Despite the popularity of instant messengers and social networks, email remains an effective marketing
communications tool for various industries. In a marketing survey done by a digital marketing company, it is
revealed that email marketing is the advertising channel that performed best for many companies in the last year. In
another study, email marketing outperformed all the other direct marketing channels examined in terms of return of
investment (ROI).
Email provides an opportunity to reach out to as many people at minimal cost and with less effort. However,
considering that most people get a lot of email daily, you have to state your message in the most concise way.
Remember that there’s a delicate line between writing an effective email ad and one that will be marked off as spam.
So how do we write email ads that attract and lead recipients to open and respond to it?
Let’s examine the parts and attributes of a good email ad.
The sender. Most of us can immediately recognize spam sources. Sender names that sound too “commercial” are
promptly trashed, as well as names that don’t sound as if they belong to a real person or company. For example,
emails that come from a company or at least corporate-sounding name is more credible and likely to be opened
rather than obscure names of persons.
The subject line. An effective subject line is catchy. It captures the recipient’s attention and makes him or her sense
the benefit of opening the email at first glance. But don’t use phrases like “make money fast” and “$$$” on your
subject line or else the spam filters will block your email. Perhaps it would do you well to open your inbox and study
the spam that actually escaped the email filters. Most filters today are too strong, even legitimate email could end up
in the Spam inbox.
The hook. This is the most important part of your email. It is normally placed in the first sentence or the lead and
involves a persuasive call to action. It states what benefits the recipient will get if he or she responds to the ad
positively. Make sure to state it clearly and with conviction, preferably in active voice. Exercise: try your hook on
yourself and see if it convinces you to buy the product yourself.
The length. It goes without saying that recipients will have short attention span because there are many emails and
sites for them to look at daily. Write the email in the fewest but most effective words possible. This is done by using
bulleted lists and powerful one-liner hooks.
The links and contact info. Email signatures look highly credible, especially if they have the complete contact
information that the recipient needs. Provide links to your website for details not included in the email. Perhaps you
can provide an alternative page through popular social networks like Facebook or MySpace.
The unsubscribe option. It’s unbelievable for some, but yes, this feature adds more credibility. Recipients appreciate
being given options. Even if it means not availing the product or service offered for you, they might recommend your
site to other potential customers. Conversely, an annoyed recipient may just email another potential customer about
your emails and thus tarnish your reputation.
As a last note, remember that there are many digital marketing tools and strategies that a company could study and
use. It all depends on who the target market is. As copywriters, this should be at the top of our daily to-do list—
studying the market. Only then can our marketing copy be effective.
Article #2 Without graphics or engraving to enhance your message, what you say and how you say it matters even more than in
print communication. But because e-mail is so easy to send, and because as a harried owner of a small business you
feel pressured to respond immediately, you often dash off a response on the fly. How many times have you clicked
on “send” and then remembered a couple of points you forgot to mention? Or did you send a rambling message,
giving your client the task of sorting it out? Did you think your spelling didn’t matter? After all, “it’s only e-mail!”
It matters a lot. Your well-heeled competitor has the stature of his organization to back him up. His misspellings will
be chalked up to “too busy to spell check.” Your misspellings and unorganized messages will call your competence
into question. Does your inattention to spelling reflect a similar disregard for customer service? If your message is
ill-conceived, can your product be any better?
When you write e-mail messages, remember your client will judge you by what you say and how you say it. Don’t let
your writing give your customers a reason to turn to your competitor. Here are some guidelines to enable you to
write e-mail like the Fortune 500 pros.
Think before you write: Before writing, jot down your main points or purpose. Decide what’s most important and lead
with that, in the first paragraph if possible. Don’t leave important information for the second screen. Readers hate to
scroll and may not get past the first screen.
Make your subject line informative: Forecast your main message by writing a subject line that announces what you
are writing (request, announcement, etc.) and what about it (to purchase new desk chairs, of vacancy in the finance
department). Readers use the subject line to perform e-mail triage. A good subject line announces that it’s relevant
or urgent. A vague subject line invites the reader to ignore or delete the message.
Tell them what action to take: Don’t leave the reader wondering why you sent the e-mail and what you want. Convey
the desired action clearly, boldly and early in the message.
Format for easy reading: Make your paragraphs short, use vertical bullet ed lists to condense information, and add
white space for visual relief.
Narrow cast, don’t broadcast: Resist the temptation to send copies to everyone. Define and narrow your audience to
those who need the information. After receiving a few irrelevant e-mails, your client may not bother to read your
important ones.
Check your tone: You may be tempted to tell your pesky client exactly how you feel. And it may make you feel better
to write it. Just don’t send your flaming message. Keep your tone cordial, business-like, unbiased. Don’t bad-mouth
the competition. He’s only a click away!
Proof before you click: Before sending, spell check and make sure you’ve punctuated properly. Have you
remembered to include the attachment you promised?
Article #3 Writing the Basic Business Letter Parts of a Business Letter
This resource is organized in the order in which you should write a business letter, starting with the sender’s
address if the letter is not written on letterhead.
Sender’s Address
The sender’s address usually is included in letterhead. If you are not using letterhead, include the sender’s address
at the top of the letter one line above the date. Do not write the sender’s name or title, as it is included in the letter’s
closing. Include only the street address, city, and zip code.
Date
The date line is used to indicate the date the letter was written. However, if your letter is completed over a number
of days, use the date it was finished in the date line. When writing to companies within the United States, use the
American date format. (The United States-based convention for formatting a date places the month before the day.
For example: June 11, 2001. ) Write out the month, day and year two inches from the top of the page. Depending
which format you are using for your letter, either left justify the date or tab to the center point and type the date.
Inside Address
The inside address is the recipient’s address. It is always best to write to a specific individual at the firm to which you
are writing. If you do not have the person’s name, do some research by calling the company or speaking with
employees from the company. Include a personal title such as Ms., Mrs., Mr., or Dr. Follow a woman’s preference in
being addressed as Miss, Mrs., or Ms. If you are unsure of a woman’s preference in being addressed, use Ms. If
there is a possibility that the person to whom you are writing is a Dr. or has some other title, use that title. Usually,
people will not mind being addressed by a higher title than they actually possess. To write the address, use the U.S.
Post Office Format. For international addresses, type the name of the country in all-capital letters on the last line.
The inside address begins one line below the sender’s address or one inch below the date. It should be left justified,
no matter which format you are using.
Salutation
Use the same name as the inside address, including the personal title. If you know the person and typically address
them by their first name, it is acceptable to use only the first name in the salutation (for example: Dear Lucy:). In all
other cases, however, use the personal title and full name followed by a colon. Leave one line blank after the
salutation.
If you don’t know a reader’s gender, use a nonsexist salutation, such as “To Whom It May Concern.” It is also
acceptable to use the full name in a salutation if you cannot determine gender. For example, you might write Dear
Chris Harmon: if you were unsure of Chris’s gender.
Body
For block and modified block formats, single space and left justify each paragraph within the body of the letter.
Leave a blank line between each paragraph. When writing a business letter, be careful to remember that
conciseness is very important. In the first paragraph, consider a friendly opening and then a statement of the main
point. The next paragraph should begin justifying the importance of the main point. In the next few paragraphs,
continue justification with background information and supporting details. The closing paragraph should restate the
purpose of the letter and, in some cases, request some type of action.
Closing
The closing begins at the same horizontal point as your date and one line after the last body paragraph. Capitalize
the first word only (for example: Thank you) and leave four lines between the closing and the sender’s name for a
signature. If a colon follows the salutation, a comma should follow the closing; otherwise, there is no punctuation
after the closing.
Enclosures
If you have enclosed any documents along with the letter, such as a resume, you indicate this simply by typing
Enclosures one line below the closing. As an option, you may list the name of each document you are including in the
envelope. For instance, if you have included many documents and need to ensure that the recipient is aware of each
document, it may be a good idea to list the names.
Typist initials
Typist initials are used to indicate the person who typed the letter. If you typed the letter yourself, omit the typist
initials.
A Note About Format and Font
Block Format
When writing business letters, you must pay special attention to the format and font used. The most common layout
of a business letter is known as block format. Using this format, the entire letter is left justified and single spaced
except for a double space between paragraphs.
Modified Block
Another widely utilized format is known as modified block format. In this type, the body of the letter and the sender’s
and recipient’s addresses are left justified and single-spaced. However, for the date and closing, tab to the center
point and begin to type.
Semi-Block
The final, and least used, style is semi-block. It is much like the modified block style except that each paragraph is
indented instead of left justified.
Keep in mind that different organizations have different format requirements for their professional communication.
While the examples provided by the OWL contain common elements for the basic business letter (genre
expectations), the format of your business letter may need to be flexible to reflect variables like letterheads and
templates. Our examples are merely guides.
If your computer is equipped with Microsoft Office 2000, the Letter Wizard can be used to take much of the
guesswork out of formatting business letters. To access the Letter Wizard, click on the Tools menu and then choose
Letter Wizard. The Wizard will present the three styles mentioned here and input the date, sender address and
recipient address into the selected format. Letter Wizard should only be used if you have a basic understand of how
to write a business letter. Its templates are not applicable in every setting. Therefore, you should consult a business
writing handbook if you have any questions or doubt the accuracy of the Letter Wizard.
Font
Another important factor in the readability of a letter is the font. The generally accepted font is Times New Roman,
size 12, although other fonts such as Arial may be used. When choosing a font, always consider your audience. If you
are writing to a conservative company, you may want to use Times New Roman. However, if you are writing to a more
liberal company, you have a little more freedom when choosing fonts.
Punctuation
Punctuation after the salutation and closing – use a colon (:) after the salutation (never a comma) and a comma (,)
after the closing. In some circumstances, you may also use a less common format, known as open punctuation. For
this style, punctuation is excluded after the salutation and the closing. I have found a great way to get your email ads out to the right people. Click here for details…..
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