leads, or building trust through a regular newsletter. Regardless of its purpose, this series …
- Has a specific audience, like new subscribers, existing clients, or leads
- Is sent over a defined period of time (perhaps 3 emails over a week) or at regular intervals (weekly to subscribers)
- Is strategically written to move the reader toward an action, like buying, booking a call, or clicking a link
Examples of email campaigns include ...
- A welcome series for new subscribers
- A sales funnel for a new online course
- A year-end fundraising email series
- A holiday promo campaign for a limited-time offer
- A client onboarding sequence after someone hires you
- An opt-in newsletter email sent to your subscriber list
What is email marketing?
Email marketing is an activity you undertake to share information with your reader that leads to selling your products or services. It’s a bigger strategy than just one email message or email campaign and includes:
- Building and managing an email list
- Segmenting your audience
- Planning campaigns and sequences
- Creating valuable content
- Analyzing performance (open rates, clicks, conversions)
In other words, email marketing is the strategy. An email campaign and an email marketing message are executions of that strategy.
Why do email campaigns fall under
the “copywriting” banner?
Copywriting is text that persuades.
Email marketing, email campaigns, and email marketing messages use digital communications and an email list to build your following and persuade readers to act. Naturally, your email offers persuasive content that answers readers’ questions and convinces them to take the next step.
Elements to Include When Copywriting Email
Since you’re a writer, you want to ensure that every email you create (whether for a client or for your biz) survives that precarious 2 seconds in the readers inbox. Here are a few proven ideas for copywriting email that outlives the Delete key and gets read from start to finish.
- Write a dazzling subject line. Make it provocative or enticing – even offer a promise (but make sure the email content delivers on that promise.) Avoid a generic “Your Newsletter” -type title. Tap into readers’ curiosity. You’ll get them to slow down, wonder what the email may contain, and then click “open” to find out.
- Name a real person in the “From” line. Not an organization. A person’s name is, well, more personal.
- Use the recipient’s first name. People love seeing their name in print and better yet, online. They like thinking that you think they’re a person. Place the reader’s name in the subject line and in the opening line of the email. When they see it, they’ll pause for a split second – enough to slow down, hit “open,” and read a bit more.
- Lay out email with the reader in mind. It’s tempting to insert cool graphics near the top, but bells and whistles don’t open emails. Solid content does. Set up your email so that recipients can see some content even before they open it. Little boxes with hidden pictures at the top are an invitation to lower open rates and click-off rates.
- Open with a hook. Use a benefit, powerful statistic, some engaging humor, or a tantalizing fact. If your recipient is surprised, laughing, or engaged, he’ll keep reading. (Get tips for writing a hook.)
- Get to the point fast. What do you want the reader to know and then to do? Don’t wait until the third, fourth, or tenth paragraph to tell him. Tell him right out the gate. Then weave the "Ask" in a couple of other times in the body of the email. And close with a strong call to action, too.
ID your target audience with this helpful worksheet.
Extra tips for copywriting email that's effective
- Include content of value. What does your reader need or want? Offer a helpful tip … a list of resources … an introductory rate. Make it worthwhile for your reader to click “Open,” and he will continue to do so next time – and the next.
- Insert plenty of links. But don’t use ad links – instead, embed text links naturally into the copy. Contextual links don’t interrupt the flow. Plus, good numbers of text links give the reader lots of opportunities to respond. (Get tips for writing links.)
- Keep it short. When copywriting email, don’t babble on needlessly. Prattle and gibberish bore people on first dates – and people reading emails. If they sense you’re wasting their time, they’ll click off faster than you can say “recycle bin.”
- And as always ... use spell check. Proofread your copy and then read it aloud. Give it someone else to check, too. Typos and misspellings scream “SPAM” and chase away prospects who otherwise read every word ... and respond.
Make your email marketing messages stand out
At latest count, 149,513 emails are sent per minute … more the 375 billion (with a B) per day.
Plenty are skipped. But some get read. Let them be yours.
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