Last Updated on November 3, 2021 by MarketerSprout
There are dozens, if not hundreds of ways to drive traffic to your website.
One of the most common and effective ways is by having people subscribe to an email list so you can send them targeted offers.
However, creating a successful email sequence is not always easy.
You need to create high-quality content that converts potential customers into subscribers and then keeps them engaged enough (and provides them with product value) for them to want to buy from you when you finally ask.
If this sounds like something that’s outside your skill set, don’t worry.
It’s actually easier than you might think! Here are some tips on how to write email sequences that boost conversions and sales.
1. Start with a strong opening line
To get people to open and stay engaged with your emails, you need to make sure that the first line is something they can’t resist opening.
This doesn’t mean it needs to be sales-ly.
You want each email in your sequence to build on those before it, so if those previous emails were any good, you should have some new subscribers who are already somewhat interested.
That being said, a strong call-to-action or quote will often do just fine as a hook.
2. Give them a reason to care
People subscribe to email lists for all kinds of reasons.
Most commonly because they’re interested in what the brand/site has to say.
But if you really want people who unsubscribe later rather than sooner, don’t constantly push sales.
If you’re always trying to sell them something, they’ll get tired of receiving clunky sales pitches in their inbox and it will make future emails seem spammy.
3. Include your main value proposition
If you want people to buy from you once they reach the end of your series, make sure that what you send them offers good value for money.
Make sure your content is helpful to someone who is about to spend money on a product or service.
You want them to see why it’s worth paying for when you ask them to do so at the end of the email series.
It isn’t enough just to talk about how great your products are. Use examples and statistics in each email so they’ll see that you’re offering them something valuable and not just asking for a sale.
4. Don’t be sales-y and spammy
As we talked about above, your email sequence should be designed to build trust with those who subscribe.
You want them to receive emails from you as an interesting source of information rather than someone trying to make a buck off them.
Avoid adding too much links, it will seem like you’re only promoting yourself instead of providing any real value.
Be sure that each email has some intrinsic value – at the very least, provide your subscribers with tips or strategies that they can use on their own site if they don’t plan on selling anything anytime soon.
5. Use images and engaging visuals
This is something we mentioned in our email marketing guide.
If you want to capture people’s attention and get them involved, using strong images in your emails will often do the trick.
This doesn’t mean you have to hire a professional graphic designer or always use cheesy stock photos.
Just take a moment before writing your email sequence to think about the types of images that might work best for each message.
6. Build anticipation with cliffhangers
If your content isn’t long enough to sell a product all on its own, consider ending each email in a way that leaves potential customers wanting more.
You can do this by going into detail about one particular aspect of an offer but leaving another part vague so they’ll have questions either when they check their email or when they read the next one in line.
This anticipation will keep them engaged, which should lead to more sales!
7. Make it easy for subscribers to follow through
Each time you send an email out in your series, make sure that there’s a clear way for subscribers to reach you if they want to follow through with whatever offer is being presented to them.
This doesn’t mean you have to include a live chat widget on your site (although this can help).
A contact form placed somewhere prominent on your site is a great option as well.
You may also want to think about including links that don’t go directly back to your own website but instead direct readers back to related blogs or content that will help get them started.
8. Don’t forget to include CTA’s
Even if you have a strong call-to-action in the body of each email, you should still link to a separate page with one at the bottom or top of each message.
This will give subscribers a place where they can go to take the next step even if they missed something earlier on in your sequence; it’s also useful for those who may not open all your emails but want to purchase something from your site eventually.
Think about what value you can provide with your CTA so people know exactly what to expect when they click through!
9. Use multiple CTAs throughout the series
Just as most businesses will want visitors to their website to sign up for their email list, many will want them to purchase something from their online store.
That being said, you can get better results by using multiple CTAs throughout your email sequence so that customers are directed towards the action you most want them to take.
For example, one email could ask them to sign up for updates while another asks if they’d like to start a trial of one of your products or services.
10. Tag subscribers who complete an action
Once someone clicks through on a CTA in your email sequence and takes the next step towards purchasing something from your site, tag them in some way so you can send targeted emails later on down the line.
This doesn’t mean you should include their names in every single message (the spam filter gods will punish you for that).
You may want to include a generic “valued customer” tag instead, or simply label them as someone who’s already purchased whatever you’re trying to sell.
11. Give readers plenty of chances to join your email list
Even if someone starts off by opening and reading one of your emails in a series, they could still decide not to sign up for updates further down the line.
That’s why it’s important (if you haven’t done so already) to collect their information as early as possible.
This way, those who aren’t ready now can easily come back at a later date and subscribe if they change their minds.
Beyond this, make sure that all the content on your site is easy for visitors to understand and read, and that you’re presenting everything in a professional manner.
12. Include a call-to-action at the end of each email
If someone reads through your entire series but doesn’t decide to click on any links or interact with your content, it might be because they don’t know exactly what you want them to do next.
That’s why it’s key to include a CTA at the end of each message.
Make sure you’ve phrased this in such a way where readers will have no trouble understanding what’s being asked of them and how they can respond.
This will also help prevent people from unsubscribing from your list if they feel like their questions aren’t being answered!
13. Test subject lines before sending out an entire series
Even though your primary goal with an email sequence is to be helpful, you also have to remember that the subject lines are what will convince people to open each message.
You can use different variations of your main CTA in order to see which one gets the best response, and send out more messages using that same link until you’ve settled on something that works well enough.
Just make sure you keep track of everything so you know exactly how many emails were sent out before finding a formula that works for your subscribers.