Email as a marketing tool has become the fearful labyrinth of Daedalus, full of unknown turns and paths that lead to nowhere, especially good conversion rates.

That is simply because companies do not know how to use it.  Companies still tend to treat email as any other marketing medium, thus they send intrusive and sometimes outright pushy messages into a very personal domain that has become the users email inbox.

Take a moment and think about the things most people have in their inbox.  Think about the kind of messages you have in your personal inbox for that matter.  Probably a message from your mom.  A picture of your Aunt or Sisters new baby.  A newsletter from your favorite online magazine or hobby site.  All of these things are very personal to you, and they speak to you in a certain way.  A way appropriate for someones personal space.

Think about that tone and contrast it with the tone most email advertisement or marketing you receive in your inbox sounds like.  Do you feel like you have stepped onto a used car lot when you read them, if you read them at all?  As soon as that tone hits you, what do you do?

Yeah…hit the delete key.  That type of mail is an intrusion into your personal domain, and it is rarely appreciated, yet this is how most companies use email to market to potential customers.  And when results are poor, they conclude that email is not a good marketing venue.

Wrong.  Change the tone, and change the results.  Apart from a few other little things you have to be aware of as a copywriter, it is that simple.  Email can be incredibly effective if these things are taken into account.

Taken to the extreme, you can easily get too personal.  Writing to someone as if you are an everyday friend is not advisable either, but you can develop a tone to your emails that is friendly and appropriate, be it an initial marketing pitch or a thank you email to a new customer.  Email is in many respects, as good as a direct phone call to that customer.  It is a direct line, and when they agree to answer, a lot of the work is already done.  Those who open the email are already interested in what you have to say and that mind set is essential to developing a relationship conducive to a happy customer.

Compare these two examples.

1. French Tuesday Email
2. Hot Wings Email

Both examples of copy have the same purpose.  They are sent to subscribers, those already showing or have shown interest in the subject, as a reminder of sorts, to take action.

Example 1 is short, which most email marketing should be, however, it has no personal feel to it at all.  Even though the ‘Who:” line makes an attempt to mention me personally, I do not feel a personal invite has been offered; only an attempt to sell tickets.  The copy also does not make the venue appealing.  It does not attempt to paint any pictures that would allow me to imagine myself at the occasion.  I missed the initial email so I really have no idea what this email is even talking about.  I don’t feel that attending this event will benefit me in any way.

Example 2 is a longer piece of copy, but it is well within the norm of what one would receive from a friend in the form of a ‘what’s up’ type of email.  Had your name been at the top of that email, would you have felt the email was more personal?  The copy paints a picture for the receiver, showing him the possible benefits of the service.  It provides a convenient link to the form the copy is referring too and also provides contact information should the customer require assistance.  Even though there is no ‘time limit’ on the service, the copy declares that the form cannot be filled out for him and that action is required of him to initiate the service, but from there, it’s easy.

After reading both emails, which one confers the most value on the reader?

Here is an email that would be sent via an autoresponder to a potential customer that has a history of interest in the companies services or product, but had not made the step to purchase.

Title : Get Her Number without the Anxiety

<Name>,

We remembered hearing from you a couple of weeks ago regarding information on our Hot Wings service and thought we would write you to check in. We know you are busy so won’t take up to much of your time.

Have you given anymore thought to what our services can do for you? We understand the anxiety that comes with tying to meet women in today’s society. Even as children we are taught not to talk to strangers, and for a lot of us, those warnings carry on into our adult life and people tend to keep up their guard. The popular venues don’t really lend themselves to social interaction either, with dimly lit rooms and loud music. But, you will cruise by these drawbacks just like you breeze into the The House of Blues; your name is on the list…

A Hot Wing can help you overcome the anxiety of talking to that gorgeous girl across the room and getting her number as well as the hesitation others may exhibit when meeting you. There is one type of anxiety we can’t help you with thought, the hesitation you may be feeling toward the use of our services. Maybe you’re in a time crunch at work, or have some plans with the guys for the next few weeks that keep you from contacting us further; we understand reasons are as varied as the thousands who contact us. That’s what makes our service so unique, we can do almost all of the work for you, but we can’t pick up that phone and dial for you or fill out that online form.

It’s up to you to take that simple step to a more rewarding and immensely more entertaining dating and social life. It’s just a click or a phone call away.

Here’s a quick link to that form in case you have a moment…

Thanks again for your time and your interest in Hot Wings. We hope you will contact us. You have a great experience ahead of you; one you can tell your friends about later!  If you have any questions at all while filling out the initial form, please do not hesitate to call or email us.  My contact information is available below.

Sincerely,

Scott Coones

CEO, Hot Wings Inc.,

ceo@localhotwings.com

310-555-5555

Applying a new I3 License File

Open a browser and access http://license.inin.com

1. Click – CIC and all other Products (link)
2. Click – License Activity (link)
3. Click the ‘deactivate’ icon for *server
4. Click New License (link)
5. Click – cic 3.0 (or your current version) license (Radio Button)
6. NEXT
7. Click- Production License (Radio Button)
8. NEXT

Fill in ‘Machine” Section

1. RDP to Primary Server (*SERVER)
2. Run the gethostid.exe utility to acquire the system’s MAC Address
3. Copy top Host ID displayed (ie. F0188B4D3AF1)
4. Input HostID into specified field of “Machine” Section
5. Input Machine Name (*SERVER – Primary)(*SERVER – Backup)
6. Choose ‘HMP’ for System Type
7. Choose ‘MS Exchange’ for Mail Connector

Fill in “Select One Valid Server Items”

Click – sw-001-2.4-s102 ‘use’ (Radio Button)

Fill in ‘Select any ADD-ON Items”

Input number in “Total” column for each row in the ‘Use’ column (in order to make   use of all available licenses)

NEXT

Click – ‘Click here to download the License’ (link)

Repeat steps for Backup Server

Fill in ‘Machine’ Section

1. RDP to Primary Server (*SERVER)
2. Run the gethostid.exe utility to acquire the systems MAC Address
3. Copy top Host ID displayed (ie F0188B4D3EB3)
4. Input Host ID into specified field of ‘Machine’ Section
5. Input Machine Name (*SERVER – Primary)(*SERVER – Backup)
6. Choose ‘HMP’ for System Type
7. Choose ‘MS Exchange’ for Mail Connector

Fill in ‘Select One Valid Server Items’

Click – sw-001-2.4-ss01 ‘use’ (Radio Button)

Fill in ‘Select an active license to set the switchover server to’

*SERVER – CIC 2.4 – ‘User’ (Radio Button)

NEXT

Click – ‘Click here to download this license’ (link)

Apply the new License file to the Server

RDP into the Primary Server (*SERVER)

Copy license file to the Primary Server [X:\Source\Licenses\(*SERVER)]

• X: = volume of the IC Server install

Launch Interactive Administrator

1. Click File
2. Choose License Management from the menu
3. Choose Load License
4. Double click new .I3lic file

Signal a Switchover to the Backup Server

RDP into Backup Server (*SERVER) – (note: this is now the Primary after the switch)

Copy license fie to the Primary Server

Launch Interactive Administrator

1. Click File
2. Choose License Management
3. Choose Load License
4. Double click new .I3lic file

Bring the servers back up in the Proper order to reestablish Primary/Backup Roles if desired.

*SERVER where ’server’ is the name of your IC Server

View the original word Document

In other words, the copy displayed on your website should be specific.  The example is thus.  You go into a grocery store and hit the canned goods isle.  You are confronted with hundreds, maybe even thousands of choices.  Imagine if the only thing listed on the label of those choices consisted of a very general description of its contents.  ‘Vegetable’ for instance.

Now imagine if this is the label on your product, and it sits right next to a can that is labeled ‘Diced stewed tomatoes’.  Even if your can contains the same diced stewed tomatoes, which one do you think the consumer will take off the shelf and home with them?

Exactly.

You may think this is a no brainer, but you would be amazed how many websites attempt to sell products with a general description or generic declaration.

Here is an instance of what we mean: http://www.thesecretheadquarters.com/index.php

Can you, by scanning the homepage, tell what this site is even about; much less what products or services it might be offering customers?  That large graphic to the left looks kind of like a card catalog.  Maybe it’s an online library…  The title graphics coupled with the drawer graphic give the site a very ‘XFile’ feel.  Maybe it’s an archive site of secret government black ops?  You really can’t tell.  It’s not till you get to bottom the second page of the profile link, that you find that the site actually sells comics, graphic novels and books.

I am a writer myself, and though I can appreciate the ‘aura’ of this site, I would not want it selling one of my books.  Why?  People tend not to stay on websites in which they have to search for information, especially when they are looking to buy online.

In contrast, take a look at this site: http://www.bargainsla.com/

The URL itself gives us a clue to what the site is about, bargains.  As soon as you hit the homepage, the headline on the right proclaims what the site is about, bargain hunting in Los Angeles.  These guys want you to know what you are going to get by browsing their site.

Just as a grocery shopper is not going to take the time to figure out what the ‘vegetable’ in the can actually is, even if the context around the can (the properly labeled cans) hints to them that it is diced stewed tomatoes, a visitor to your website is not going to take the time to figure out what your website is about based on generic context ‘clues’ scattered about on your site.

This one is simple.  If you or your copywriters have to write instructions for any part of your website, you need to rethink the process you are using that requires the instructions.

Processes, such as buying an item or filling out an information form must be simple and intuitive.

Your visitors and possible customers do not want to take the time to read your instructions, they will use that time to find another website that is simpler to use and reward them with a sale.

You are left with your instructions.

The internet has put an immense amount of information at a users fingertips.  As a consequence, searching through all that information can be frustrating and sometimes seem all but impossible.  It is true, that one of the skills an online copywriter must have is the ability to write copy that will sell products, but a more important skill many times overlooked by companies (to their determent) is the ability to create pages that help visitors and users find the information they are looking for.  A subject also introduced in the article Web Copywriting: Do You Answer Their Question? & Web Copywriting: What To Say, over How To Say It.

This ability to gently guide a user along a pathway to their goal, with as few clicks and confusion as possible, with a pot of gold that takes the form of a real answer to their question has value that cannot be understated.

Think about how you feel when you arrive at a site looking for an answer to a question.  The first page mentions something that you think might pertain to your question, provides some text that further piques your interest and a link to find out more.  Upon clicking the link, you read a little further and find what you were looking for.  Along the way you subconsciously note how easy it was to find that answer and how well the sites design and content facilitated the completion of your goal and that you were not pressured to click some link you really had no interest in because it offered some great product or had an overt sales pitch.

You will feel really good about that website and by extension, about the people who created it.  Would you return to that site if you had another question of a similar nature?  If that company had a product that was in some way associated with your interests, would you be more inclined to trust that company and their product?

Now imagine the opposite.  You arrive at a site that has a subhead that might pertain to the answer you are looking for, but before you can click on the link or read any of the text, a pop up window blocks your view with some product that may or may not be related.  You get rid of the annoying pop up and read the text which sounds like it might be an answer to your question so you click through.  The next page has its editorial copy squeezed between multiple sales banners with BUY NOW!! flashing in garish colors.  The text answers your question, but not before hitting you would sales copy for a product related to the issue.

Imagine how you feel now, after having to navigate all those distractions to find your answer.  Are you going to reward this site with your purchase?  I wouldn’t either.

Writing copy that truly informs and helps visitors is the opportune moment to establish trust and rapport with your visitor or prospect.  An opportunity to have them nod in agreement with you, or nod appreciatively as you guide them to their goal.  You have established yourself as not only an authority on the issue, but you have become a friend in doing so.  You respected their right to choose to continue on and check out your product, instead of throwing it in their face.

Pages on your site that are purely informational, can lead to increased conversion if done correctly.

Probably the single most important skill we as online copywriters acquire, is the ability to figure out What To Say, rather than focusing on How To Say It.

I touched on this point briefly in the article: Web Copywriting: Do You Answer Their Question? as I examined how users of the internet use it to communicate their ideas and opinions using reviews and blogs.

Most times copywriters put to much emphasis on how to say something.  They want to be clever, hoping their wit will sell, when in actuality all it does is serve their own ego.  While this may work to some extent in politics, in copy it serves little purpose if a thorough study of what to say has not been performed.  Fortunately, the internet is a storehouse of information on figuring out what to say for those who have been trained to look in the right places by those who know.

Once you figure out what to say about your product, service or subject it is usually a pretty quick process in figuring out how to say it, as through your research you will have already exposed yourself to how potential visitors to your page communicate.  You will have seen what words carry importance and validity to them, what websites they trust and what they hold as a higher value as compared to something else.

Find a copywriter who knows how to research your prospective visitors/buyers, who has been trained by those already successful in the business and copy that converts will flow from the fingers.

Search Engines are the gatekeepers of the web.  They are a necessity considering the overwhelming amount of data available to internet users.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has taken on a mystical aura akin to the Alchemy of the middle ages.  Sometimes little understood by those who even practice it, and a magic bullet (turning base metal into gold) for the public at large, thanks to outlandish claims by some on the web of what Search Engine Optimization really is and how it’s accomplished.

Effective SEO requires three things.

1. A knowledge of how search engine spiders ‘look’ at a page
2. An understanding of how ’smart’ search engines can be
3. Patience

The more specific your page is, the more search engines like Google will ‘love’ it.  Make it easy for Google to figure out what your web page is about using specific language and even geographical references (such as ‘Los Angeles Copywriter’, instead of ‘Copywriter’) and it will reward you with a high placement in its search listings.

A search engine takes into account several things.  First, is the pages title.  Make sure the title of the page expresses its contents.  Secondly, any subheads and <alt> tag information should be similarly specific.  Third, it sometimes looks through the body text of your site.  So now you can see why keeping specific and on topic is the most effective way to get Google’s attention. It’s part of an effective copywriters skills to integrate these principles into the copy they write, while still producing copy that is not awkward for the visitor to read and converts to actions by the visitor, be it signing up for an email list or buy a product.

Don’t try to trick the engine by hiding repetitive text on your web page to increase the amount a term is mentioned.  Engines will figure out these little tricks and remove you from their listings.

Lots of people out there in the world of the Web write copy.  They may even take the time to learn about the product they are writing about, however, they tend to write their copy in isolation.  They don’t take the time to look at the design of the website their copy will appear on, or even develop their copy in a web based template.  They write their copy on a piece of paper, or clean word document, then copy and paste it into an email to send off to the client.  This closed development environment will never produce effective copy.

In my study of Web Copywriting I was given a very effective analogy to explain this concept.  On page 2-3 of Copywriting 2.0 Your Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy that Converts, Nick explains how often copywriters approach their work with the attitude of a ‘laborer’:

Let’s say you have a skill at putting up drywall in new homes.  You wait for some other guy to put the wall studs in place, then you add the sheets of drywall.

You don’t know or much care about what other people are doing elsewhere in the house.  It’s not your concern what the roofers, plumbers, or electricians are doing.  Your supervisor has taken a look at the house plans and shows you where you next need to put up some drywall.

All to often, online copywriters work as laborers.  They don’t know what else is happening on the site.  They don’t know what is planned for tomorrow.  They just build a wall when and where they are told to.  Or rather, they write a page.  The supervisor knows more about what happening elsewhere in the house.  he knows what the electrician has to do.  He knows the garden landscapers are arriving next week.

As for the architect, he knows more than anyone.  He has a complete picture of how the finished house is going to look.  He knows how much it will sell for.  He knows what kinds of people are likely to buy it.  he has designed the house with a particular market in mind…

What Nick is explaining is that without a thorough understanding of the project, an understanding of who is being marketed too, their buying habits, what copy will ‘mean something’ to those buyers and an understanding of how copy integrates effectively into a web page with all its columns and banner advertisements, you won’t write copy that will convert.

An effective copy writer operates at the architect level.

He knows those who read his copy are going to be goal oriented and well informed on the subject he is writing, especially in the area of sales, so he knows the value of persuasion rather than manipulation as a method of making a sale.

He knows that the copy is what will actually make the sale.  The copy is what makes that emotional connection to the product and its benefits.  The copy is what helps the buyer rationalize his emotional desire for the products benefits with proof, this product really does what it claims to do.

Effective copywriters research their buyers, how they think, what is important to them and communicates to them in their language.

When readers fire up a web browser, you can be sure of one thing, they are getting online for a purpose.  They have a question, or a goal they want to achieve and they want to meet it quickly.

Ask yourself these important questions when you examine your website.  Does my site facilitate my visitors finding what they want quickly?  Do I even know what they are most likely looking for?  Have I thought about any questions they may be trying to answer by visiting my site?

If you answer no, or have not taken the time to answer any of these questions in the first place, you are losing visitors.  In terms of sales, its money out of your pocket.

The world wide web was never created for you to promote a product and sell it.  The web was created for the sharing information, views and opinions.  If you think I am making that up, just take a look at the sites that are more popular today.  Granted, Amazon.com gets a lot of traffic; but what is it compared to the number of hits Youtube.com or Facebook.com get daily?

The Web as a market place is an afterthought, brought about by its convenience of making a purchase without leaving your home.  What this means to an online copywriter is this; in order to create effective copy, you must understand what drives the web.  The web is driven by its users and to write good copy, you have to learn how they communicate with one another.  You have to find out what is important to them and ‘how they talk about that subject’.  Your copy has to be user-centric.

When a visitor comes to your site, what do you believe will appeal to him more in his quest to reach that goal mentioned at the beginning of this article?

Corporate copy that has been used for print advertisement centered on how great the company is, how long its been in business or how much its stock has increased in value all wrapped within a style guide created by the company to control its marketing, or a website who’s copy is centered on the subject matter he is interested?  Providing him with information on that subject in a language he uses everyday to communicate with others via social and content driven websites?

Unless he truly is interested in how long your company has been in business, instead of that widget you are marketing, he will leave your site within 5 seconds, and most likely, never return.

Find out what question is in your visitors head when he lands on your page, answer it quickly and with authority and proof, and he will become your friend.  And then you can sell to them.  Mess up, exaggerate a claim or use hyperbole in the wrong situation and it becomes very public, very quickly.