How To Examine Your Emails Before You Hit Send

How To Examine Your Emails Before You Hit Send

How many times have you clicked the send button without even reading the email? If you’re like most people, the answer is too many times! In order to minimize your chances of making a mistake and regretting it later, it is important to scrutinize your emails before hitting send. 

Doing so will not only save you time and energy but will also help you avoid potential negative consequences that can come with emailing unwisely. 

By following this blog, you can equip yourself with the knowledge necessary to make sound decisions that won’t backfire on you in the long run.

Make Your Email Simple And Easy to Read

Once you have your content written for your emails and are ready to present it, the next step will be to create a clear flow that allows your readers to follow along with ease.

Adding subheadings or images

If you are adding subheadings or images, you also want to present everything in a neat and tidy manner that blends into the flow you are looking to create.

If you are discussing one subject but display an image of something completely different, it will confuse the reader which you don’t want to happen.

When using images, make sure that they relate to the current topic or section of the email.

This will create consistency while also keeping your readers engaged with the content inside the email.

You always want to be thinking of the reader’s interest in mind when presenting content within your emails.

So if you can provide a valuable and engaging experience, you will achieve those results as your audience will be excited about what you are doing and will not be able to resist opening your next email.

Use your current autoresponder pre-made messages, templates, and images

Your email autoresponder programs such as GetResponse, Aweber, Convert Kit, etc, as each have their own high-quality templates you can use that will simplify the process so you can piece together each section to how you would like.

Play around with the tools and features inside and you’ll see for yourself how versatile and useful they can be to your email marketing and copywriting process.

You can use these templates to give you an idea of how you want to structure your content in the simplest and most consistent format possible.

Don’t exaggerate your images

You also need to be mindful not to overcomplicate your message as having too many images or large paragraphs or portions of text can look messy if not presented correctly.

So the important aspect is to find a balance that:

⦁ Provides an engaging hook

⦁ Builds anticipation

⦁ Gets to the point of the topic or subject

⦁ Presented in a clear, consistent & structured flow

You want to keep your readers interested throughout the entirety of your email.

By utilizing some of these simple tips, you will achieve your desired results.

Embrace mistakes and fail forward 

Although if you are new to copywriting and emailing marketing, this is going to take some time to figure out.

When you start out on this journey, your email open rates will be very low as nobody really knows who you are and what you are all about.

It will take time to build any sort of rapport with your future readers to get them to engage.

It will take a lot of hard work, trial and error to find that balance you are looking for that will get readers to click, open and read your content.

You will make a lot of mistakes along the way but remember that it is a journey and this is all part of the process.

Don’t aim for perfection as it will only hold you back.

Doing this will only stop you in your tracks and you will suffer from procrastination and never move forward.

You must allow yourself to make those mistakes as it is the best way to learn.

Keep working on your craft and try to improve with each and every piece of content you write.

A solid structure will begin to form in time which you will be able to use as a template for future projects.

You will find your own way of simplifying the processes & your readers will appreciate the hard work you put in.
 

Make Your Copy Skimmer-Friendly by Formatting and Simplifying It.

Following on from the previous steps in this process, you have now figured out how to structure your content to be presented in a more concise and professional-looking format.

This can be frustrating to hear but there are benefits that can be utilized for these next steps.

And the benefits are that you can implement these steps into your current structure as and when you are crafting your emails for the next piece of written copy.

Creating the right format for simple reading.

You will have readers who will fully engage with every word you write, but you also need to cater to those readers who will just skim through your content.

These types of readers are known as skimmers as they only spend a short time glancing over your content and only pick up or take from the sections or areas they want before moving on to something else.

There are many reasons as to why this can be, either they have a limited attention span, they are distracted with other commitments or they simply have very little time to read full-length and in-depth articles throughout their day.

This is where you can adjust and craft your content to cater to both parties as that way, you can still keep them engaged long enough to direct them to the next course of action that you want them to take.

For example, you are writing an in-depth article or review about the latest wireless phone charging device. Readers are looking for specific information to understand its uses and see if the product is reliable.

Identify types of readers

These types of readers are considering buying the product so you need to craft your copy to appeal to both the engaged readers and skimmers alike.

You can craft a detailed and carefully written paragraph section that fully documents the features of the product as this will appeal to the more engaged readers as they will have more time to absorb the information being provided.

But you can also create a shortlist of the features and benefits of the product with ratings etc that highlights the uses, pros, cons, etc in a quick and simple format using a bullet or numbered list for example.

This can be created with the skimmers in mind as you can craft it to force them to stop scrolling through the message so they are getting the exact information they need before they decide.

Help skimmers catch the clear idea

They are just looking for exactly what they need at that moment and if you can provide that and capture their attention long enough for them to actually read it then you have a higher chance of getting them to click on that link to send them straight to the product so they can buy and move on.

To give a clear idea of this you need to:

⦁ Emphasize key points of the topic using your titles and subheadings

⦁ Capture attention by bolding, using italics, or underlining specific and important words or phrases

⦁ Using a bullet point list helps to give quick examples while sharing the most important features and aspects

Only use bold text on segments with the most important information as this allows skimmers to find what they need quickly — as it highlights that this is very important and they must read this part before making a decision.

Put yourself off their shoes

It can be difficult to understand people’s habits, but you want to appeal to the human nature of the current situation.

You want to place yourself in front of the right people at the right time but you need to position yourself in a way that covers all possible angles so you can be seen as an authority on the subject.

Some people like to take time to fully read and absorb information while others particularly don’t like reading at all so they will just look for and take what they need before moving on to something else.

You are not going to be able to please every reader, but as long as you have all the areas and angles covered, you stand a great chance of capturing the attention of the right type of audience you want to target.
 

Be succinct and get straight to the point as quickly as possible 

Let’s be honest, people don’t like to sit and read through long emails.

They have a short attention span and can get bored very quickly.

There can be a number of reasons behind this which can result in readers not engaging or clicking on your emails.

Some of these reasons could be:

⦁ They are busy with work and other tasks

⦁ They get distracted with kids and family life

⦁ What your presenting may not be that interesting

⦁ Your emails are just too long-winded and people just avoid them

You really need to look at your reader’s behaviors objectively.

The reason why nobody is clicking or opening any of your emails?

You also have to look at your email list and which people that signed up are actually interested in what you are presenting.

You can check inside your email autoresponder and you will be able to see which people are active and which are not.

For the people that are not active, you might want to consider removing them entirely from your list as this can have a detrimental effect on future open rates and stop your emails from being received as spam in people’s inboxes.

But the most important aspect you need to really dive into and look at will be to try and understand the readers that are clicking on your emails but are not engaging with the content inside.

You do need to look at your own work methods and ask yourself some tough questions:

⦁ Is it your writing and topic ideas that could be the problem?

⦁ Are your emails just filled with too much jargon?

⦁ Are the products and services I am promoting actually of interest to my readers?

⦁ Am I taking too long to get straight to the point of the conversation?

There are so many reasons as to why this could be but if you look at the issues objectively and are willing to hold yourself accountable, then it is time to say ok and go back to the drawing board and work on a new more focused plan of action.

Look at more effective ways to get your readers to engage more.

One of the best ways to approach this would be to restructure your writing and how you present content to your readers.

You want the copy of your emails to be shorter, more succinct, and more streamlined.

This will allow you to create a consistent flow while taking your readers straight to the point of the conversation almost immediately.

If you can do this you have that chance to appeal to more readers who will engage through various forms of media.

As many readers are viewing content from mobile devices while they are on the go.

Maybe they are going to work or are sitting down to have lunch, whatever the case, you want to craft emails to be shorter and more benefit-driven that adds a preview or “teaser” of what is to come if they are willing to continue and remain excited.

This can allow you to direct them to your sales letters or pages as they will already be interested in what you have to offer.
 

Examine and Correct Errors

When all is said and done and you have completed your written masterpiece, you are now ready to hit that publish button to get it out into the world, don’t be too hasty!

Hold back as there are still a few important elements you must include in your workflow before you even attempt to send any emails out to your lists.

I can already hear the complaints and see the eyes starting to roll in disgust but believe me, this is an extremely important part of the process and almost as important as creating your headlines and hooks for your titles, etc.

You need to proofread your work, it’s as simple as that!

You need to take a step back and look at what you have just written.

Look at it objectively and ask yourself:

⦁ Does it provide the benefits and information that readers need?

⦁ Will readers find the content to be engaging and useful?

⦁ Are there any spelling errors or segments I could improve?

Ensure that each email you write is of a high standard.

If there are a lot of grammatical errors and mistakes it makes your emails look unprofessional and of low quality.

This will have a severe and negative impact on future email open rates to a point where readers will just avoid opening your emails or worse, unsubscribe from your lists altogether.

This will also have a detrimental impact on sales and revenue so you really want to take care and proceed with caution while being extra vigilant and aware during these final stages before you publish your emails.

Take time out to proofread your written content and check for any spelling errors or missing words that could impact the message or story you are trying to get across.
 

Proofreading your content for overlook or errors

Sometimes you as the creator can miss or overlook some of these errors as you can become emotionally involved with the content to a point where you can be blind to some of them.

However, if you are still unsure, you can get other people to proofread your content as they will most certainly pick up on any mistakes you could have missed.

They can also provide you with some helpful insights or ideas on correcting errors or making adjustments and improvements to your written copy to make everything more concise and streamlined.

Value people’s opinions and the time they have taken out of their day to help you as it allows you to view the written copy from different angles and perspectives.

These methods will help you on your way to creating the best possible benefit-driven email copy you can think of.

 Yes,proofreading is a very time-consuming process. But It can be tedious and very boring for some.

It is without a doubt an extremely essential part of the process that will pay dividends to your future progress and success not only with your email open rates and engagement but the overall scalability of your business over the months and years ahead.

So take the time and use it productively to ensure the growth of your business.

You’ll be glad you did!

Wrap it Up

It’s hard to resist clicking on an email that looks interesting, but before you hit “send” make sure that your email is easy to read and skimmer-friendly. 

Formatting and simplifying your email can make it more readable while being succinct and getting straight to the point can save you time and avoid potential misunderstandings. 

Additionally, make sure to check for errors before hitting “send” and correct them if necessary. With these simple steps in mind, you’ll be able to compose an email that will be both effective and easy on the eyes. Don’t forget to check out my other blog posts for more helpful tips!