Five Tips for Writing Better Messages

The technology to deliver e-mail marketing campaigns is better than ever. The success of the campaign, though, is still only as good as the content that the message includes. Follow these tips for improving your copy.

1. Know your audience – good marketing is all about knowing what the audience you’re trying to reach will react to. The goal of the message, and the text within the message, is to achieve a reaction from the reader. To achieve that reaction, you need to know what the reader’s wants and needs are. In most cases, the marketer can make some assumptions about the reader by looking at demographic information. Find out what the audience’s likes and dislikes are and tailor your message accordingly.

2. Include a call to action – messages should include an action step for the audience to complete. It might be to make a purchase or complete a survey or simply to visit a particular Web site. Whatever the action is, it should be clear and easy for the reader to complete.

3. Keep it short and sweet – don’t ask that your readers go through mountains of text to reach the information they want or need. Anticipate what it is that they want or need and give it to them. No one has time to read through long messages, nor do they want to.

4. Write, review and revise – a common mistake for marketers is that they write the message and send it out, ignoring the two last (and arguably the most important) steps of the process. Write your copy and take a step back from it before you review it with a fresh eye and make the necessary revisions.

5. Consistency in marketing is essential – if you don’t have a set of key messages that you draw from, create one today. Key messages are short statements that convey the most important elements of your company/organization or campaign. All marketing copy should include the key messages. The goal is for the reader to see the messages so they reinforce what it is you want them to do.

Writing e-mail copy that conveys a consistent message and encourages the reader to act is an art. With these easy-to-implement tips, you can take your message text to the next level.