Writing Marketing Emails & Blogs
Here’s how I come up with topics every week for my business emails/blog.
My chocolate company writes one email blog per week. In just this year alone, so far we’ve written over 24,000 words that are carefully crafted (like our chocolates) for our customers’ “consumption.”
The purpose of these emails are not only to inform our customers, aka chocolate friends, what we have to offer and how they can shop with us, but it also offers value to their lives.
That’s why I think our open success rate of 50% is absolutely amazing when the average for business email marketing is about a 20% open rate.
The secret is not to fill their inboxes with information to overwhelm them or sales pitches to convince them that your products are the best, but to respond to what they want and need based on what you’ve heard from them.
I often get asked how I come up with the topics and content I write. It’s simple. I listen first to my audience and address that.
In the shop or at online pick ups, we will ask them what they are interested in or what they’re enjoying so far. We listen to their questions. What’s confusing or frustrating them. We ask them about the places they’re traveling to, the special occasions they’re celebrating, and who they are looking for a gift for and why. From there, we write something that will provide some sort of sweet benefit. And another thing, I actually will share a lot of what I myself need as I unpack that in church every week.
To help keep me focused so it doesn’t turn into my diary (which it has in the past) I put in my template a few ideas I should share every week:
The Process - To share how much love and care truly goes into everything hand-crafted and made fresh on site in Hawai`i. We want our customers to know the value and authenticity of what they are spending their hard earned money on.
The Product - The chocolate information, pricing, best by date, the thought behind each special, the meaning behind the packaging, or more in depth information that customers can use to share as a conversation piece as they connect with others through our chocolates
The Lifestyle - The feedback from chocolate friends, the testimonials and photos that others share of how they are using our signature menu favorites and seasonal specials in their lives to sweeten relationships, and how it all really works!
The Behind the Scenes - The look behind the business which is really people, just like you, working hard to fulfill a dream and mission in which case ours is “Bringing peace to our world, one chocolate at a time.”
I’m still working on keeping it sweet and simple with more photos and videos, but I also noticed that that’s what the social media audience likes and my email readers tend to prefer the longer explanations. The thought process. And the heart behind what we do what we do. They like to read!
Happy writing!
erin’s tip:
No value, no write. Keep it positive and keep it on brand with your business.