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Email Inspiration – Ellanyze

I wish I could take credit for this week’s email. It’s a newsletter series called Short and Sweet by the lovely, Janelle Reichman.

She owns and operates Ellanyze, a front end web development company.

She is one of the kindest humans I’ve met in Ann Arbor, MI. She freely gives her time and is a talented WordPress developer.

Her Short & Sweet series is just that. Short and sweet.

Janelle highlights something that has stuck out to her every week – which is either an artist, a business hack or a website tip.

It’s easily digestible and a joy to read.

Take a scroll, check out this example of Ellanyze’s Short and Sweet, then read the 3 easy things that are worth repeating.

Here’s what you should copy from this email: 

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LENGTH: 

Do you see how short this email is? 

We often can only grab our email subscriber’s attention for a fraction of a minute. Maybe more if we’re lucky.

In a crowded inbox, how do you make sure people read your content?

Make it short.

I often seen people try to cram as much content in an email as possible. 

Cut down the copy and highlight the most important parts of your business as possible.

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BRIGHT, BOLD VISUAL: 

I immediately want to know more about what’s happening in this email based on the visual.

My curiosity is piqued.

Is it an overly stylized image? No.

It’s a beautiful graphic that she cropped for the size of her email. That’s it.

Don’t overcomplicate your graphics. They don’t need to by hyper-stylized.

It just needs to be eye-catching.

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CTA: 

I often see CTA’s buried in the bottom of emails.

Here, Janelle makes her Discovery Call CTA button bold and beautiful.

There is no missing it.

If I want to talk to Janelle, I know exactly how to do that.

Don’t hide your CTA’s.

Don’t make your subscribers hunt to find how to contact you. The harder you make it for them, the less likely they are to follow through.

GOT IT?

Now, what can you do to play with your emails this week?

Oops Email Inspiration from Fab

Fab? Yes.

That’s all I have to say about this email.

End of blog.

j/k

Have you been like the thousands of other people who sent something out and realized there was a mistake?

Oh, you haven’t?

Cool cool cool.

Then, I’m just writing this for myself then.

OK, self. You made a mistake. You sent out an email with the wrong link, the wrong headline, or the wrong subject line.

Crap.

The world is ending.

Oh, wait. It’s not ending. Weird.

Pick yourself back up and figure out how to fix it.

The first step, admit you made a mistake.

The second step, delight your audience with a fantastic Oops email.

That’s what Fab did with today’s inspiration.

 

Take note and figure out how to bounce back gracefully.

Here’s what you should copy from this email: 

1. Have Fun.

Yes, you’re mortified that you just made a mistake.

Guess what? We all do it.

Sorry to be the one to tell you that you’re not special in that regard.

There’s nothing better than deflecting embarrassment with humor.

A weird coping mechanism? Maybe.

It’s definitely not something I do.

But it does put people at ease. They forget to be made when they’re smiling.

2. Call Out The Mistake.

Pinpoint what happened. Name it. Say it out loud.

Do what you have to do identify the mistake.

What’s worse than making a mistake? Not admitting to it and naming it.

People feel like they’re having something pulled on them because it lacks transparency.

Name it so you can move on.

3. Issue a Correction Email.

In case this isn’t obvious, give them the correct info in the follow-up email.

Give them the opportunity to take the action you wanted them to take.

BONUS: Can you give an apology offer? Maybe a discount, a freebie or a sweet pic of your baby niece (with mom’s permission of course)?

People appreciate it when you go the extra mile any time during their customer journey. Don’t let this opportunity be any different.

GOT IT?

Now, what can you do to play with your email marketing this week?

Email Inspiration – opt-in with Sandra van der Lee

This week’s inspiration is a little different. We’re going to talk about opt-ins.

I found a truly exceptional example from a web designer and get-sh*t-done coach, Sandra van der Lee.

Her opt-in is clear, valuable, designed very well and has a lovely landing page to boot.

Take a scroll, check out this opt-in offer and then read the 3 things that are worth repeating.

Homepage

Landing Page

Welcome Email

Here’s what you should copy from this opt-in: 

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HOMEPAGE LOCATION: 

We all know you need to get those email address when someone visits your website. 

I see people making the huge mistake of embedding their opt-in form at the bottom of the page. Who scrolls all of the way to the bottom!?

I do, but that’s because I’m looking for an opt-in form to sign up for emails.

Keep it right at the top with a nice beautiful button.

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LANDING PAGE:

Brilliant. I love her opt-in landing page. (Also, I kind of love her. Amazing copy!)

It’s simple with clear benefits of signing up for her mini-course.

Added benefit? She can link out to this page from anywhere to get people to sign up for her emails.

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WELCOME EMAIL: 

I love an excited gif. And this one was a great choice.

Sandra comes off as human in her copy throughout her website and her welcome email is no different.

Before she launches into her opt-in she gives a brief intro on what she does and her value.

OK, I’m not gonna lie, I partly signed up for her opt-in because I need all of these things in my life.

The only thing I’d change from her email is the small hyperlink to booking a call. I often see people bury this in their emails. Make it a nice BIG button so the eye is drawn to it. It’s the next natural step in her sales cycle so make sure people know how to take it.

GOT IT?

Now, what can you do to play with your emails this week?

Email Inspiration – nDash Onboarding

This week’s email comes from nDash.

They’re a content creation platform to hire freelancer writers and influencers. Genius company idea, right?

I loved this new customer onboarding email. As much as people neglect welcoming new email subscribers, they neglect onboarding new clients and customers.

Any time you need more information from a new customer or client, sending them an automated message requesting that information is key.

We often assume too much of our customers. We forget that they are inundated with messaging throughout their day.

Taking a few extra steps to set up their account or make the most out of your product or service isn’t intuitive. 

Customers appreciate some handholding. (And who doesn’t love holding hands!? ?)  

Take a scroll, check out this New Client Onboarding email and then read the 3 things that are worth repeating.

Credit: Really Good Emails

Here’s what you should copy from this email: 

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STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE: 


They offer clear steps on how to complete an account with explicit calls-to-action.

Do you innately know how to complete an account every time you sign up for something? 

If you answered yes, please stop bragging. No one likes it. ?

If you answered no, you’re like 99% of the rest of us.

Don’t assume your clients or customers know how to use that fancy new product or service you just sold them. Make sure they know what to expect after placing their order or booking your service.

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ICONS: 

Look at their icons! They greyed out the incomplete steps.

And look how they made the first one a green check mark!

Clever, no?

I bet as they complete each step, they get a new email with a pretty green check mark next to the item they just completed.

And who doesn’t love a green check!? 

It’s like the adult equivalent of a gold star sticker. So satisfying to check something off of your to-do list.

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CTA Button: 

? I like big buttons and I cannot lie.?

Oh, boy. I just did that. In a blog post. That is read by professional people. Yikes.

It’s okay. I can recover from that.

But seriously. Look at the clear call-to-action in this email. 

Do I know exactly what they want me to do? YES! They want me to complete my profile, and in order to do that, I need to sign in to my accounts.

Good one, nDash. Just telling the people how to make the most out of the account they just signed up for.

GOT IT?

Now, what can you do to play with your emails this week?

Email Inspiration – TheHustle Welcome

This week’s email comes from The Hustle.

Their business is newsletters. Literally news-letters.

They’re part of the recent boom of daily email news digests. Too busy/tired to read/listen to the news?

Their daily emails send you the headlines plus a little extra from the business world.

Take a scroll, check out this copy heavy Welcome email and then read the 3 things that make it worth repeating.

Here’s what I love about this email:

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ALL COPY: There is a lot of discussion about images in email. I get asked about it frequently from people managing their own email campaigns. How many images do you use? How much copy?

It depends on your industry. If you’re a design-driven brand, then yes, visuals are a must.

A copy-only email has its time and place. They can improve your inbox placement for one. They also have a shorter load time on devices. (images take longer to load). That’s important for people experiencing slow internet connections.

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FRIENDLINESS: Look how friendly this email is!

I feel like I’m already friends with the CEO of The Hustle. Sam is directly addressing me, the reader and what it means for someone to sign up for emails. 

Giving someone your personal information (i.e. email address) is a trust thing at the end of the day, and Sam put my fears at ease (and makes me LOL)

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SHORT AND SWEET:  This email is concise. 

Big, long blocks of text make people’s eyes glaze over. You expect me to read all of that!?

This email includes LOTS of line breaks and plenty of spacing between the lines. (It’s also called line height.)

Got it? Now. What can you do to play with your emails this week?