Email is critical to sales and marketing. We all know it, so if we want to win with email, we must create emails that not only get opened but also deliver on the objective of the email.

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8 Key Elements To A Winning Sales & Marketing Email

All sales and marketing emails have an objective.

We wouldn’t send them if they didn’t.

In most cases, the objective is to get the recipient to take action.  We’re asking the recipient to download a document, to read an article or to give us 15 minutes of their time.

Every sales and marketing email worth anything has the objective of getting the recipient to act.

Unfortunately, the sales emails we send out aren’t very good at getting to the objective.

To improve your ability to meet your goals and create emails your customers and prospects will open and respond to, they must rank high on the following eight traits.

SUBJECT LINE

The subject line of your emails must be compelling and intriguing.  It must capture the attention of the reader immediately.  There is no room here for messing up or cutting corners. The subject line has to get your readers attention or everything else in the email is lost. Make sure the subject line is about 9-14 words or 40-50 characters and is intriguing. Make your subject line feel like a riddle, that when clicked, the riddle will be answered.

INTRIGUE

This is the most important part of the email. It must be intriguing. The reader must want to keep reading or engage because the email breaks their expected thought patterns about email. If your email(s) looks, feels, or appears to be just like everyone else’s they won’t break through.  Be sure to craft emails that intrigue the recipient and gets them wondering, that surprises them and gets them wanting more.

THE OFFER

Every sales and marketing email must have an offer, no matter how small or inconspicuous. We’re trying to get the reader to take action, and the offer is what we’re giving them to take action.

Therefore the offer must be of value. It must be worth something.

Take a look at your emails today. When you ask for 15 minutes of your prospects time, what are you offering for that time?

Is it worth it?

f you’re talking to an executive who makes 500k a year, that fifteen minutes is worth 50 dollars to them. Is what you’re asking worth 50 dollars?  To put it another way. Would they pay you 50 dollars for what your offering?  The answer is usually no.

When looking at your offer make sure it’s a good solid offer that meets the needs of your prospect or buyer. Even more important, ensure that you have an offer.

THE ASK

What are you asking the reader to do?  Is it reasonable? Is it easy to execute? Is the ask clear and concise?  Can the recipient do it now, with little hassle or effort? Are you making it easy for the reader to execute your ask or have you created hurdles or unnecessary process?

The key with the ask is to make sure you have one; it’s reasonable, and it’s easy to execute.

Be clear what it is you’re asking the reader to do and why.

The ask should be why you wrote the email in the first place, don’t mess this part up.

OVERALL VALUE

The overall value of the email can be summed up in a simple equation.

The value of your offer minus the ask (offer – ask = Value 0r O-A=V)

The greater the difference between what your email is offering and what you’re asking for, the greater probability the reader takes action and executes the action.

This equation represents the most valuable part of the mail.

Unfortunately, most emails fall flat here.