Welcome to Vol.9 of Email Advice in Your Inbox!

Hey, friend! It's your regular dose of email knowledge, back to help you win at email marketing 🏆
 

Here's what you'll learn this week
 

• Conversion-centered email design: What do pizza and email marketing have to do with one another?
   

• Newly discovered (free) resources to help you become a better email marketer
   

• The top 3 marketers to follow on LinkedIn this week
   

• The fun stuff: Hustle-bro culture on LinkedIn is getting out of hand.
   

• This week's expert discussion you may have missed
   

Let's learn more about email marketing together! 🚀

Conversion-centered email design 🍕

If you're a pizza lover, I have some good news for you.

Today's slice of knowledge is going to have you salivating for conversions in your email campaigns (and likely dropping an Uber Eats order straight after that).

Now, you're probably asking yourself  "Des, what the heck do pizza and email conversions have in common?!"

If you're looking for an answer, you're in the right place.

We'll be discussing conversion-centered design and how building emails that convert is kind of like making a pizza.

Let's hop right in and discuss a 7-step recipe for conversion-centered design that will change the way you plan your email strategy (and  hopefully make you think of email the next time you place a pizza order 😉)

What is conversion-centered email design?

As you can likely guess, this principle has a single objective: Design emails that lead to conversions.

How? Well, in our 7-step recipe to getting this right, the goal will be to use persuasive design and a few psychological triggers to help guide readers of your emails toward the action you want them to take.

The great part about conversion-centered design is that you don't only have to apply these principles to your emails!

These principles can be used for your website, sign-up forms and even in the way you structure your social media posts.

You can use one or all of these principles, but your intention remains: Get readers to take the action you want them to take.

Speaking of action, let's get right into it!

Step 1 - Capturing Attention

Consider this the topping on your pizza.

Just like you choose enticing pizza toppings, to grab someone's attention, you need an attention-grabbing element in your message to pique your audience's interest.

How do you do this? 

1. Variety Matters: Variety in your emails might include compelling visuals, intriguing headlines, or engaging anecdotes. The same, bland content repeated in different ways doesn't often keep the engagement you're looking for.
    

2. Appeal to Preferences: Different toppings appeal to different tastes, don't they? Consider your audience's preferences when choosing what grabs their attention. What resonates with one group may not work as effectively with another.
    

3. Visual Presentation: Pay attention to the layout and design of your message. People buy with their eyes, after all, so cohesive, good-looking emails lead to far higher conversions than walls of text or emails that look like they were designed in Microsoft Paint 👀

Step 2 - Establish Context

Next, you tell readers that the next bite will be their best yet.

Your email message should convince your readers that taking action will lead to something valuable.

How do you do this? 

1. Whet the Appetite: A great menu description can make your mouth water (well, I know I'm guilty of this). In the same way, your emails should evoke emotion and curiosity, essentially compelling readers to take the next step.
    

2. HighlightUniqueness: Highlight what sets your offering apart from the rest. Convey why your audience should choose your solution or take the recommended action over alternatives. What do they say in sales? Benefits trump features.
    

3. A Clear Call to Action: Structure your content to seamlessly lead your readers toward a clear call to action (CTA). This CTA should be the logical next step that aligns with the context you've established. This makes follow-through that much easier.

Step 3 - Ensure Clarity

This is you telling readers about the quality of your ingredients.

Your email content should clearly explain the value of your offering and why taking action is worth your readers' time.

How do you do this? 

1. Transparency: Your emails should be transparent about what you're providing. Clearly state what your product, service, or message entails. This builds trust and prevents any misunderstanding or misinterpretation.
    

2. Value Proposition: Clearly articulate the unique value your offer brings. What problem does it solve? How does it improve your readers' lives or meet their desires? Communicate the "why" behind your offering to make it compelling.
    

3. Consistency: Just as you'd expect a pizza to match its description, your emails should reflect the reality of what you provide. Inconsistencies lead to disappointment and eroded trust.

Step 4 - Maintain Consistency

Consistency is critical.

Be consistent with your mission or purpose, especially if your goal is to convert readers.

How do you do this? 

1. Tone and Voice: Consistency in tone and voice helps establish a coherent and recognizable brand personality. Whether you communicate with a friendly, casual tone or a formal, professional one, maintain that and you'll also build trust.
    

2. Visual Elements: Visual elements like design, colour schemes, and logo usage play the same role as the stringy cheese you're thinking of right now. Consistency in these visual elements reinforces your brand's visual identity.
    

3. Message Alignment: Your emails should align with the experience you promise. If your mission is to provide exceptional value, your emails should consistently emphasize this (just like the one you're reading, isn't it?) 😘

Step 5 - Maintain Consistency

See this as your pizza review.

Showcasing social proof like testimonials and reviews helps establish credibility in your message.

How do you do this? 

1. Quantify When Possible: Quantifying positive feedback in your emails can be impactful. Mention the number of satisfied customers, awards won, or impressive statistics related to your offering.
    

2. Storytelling with Reviews: Transform reviews into compelling narratives. Share success stories or case studies that illustrate how your product or service positively impacted a customer's life or business.
    

3. Authenticity Matters: Real and heartfelt endorsements from satisfied customers carry more weight than generic or fabricated ones. Plus, no one likes (or trusts) a little liar, do they?

Step 6 - Close Effectively

Get them ordering.

Closing effectively, especially through a well-crafted call-to-action (CTA), is about delivering your message in a way that leaves a lasting impact that helps readers understand why they should take immediate action.

How do you do this? 

1. Sense of Urgency: Your CTA should instil a sense of urgency in your audience. Clearly convey why taking action now is essential, whether it's a limited-time offer, a deadline, or a special opportunity.
    

2. Clarity and Directness: Your CTA should be clear and direct. It should leave no room for confusion about what action you want your audience to take. Use concise and compelling language.
    

3. Value Proposition: Like biting into a delicious slice of pizza, your CTA should promise immediate value or benefit to your audience. Explain how taking action will improve their situation, solve a problem, or meet their needs.

Step 7 - Encourage Continuity

Here's your free pizza loyalty programme.

Encouraging continuity involves strategies that promote ongoing interactions and cultivate a loyal and engaged audience over time.

How do you do this? 

1. Exclusive Benefits: Offer exclusive benefits or rewards to your loyal audience. This could be in the form of special offers. Premium content. Early access. Rewarding loyalty can increase engagement and retention.
    

2. Personalisation: Tailor your communication to individual preferences whenever possible. This makes your audience feel valued and understood.
    

3. Feedback and Improvement: Continuously seek feedback from your audience and use it to improve your emails. 

Taking the pizza out of the oven

This is all great, but a great pizza always starts with a few critical steps

mise en place - The preparation of dishes and ingredients before the beginning of service.

You need to start with the end in mind. 

Plan well. Execute then keep adapting. And now you have my permission to go order yourself your favourite, the cheesiest of pizzas. You've earned it 🍕

PS - I'm writing this as a plea for pizza in a state of (willing) dietary agony. Cheat mealtime is but a day away 😅

We hope you learned something new today 💌

Want to become an email expert? We've got what you need!

Email resources of the week

Newly discovered resources & tips to help you become a better email marketer

Who to follow this week?

Learning is the name of the game. The best way to do so? Learn from other experts!

Here are 3 marketing experts to follow this week

Some more (email) fun to make your day better

Hustle-bro culture on LinkedIn is getting out of hand.

We've all seen a little "fluffing" of LinkedIn profiles and how hustle culture is (ridiculously) encouraged on the platform.

Take a trip down cringe lane and see if these examples of toxic hustle culture look familiar on your LinkedIn feed.

A one-way ticket to Cringe City

These emails are proudly made possible by

Africa's best email service agency and email marketing platform

Before you go! Don't miss this week's discussion

It can't be disputed: AI is becoming a game changer, especially for email copywriting.

And, it'll soon become evident that email marketers who embrace AI tools as an aid to create more engaging emails are the ones who will lead the pack.

I had the immense privilege of being featured amongst some world-leading email experts sharing our thoughts with leading email agency, Email Uplers, about the impact AI tools will have on email copywriting.

If you're wondering what some of the best in the email field have to say, this brilliantly insightful infographic is definitely a must-read.
 

Check it out here

Before I go! Remember, I help businesses and content creators, just like you, win at email. How? Here are three ways I can help:

Get the guide! We've spent 200+ hours compiling over 250 pages covering everything you need to launch and win at email. Find out more here. 

Get email help! I help businesses improve and grow their email marketing. Book your free email platform audit here.

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