Proven Strategies for Killer Ecommerce Email Copywriting

In 2022, 333 billion emails flooded inboxes worldwide daily, and these numbers are projected to increase to 392 billion by 2026 (Statista, 2021). 

But only compelling emails grab the receiver’s attention.

Nowadays, people’s attention spans are shrinking, and in the fast-paced world of ecommerce, a standout email copy can make or break your marketing success.

As an ecommerce business owner, entrepreneur, marketer, or copywriter, you must know how to make your ecommerce copy captivating and encourage readers to take action.

In this blog, you will learn proven strategies for writing E-Commerce email copy that will transform your email into a profit-generating machine.

No matter whether you are just in the starting stage or already running an e-commerce store but want to elevate your email marketing game.

The strategies I will share with you will make you capable of crafting captivating subject lines, attention grabbing body copy, and irresistible CTAs that turn clicks into sales.

By the end of this blog, you will be able to tailor e-commerce copy that:

• Skyrocket your email’s open rate.
• Helps you to make personal connections with your audience.
• Drives click into sales.
• Build brand loyalty.

So, are you ready to transform your email copywriting skills to the next level?

If yes

So, let’s dive in.

Understanding Ecommerce Email Copywriting: Key to Success

In the highly competitive Ecommerce landscape, email remains one of the best cost-effective ways to drive sales, build customer relationships, and nurture leads.

However, it is essential that your email is not generic or flat and does not give the reader any special reason to open it.

You can only make your email effective with the help of compelling E-commerce email copy.

In this section, I will discuss the Basics of E-Commerce email copywriting and why it is important.

So, let’s start:

What is E-commerce Email Copywriting?

E-commerce email copywriting is the art of crafting persuasive and action-oriented email copy to connect, engage, and convert online shoppers.

It requires an in-depth audience understanding, What are their pain points and what inspires them to take action.

Key Elements of E-commerce Email Copywriting

There are three Key elements of any e-commerce copy which includes:

1. Subject Line (A Strong Hook): The subject line is the first impression when a reader interacts with your email, and it should be compelling and grab the reader’s attention immediately.
2. Personalization: Your email should be personalized and written to the reader, incorporating their name and recommendation based on browsing behaviour or past purchases. Personalization factors can significantly enhance your engagement rate.
3. Call to Action (CTA): This is the final action you want your reader to take after reading your email. It should be aligned with your email objective, whether it is encouraging signups, prompting purchases, or inviting customers to check out new arrivals. Make sure to mention one CTA that creates a sense of urgency and guides your customer towards the goal.

Why is Ecommerce email copywriting crucial for Ecommerce success?

In a highly crowded digital world, email is still the best channel for providing a direct line to your customers.

Especially in the e-commerce business, email is one of the most cost-effective and reliable marketing channels.

But without highly engaging and attention-grabbing email copy, you can’t achieve your desired goal.

Let’s discuss why effective ecommerce email copy matters. 

• High ROI: Properly crafted E-Commerce copy can give you a high ROI (Return On Investment) compared to most other channels. According to the stats provided by Limtus Resource, email marketing gives an impressive ROI of $36 on every $1 spent.
• Relationship With Customer: Personalized copy that resonates with your ideal customer helps you build magnificent connectivity with them, build brand loyalty, and keep your brand top of mind.
• Brand Awareness: Persuasive ecommerce email copy helps you enhance your brand’s visibility, and its recognition makes your brand memorable.

Write an E-commerce email with subject lines that boost your open rate.

The subject line is the gateway of your ecommerce email, and it determines whether the reader will open your email or ignore it.

You need to follow the right approach when tailoring your subject line because you can’t achieve your desired goals without it.

In this section, I will discuss with you the psychology behind the subject line and then explore the best practices for crafting it.

The Psychology Of Subject Line (Why it matters)

Subject lines are more than simple text. Understanding the psychology behind them is essential. Consider the subject line as a psychological trigger that you can use to tap into your audience’s emotions and encourage them to click and open an email.

According to experts, a subject line with psychological triggers such as urgency, scarcity, reciprocity, etc., performs better than a generic one.

Why Subject Line Crucial For High Open Rate:

• First Impression: The subject line is the first impression, so every single word count you use while crafting a subject line, along with capturing attention, a well-crafted subject line also drives a better open rate.
• Emotional Connection: From the beginning, you can build an emotional connection with your customer by evoking their sense of urgency, excitement, or curiosity. This will make you more likely to succeed.
• Behavioral Science: A subject line that contains intriguing statements, numbers, and questions naturally draws the reader’s attention.

Best Practices For Writing Subject Lines

There are some tried and tested practices that you should follow in subject line writing. Let’s discuss them one by one:

Keep it short

Ensure your email’s subject line is completely visible to your reader and follows the character limit. Ensure you don’t write a subject line over 50 characters (6-10 words). Otherwise, it will be cut off.

Use Action-Oriented Language

Incorporate action-oriented words, such as active verbs, that encourage action and create excitement and a sense of urgency.

Personalize your subject line

If you have information about the recipient, such as name, interest, or location, include it in your subject line to personalize it.

Avoid Spammy Words

Certain words, such as “Buy now,” “Free,” and excessive exclamation marks, are treated as spam. Avoid these terms while tailoring your subject line; instead, focus on value and authenticity.

Engaging techniques

To engage your audience, incorporate numbers or craft question-based subject lines. Both of these techniques are best for building curiosity in them.

Leverage Emoji

Emojis in the subject line make it engaging because they add personality and emotions to your subject line, but you must use them strategically.

Ecommerce Email Key Types And Strategies

Understanding the key types of E-Commerce email copy is essential for crafting the correct copy according to your objective.

In an e-commerce email copy, you must create meaningful touchpoints with your potential customers at each stage of their journey.

Picking the right email type with the right writing strategy can help you engage your customers, enhance brand loyalty, and drive sales.

In this section, I will discuss key e-commerce email types and strategies to help you craft compelling e-commerce email copy based on your selected strategy.

So, let’s discuss each type and their copywriting strategy one by one:

Welcome Email: Craft Strong First Impression

Consider a welcome email your first opportunity to build a relationship with your potential customer. According to Oberlo, the average open rate of welcome emails is about 68.6%.

Welcome emails give you an excellent opportunity where you set the tone for your brand, so make sure that your welcome email should create a lasting impression.

Strategies To Craft Copy For Writing Welcome Emails

Personalization: To make your new customers feel valued, personalize your email by mentioning their names and crafting copy based on their interests.

For example, if a user signed up for fitness gear, emphasize relevant products.

Value of Proposition: Introduce your brand clearly by mentioning what customers can expect from it and incorporate a unique value proposition such as a loyalty reward, exclusive offer, or useful content.

Example: “Here’s 10% Off Your First Purchase!”.

Call To Action (CTA)

Incorporate compelling CTAs that engage them immediately and encourage them to explore your website, make a new purchase, or follow you on social media.

Promotional Email: Provide Value To Your Customer

Promotional email copy is specifically crafted to drive sales by informing customers about new arrivals, discount offers, or exclusive offers.

Copy of promotional email should emphasize the unique value that encourages your customer to click and open it.

Strategies To Craft Copy For Writing Promotional Emails

Psychological Trigger: Incorporate psychological triggers such as scarcity, sense of urgency, etc, that encourage your customer to take action immediately.

Communicate Benefit: Focus on how your offer will benefit your potential customer.

Personalization: Personalize your email copy to make each potential customer feel like they are receiving a special, personalized email based on browsing behaviour or past purchases.

Call to Action: Mention a clear call to action that directs the customer to take a specific action, such as visiting the landing page.

Cart Abandonment Email: Recover Lost Sales

Cart abandonment is a common challenge that ecommerce businesses face. Various studies show that 69.57% of potential customer abandon their carts before purchasing. To overcome this loss, we tailor cart abandonment emails.

Strategies To Craft Copy For Cart Abandonment Emails

Personalization: Specifically mention the product name and an image, if possible, to remind potential customers of an item in the cart that they left behind without completing checkout.

Example: “Don’t Miss Out—Your Cart is Waiting!”.

Offer value: To encourage them to complete the checkout, offer a value such as a 10% discount or free delivery, etc.

Example: “Here’s 10% Off to Complete Your Purchase!”.

Sense of Urgency: Mention a limited-time discount offer or low stock alert to create a sense of urgency.

CTA: Mention a clear CTA that makes the customer feel that by clicking it, they can easily return directly to the cart page.

Example: “Return to Your Cart”.

Transactional Email: Build Loyalty And Excitement

Transactional emails trigger when customer complete their purchase or take any specific action, such as signing up.

According to research, these emails have a high open rate, about 80%, so it’s necessary to make them engaging and valuable.

Strategies To Craft Copy For Cart Transactional Emails

Cross-selling: To generate additional sales, your copy should Retarget customers for a second purchase by mentioning the related product.

Inform Customer: Give a sense of reliability by mentioning order confirmation and expected delivery date.

Request for Review: Encourage your customers to give reviews. This will help you improve your brand’s online reputation.

Personalization in Ecommerce Email: Strategies That Works

Nowadays, it is difficult to stand out in crowded email boxes. Personalization is the only critical strategy to increase conversion rate and customer engagement.

A study shows that personalized email copy performed better in terms of higher transitions six times over compared to non-personalized email copy.

With the help of personalization, you can build a sense of connection. It makes your customers feel understood and valued, which is ultimately beneficial for you in fostering repeat business and brand loyalty.

This section will discuss practical strategies to help you personalize your ecommerce email.

So let’s discuss them one by one:

Audience Segmentation

It is the foundation of effective ecommerce email copy personalization because, with proper audience segmentation, you can divide your audience into different relevant groups according to their demographics, engagement level, and purchase history.

This practice will help you to tailor laser-focused email copy that resonates with each segment.

Leverage Behavioral Triggers

Tailor email copy that triggers based on specific customer actions, such as product purchase, recent purchase, or card abandonment.  

This practice works because, by using it, you can send the right message at the right time according to customer behaviour, which ultimately helps you increase conversion rates.

Incorporate personalized offers and dynamic content

Personalize your email copy based on customer profile or behaviour. Dynamic content allows you to change the component within the email copy based on recipient data. This practice will help you craft customized messages that create exclusivity and resonate deeper.

Incorporate Personalized Subject Line

By personalizing your subject line, you can significantly enhance your open rate. Incorporate the name of the recipient, mention a previous purchase, or add a factor that makes your subject line personal. With the help of this approach, you can make your email personal, which can make a difference.

Tailor Clear, Engaging, & Concise Ecommerce Email Copy  Strategies

According to the stats, people spend 10 seconds skimming a message nowadays.

So don’t incorporate complex sentences, jargon, and typical industrial terms in your ecommerce email copy so it can get lost.

To get maximum results, you must ensure that your ideal customer understands your email copy quickly.

In this section, I will discuss strategies that will help you craft engaging, concise, and clear ecommerce copy.

So, let’s start!

• Use Simple Language. Craft your copy like you are talking with your customer directly to make it engaging and relatable.
• Use clear structure, such as the headline coming first to grab attention, then the Body delivering your main message, and lastly, incorporating a CTA that guides your potential customer through what to do next.
• Use bullet points and short sentences to make your copy digestible and easy to understand to improve readability.
• Incorporate a strong hook at the start in the first line of your email’s copy to ensure it immediately grabs your customer’s attention.
• Use a strong and engaging CTA instead of a generic one such as ‘Click here’.
• Incorporate relevant visuals that complement your copy to make your copy visually appealing and engaging.
• Test and analyze different copy variations to see which one performs better for you.
• Focus on Benefits. Mention how the product or service you are offering can help your customers improve their lives.

Strategies To Craft Strong CTA

The success of your e-commerce copy can only be measured by whether it is good or not based on metrics of how my people have clicked on CTA after reading your copy.

So, it is essential that your CTA is well crafted and serves as a bridge between a visitor’s interest and desired outcome, whether it’s signing up for a newsletter, making a purchase, etc.

In this section, I will share strategies to help you craft CTA for your ecommerce email copy that encourages readers to take immediate action.

So let’s start:

Common Types Of CTA for Ecommerce Copy:

1. This one uses an urgency CTA to create a sense of urgency or scarcity in the reader’s mind, making them think that it is the right time to take advantage of an offer (e.g., “Claim Your Discount—Ends Tonight!”).
2.  Engagement CTA: This one is used when your objective is to build a relationship with your customer (e.g., “Explore More” or “Learn More”).
3. Social Proof CTA: This one is used to build credibility, trust, and authority (e.g., “See Why 10K Customers Love Us!”).

Strategies for crafting compelling CTA:

• Make your CTA customer-centric by mentioning the benefit the customer gets if they take action (e.g., “Save 20% Today”).
• Use action-oriented language, incorporating strong verbs that encourage your customer to take action (“Buy Now,” “Download Free Guide,” etc.).
• Strategically place your CTA within your Ecommerce email copy to make it visible without scrolling.
• Make it visually prominent and eye-catching, and use contrasting colours and large fonts.
• Limit choices only mention one clear CTA that aligns with your objectives.

Conclusion

Crafting ecommerce email copy is essential to making meaningful, personalized connections with your audience and driving sales.

With the right strategy for crafting the subject line, main message, and Call to action, you can make your email resonate with your audience and encourage them to take action.

In this guide, you have learned everything essential to tailor ecommerce email copy from basic definition to advanced-level strategies.

I have shared multiple tips and techniques to help you streamline your ecommerce email writing process.

So that’s it for now. If you have any questions related to any topic covered in this guide, feel free to send me an email or ask in the comments.

Thanks.