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Email Marketing Strategies: How a Freelance Writer Can Increase Sales in 3 Steps

Being a freelance writer is a very broad career with many benefits.  Many companies can hire you in order to create content for their websites and blogs. Freelance writing is always in demand by magazine editors, agencies and any kind of business with an online presence.

The main reason of this is that a good freelance writer can increase profits easily writing engaging articles. But, what else can freelance writers do to improve online business? The answer is simple: email marketing strategies.

Nowadays, many marketers affirm that email is one of the best channels to communicate with customers thanks to its flexibility and universality.  If writers can mix-up their talent and email marketing strategies, they will be able to create unique selling propositions, communicate value to customers and boost sales.

In this article, we will explain how to become an expert in email marketing strategies in 3 steps. Pay attention to our tips and be ready for a new challenge!

Step 1: Be able to identify what is the right email marketing and what is not

Writing articles for websites or blogs is completely different from creating content for email marketing. The most important objectives that as a freelance writer you need to achieve are:

  1. To convince current customers to purchase what you want (or the company which has hired you).
  2. To create content for the purpose of acquiring new customers.
  3. To build strong relationships with customers (new and old ones).
  4. To enhance the relationship with current customers.

You must write in a positive way and know how to construct sentences to make them attractive and coherent to readers. So, open up your mind and think about your customers´ needs. Remember that email marketing helps business to communicate their value and connect with customers.

According to one of the latest studies from Adobe, there is one specific thing that customers would like to change about emails that they get from brands and it´s to receive less promotion and more information from those emails.

The study showed that 40% of people prefer information in emails instead of promotion, so brands can improve their marketing emails taking into consideration that aspect.

Step2: Unleash your creativity to catch readers´ attention

 Creativity is vital to differentiate our message and grab readers´ attention. However, many emails start to look the same, so they are boring and ineffective.

The key to email marketing strategies is that freelance writers must constantly innovate and use creative solutions. It doesn´t matter if companies use free email blasts for their email marketing campaigns, the most important thing is the creativity of their messages.

When we say that is essential to be creative in email marketing strategies we refer to the overall design of the email, based on content, images, colors, and layout.

Content

Freelance writers need to use enough white space in the design and concise content. As a freelance writer, you must give your readers a taste of your content and make them want to click and learn more. White space helps to alleviate a cluttered feel, so your subscribers can click the right link inside your emails easily. For email marketing strategies,  it´s advisable to use content calendars in order to know exactly what to send and when. So, if you know when your message will be sent you can include any reference to the month, season etc.

Titles are extremely important and they must be electric. Furthermore, don´t use boring subject lines in your emails because the subject line is what makes readers open an email and click on its links. Subject lines must be always conversational, personal and creative.

Recently marketers are using one tactic for subject lines, which can be considered unconventional, that consists of using the same subject line. This practice is very effective if your readers trust you or they trust the brand as well. Using the same subject line is useful when you send them emails on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

One of the latest trends is the use of GIFs within emails. This practice has many advantages and people are used to using GIFs every day for WhatsApp messages, emails, social media and blogs.

GIFs are definitely eye-catching and really easy to consume, that´s the reason why they help to create strong connections with readers. Using GIFs, freelance writers will be able to touch reader´s emotions. Another advantage of using GIFs is that they help to draw attention to a certain part of your emails.

Through the use of adaptive/live content with video, you can enhance the creative and engaging components of our emails. It´s a  good idea for freelance writers to keep an eye on what others are doing in this field.

Don´t fill your emails with dozens of call to actions (CTAs) because you will confuse your customers and they will not know what you want them to do. You must be focused on what you really need for an email.  So, freelance writers might use one call to action for one main thing rather than many CTAs.

Images

Unfortunately, subscribers usually have images turned on by default, which means that your email will be difficult to display on your readers´ devices. So, it´s crucial to simplify and provide attractive images based only on your content. The width of your emails should be 600px because most subscribers use up to 600-700px of their real estate to the email viewing window.

In addition, to optimize your images and content, your design must be easy to scan by readers as well. You must use visual hierarchy to guide your readers through your email. How can you do that? Just use bullet points, headers, and infographics style imagery.

Colors

Experts in email marketing strategy such as Neoattack.com suggest catch readers´ attention using colors like white, pink, red, yellow, turquoise and purple. Find the balance and remember that keeping design and copy minimal always help freelance writers to create effective emails.

Step 3: the importance of building a good email marketing list 

People usually make one terrible mistake: building a bad database. And, sadly, this mistake is absolutely huge!

Normally, as a freelance writer, you don´t need to be aware of email lists, you just need to write and create excellent content for emails.

However, you should try to verify that the company, which has already hired you, has useful email lists. It doesn´t matter how persuasive are your messages because if they are sent to the wrong subscribers you will waste your time.

Many companies use to buy email lists but this action is another terrible mistake because, for every human being, it´s very uncomfortable to receive emails from unknown senders.

 It´s always easy for companies to blame freelance writers when emails have not been opened or clicked, but that´s not fair. Make sure this aspect is clear for the company that has hired you.

Knowing who will be your addressees can give you clues about which style and language are the most appropriate. You should gather every kind of information before starting to write any email.

Conclusion: try to be a friend instead of a salesperson

Emails are an incredible opportunity to humanize any kind of brand. So, you don´t have to communicate with a salesperson who tries to sell something, you need to seem that you are just giving your advice in order to satisfy and make people happier in their lives.

For example, two simple ways to humanize your emails are saying thank you and wishing a great day to your readers. You can talk in your emails about challenges, obstacles, and failures because people love feeling identified or motivated. Be always clear and direct with your readers like if you were a good friend. Don´t forget to tell them exactly what you´d like them to do. It´s advisable to send few emails per month which can provide information, because according to several studies like Mapp survey from November 2016, the most persuasive option that brands can offer in order to keep subscribers is to receive emails less frequently. 

To summarize, there are six elements which will contribute to successful email marketing strategies:

  1. Attention-grabbing subject line
  2. Relevant, personal and useful content
  3. Incredibly beautiful imagery
  4. Strong call to action
  5. Consistent branding
  6. Create a sense of hurry to purchase the product or service you desire

Freelance writers who can increase sales are always attractive for companies and following our tips is very easy to become an expert in writing emails.

Written By

Pilar Blanco: journalist and marketer graduated from University Complutense of Madrid and University of California Irvine. After being working in the media business in Spain and California, she is currently working as Content & SEO Manager at Neoattack Agency.

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