What should you write about in your emails?
This is the #1 question I get when it comes to email marketing strategies.
You stare at the blinking cursor week after week.
It’s the job you dread the most because you’re so busy doing your regular job, it feels like a major headache to come up with content week after week.
I’ve compiled a list of 9 email prompts you can use. Nine may seem like a small number, but these prompts can be used over and over again to create new content.
Here are 9 email marketing content prompts.
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1. Solve a Problem
Use the PAS formula to solve a problem.
Problem
Agitation
Solution
Present the problem, agitate it, and solve the problem.
If you’re writing a nurture email, give a tip or some strategy. If your writing a sales email, the solution is the thing you’re selling.
As an example, when writing to my own list, I would use this approach:
What am I selling? Quarterly Content Strategy Session
What problems am I solving?
- Not knowing what to write about in emails
- Not having an email strategy
- A budget-friendly way to improve emails for the long term
- Coming up with topics to nurture
- When to sell
- How often to sell
- Answering burning email questions
- Reduces the stress of coming up with ideas
By reverse-engineering my email marketing strategy, I now have an entire list of topics I can write about over and over again.
If I was writing a nurture email, it might look like this:
- Problem: You don’t know what to write about
- Agitation: Drop them right into the stress of having “write an email” on their to-do list for the day, dreading it, and either sending a bad email or not sending one at all.
- Solution: Planning out your content so you know exactly what to do and linking to any blog posts or content that helps to do just that.
If I was sending a sales email, I would replace the above solution with my quarterly content planning sessions.
2. Ask Your Subscribers What They Want
Send a quick email asking your subscribers what they want to read about or how you can help.
This type of email is one you could send once or twice a year.
Add this one to your welcome sequence if you want to receive regular feedback from your subscribers.
3. Send a Survey
Send a quick survey asking them for feedback. Make it a really short email with only one call to action… your survey.
Let them know how much time it will take. The shorter the better.
Pro tip: Don’t make your survey multiple choice. Have them fill in their answers. You can use their own language to relate to them in your marketing.
4. Ask Them How They Are
Ask them a simple, “How are you?”
If it’s a particularly difficult time or something stressful happened in the world, it’s nice to check up on your subscribers and see how they are doing.
5. Tell a Story
Think of a story in your life (or your client’s life) that relates to a problem you solve with your product or service.
Tell a story that leads to how you solved the problem.
6. Go Behind the Scenes
Entertain and create a connection by showing them something that goes on behind the scenes
For example:
- If it’s Christmas, show how you and your team are celebrating.
- If your client had a big win, show it.
- When you or your clients have a big breakthrough, talk about it
7. Pattern Interrupt
Talk about something your business stands for that’s unrelated to what you sell.
Examples:
- Are you a strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights?
- Did you offend someone by accident, be real and talk about it?
- Do you feel strongly about a certain charity?
I once sent an email to my own list about how I accidentally used the wrong pronoun. I wanted my list to know they could call me out on things like this and talk about it openly.
I feel strongly that we need to be open and honest with each other if we want the world to move in the right direction.
I received an unexpected response and created a deeper connection with one of my clients. If I hadn’t sent that email, she wouldn’t have known how strongly I felt about the topic.
8. Do an FAQ
Make a list of common questions people ask you about what you do or the problems you solve.
This is a valuable email to add to the end of a launch or promo sequence.
Use your list of FAQs to guide your email newsletters. If you have a list of 40 FAQs, you could do an entire series. Weave stories throughout.
Your email list is a direct line to your subscribers.
If other clients have had these questions, you can bet your subscribers are wondering the same thing.
9. Get Personal
Share a personal detail. You don’t need to get REALLY personal. Write about something that makes you relatable.
This could be as simple as talking about your kids or your grandma. Do you love to garden, or hike?
This breaks the “don’t talk about yourself” rule. But testing is the key to a strong list. If you always send robotic emails with no personal stories or details, how will your subscribers connect with you?
Emails Aren’t Just About Selling
Remember that email isn’t just about selling. If you want to build a good relationship with your list, nurturing your subscribers should be an important part of your strategy.
I work with businesses who like to build strong connections with their clients and their prospects.
Do you want help creating an email content strategy?
