Top nine tips?

If I had said "10," you might have blown past this article, thinking it yet another "Top 10" list. If you use such common and overused devices in your e-mail copy, then your audience will blow past you too.

Writing marketing copy of any kind takes skill. Writing e-mail marketing copy takes special skill because e-mail is so easy to delete. If you don’t grab your reader right away, you’ll lose them. Given this risk you’d think the copywriting task would be assigned to only the most seasoned marketing professionals. But all too often e-mail copy is written by anyone who has a few minutes to whip something up.

Don’t make this mistake. Poorly written e-mail copy will do more harm to your business than good. Take the time to learn what works. Start here with these tips:

#1 Know Your Audience

How many e-mail pitches have you received touting moneymaking schemes or weight-loss plans that you couldn’t care less about? The senders of those messages obviously didn’t know you and as a result, you trashed their messages.

The very first thing you must do when planning an e-mail campaign is to create a profile of the type of person you want to reach. Start with a sentence or two that includes information like their interests, gender, age, income, likes/dislikes, geography, etc. Include only those things that are relevant to your targeting efforts.

For instance, if you sell e-commerce security software, your list might include information technology professionals who are frustrated by hackers and other security risks. Let this simple profile dictate your copy.

#2 Speak to Them Personally

Have you ever noticed that the marketing campaigns you like best are those that speak directly to you? That’s because they communicate — even if just subtly — that the marketer understands who you are and why you might like to hear their message.

If you write copy like: "Our custom-made security software helps our clients protect their e-commerce sites from hackers," how do you think your recipient will feel? How about alienated? Copy that contains a lot of "our this" and "our that," will never engage your audience. Your copy needs to use "you" and "your" to be effective. Change the copy to something like: "Protect your e-commerce site from hackers with security software that we design just for you." Your audience may just want to learn more.

#3 Identify with Their Emotional Needs

Take what you know — even educated guesses — about your audience and show that you understand their hopes, dreams, fears, and frustrations. By identifying with their emotional needs, you’ll begin to build trust right away. And trust will motivate your audience to learn more.

Let’s go back to our security software example. To get the attention of your audience, open the message with a question that shows you understand, like "Do you worry about hackers taking down your e-commerce site? Or leaking secure customer data?" As they’re nodding, you then move on to the solution: "Get peace of mind with security software designed just for your site."

Now you’re ready to show them why your solution is the right one.

#4 Illustrate the Benefits

This is where even the most skilled copywriters lose their audience. They launch into a product description, selling its various features. Well guess what? No one buys features. They buy benefits. The buyer wants to know — above all else — what’s in it for them.

Instead of saying your software makes e-commerce sites more secure, tell your audience your software will protect their site so well that the IT staff will win management’s respect, gain job security and be able to take weekends off. OK, now you’re talking.

Go back to your audience’s emotional needs and describe your product or service in light of how it addresses these needs.

#5 Keep It Simple

No one likes to read a lot of copy. To make your message appealing, keep your sentences short. Break your copy up into short paragraphs.

• And use bullet points.

Enough said.

#6 Include a Call to Action

Make sure that you tell your recipient what to do next. Give them a compelling reason to click on the link to your site. Offer them something special that they can’t get anywhere else, like special pricing, a free no-obligation trial or even a gift.

#7 Link Often and To the Right Place

Include the link to your Web site multiple times in your message. You never know when someone will be motivated to click. When they do click, make sure they go to a place on your site that’s most relevant to their needs and interests. If your home page is too generic for this particular audience, link directly to an interior page or one that you create just for this e-mail message.

#8 Use the Right Format

Don’t be seduced by the appeal of html or rich media e-mail. Their graphical, interactive format can be highly effective for the right audience, but keep in mind that these messages are slow to download and not everyone’s system can read them. Simple, text messages can be extremely effective. They can be read by everyone and, in their simplicity, carry a certain editorial appeal. If you use html or rich media, be sure to use a text message as a back up. When you send your messages, use technology that can "sniff" the recipient’s e-mail program to determine which format it can accept.

Why go to all the trouble to write the best copy if half your audience can’t even access it?

#9 Use an Effective Subject Heading

I’ve saved the best for last. So pay attention. The success or failure of your e-mail campaign can rely solely on the strength or weakness of your subject heading. It’s the first thing recipients will see in their e-mail in-box and if it’s not done well, they’ll trash your message without even opening it.

Follow tips #1-3 and you’re most of the way there. Know what your audience wants and speak directly to them. Make it personal, relevant and impossible to disregard. "Secure your job with a free software trial."

OK. I think I will. Click……!

Amy Harcourt is the owner of Definitive Marketing, a firm specializing in strategic Internet marketing. Amy can be reached at amy@definitivemarketing.com or 734.320.1054. For more information on Definitive Marketing, visit www.definitivemarketing.com.