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Copy That Works
Max Sturtevant
May 29, 2024
The Inbox Newsletter
Hey it’s Max with The Inbox Newsletter.
The other day we talked about why copy is overrated…
But don’t take that the wrong way.
It’s still very important.
Today, we’re talking about how to create good copy.
Good Email Copy Follows 3 Principles
I’ve spent the better part of a couple of years trying to boil down good copy into a couple of core principles.
I’ve finally landed on the perfect acronym.
S.C.E
Skimmable, Clear & Concise, Engaging
Skimmable
The customer isn’t sitting down every day and reading their email like they used to read the morning newspaper.
They’re checking their email randomly and in quick bursts throughout the day.
We realistically only have a couple of seconds with our customer’s attention.
You could have the best copy in the world, but it means nothing if the customer isn’t reading it.
Avoid Blocks of Text
Blocks of text scare people off.
It’s Gen Z’s kryptonite.
It’s also difficult for the eyes to make out and process.
It will result in people just skipping past your section.
Try to shorten your copy or split up your text with linebreaks.
Bold Main Points
Condense your copy into main points, and then use body copy to support your main points.
Most of your audience won’t read any of your copy, but if you bold your main points a lot more people will at least get some information.
Notice what I’m doing in this email.
You could only look at the headings and understand what the point of this email is.
Clear & Concise
Similar to what I mentioned, we only have a few seconds with our customer’s attention.
We have to get the most out of it by being straight to the point.
Short and Sweet
Your email shouldn’t be longer than 1-2 scrolls.
The shorter the better.
Like this section.
One Main Point Per Email
When you can, try to make your email about one specific takeaway.
If you try to tell your customer 5 different takeaways, they won’t remember any of them. Each takeaway gets 20% of their attention.
Whereas, if you just try to prove one thing and get one takeaway, it’s much more likely to occur because it gets 100% of the reader’s attention.
The less info, the better!
Engaging
If your copy is lame, no one will read it.
We want our emails to be engaging enough to trigger dopamine in the customer’s brain.
That will lead to a positive association with our brand and result in future opens.
There are a few ways to do this.
Make it Punchy
You just know punchy copy when you see it.
There are descriptive words, it has some humor, and turns complex topics into 1-2 sentences.
The customer appreciates great writing and will lead to them coming back.
Informational
You can make copy engaging by making it useful and informational for the customer.
People love learning.
If you can teach them something valuable and applicable to their own life they will engage with you.
Tips for Engaging Copy
There are a couple of things you can include in your copy to make it more engaging:
Facts
Puns
Graphics
Jokes
Analogies
There are over 100 people inside The Inbox Community.
I’m even hosting my first live consulting call today for the first 10 folks who joined.
They all bought my email template product which has over 5,000 email design possibilities.
Email Inspiration Of The Day
Brand:
Casely
Notes:
Look at how the little icons and squiggles bring the email to life.
It would be way more lame without the small features.
The little accents really can make a huge difference on your design.
Helpful Links Of The Day
Reply to this email if you have any questions or further content you want covered.
Cheers,
Max
PS - If you’re an ecom brand doing over $50k per month interested in working with my full stack email marketing agency, book a call here.