10 Psychological Tricks for Email Copywriting

Nov 21, 2013

10 Psychological Tricks for Email Copywriting

Trying to boost the click-through rates and open rates of your emails? Here are 10 little tricks to work into your email copywriting.

1. Affinity

Somewhere between friendliness and aloofness is affinity. It means that you’re identifying with your reader and making a connection with them. Getting the right level of affinity can make your emails a welcome addition to someone’s inbox.

 2. Ego flattery

Email that play up people’s self-confidence works better sometimes. It’s a case of twisting the copy to be enabling rather than bossy. So instead of saying your product will help someone, instead say that they can use it to help themselves.

 3. Incentives

Subject lines need to sell your email. Otherwise it’ll sink down people’s inbox unread. Incentives make your email appealing and immediately beneficial to the reader – so include one in the subject line and make the email focused on this incentive too.

4. Objection handling

Dealing with your reader’s concerns honestly and up-front improves your emails. One of the best examples is with unsubscribe emails – instead of making it hard, simplify the process. And maybe offer your customers less emails, rather than none at all.

5. Perception of ease

Your email newsletter might feature lots of content and it might appear like hard work to some readers. So structure the articles clearly and tell your reader how long they will take to read.

6. Reciprocity

We tend to do things that others have done before. Email is no different in that sense. If you can include some mention of other people just like your reader, that encourages more click-throughs and greater identification with your brand.

7. Scarcity

Another trick is mentioning that some special offer is in short supply. It’s a sure-fire way to elicit some extra interest – that’s because it makes people feel like they might be missing out. Plus, it suggests many other people have already taken the offer.

8. Time-limited offers

Similar to scarcity is time-limited offers. It tells your reader that a special offer ends soon – immediately your reader has to consider whether they want it. Otherwise they risk missing out completely. It’s a big psychological nudge that digital copywriters recommend.

9. Topical hooks

Grabbing the attention of your reader is easier with a topical hook. Pick something recently in the news and release a tie-in email. Make sure it’s actually relevant though – tenuous links can sometimes make you look silly.

10. Personalization

Sending customised emails shows you care about your reader. Ecommerce is boosted by emails that show off related products based on a customer’s previous buys. Giving your reader relevant suggestions is much more effective than mass emails.

About the Author: JonJon Yeung loves to blog about search marketing. He regularly updates himself with the current trends, follow for more adventures.

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