How to write an email for e-commerce requires a great deal of observation of human emotions.
This is because most purchasing decisions are heavily involved with the emotional system. And even more so when it comes to email marketing.
In other words, understanding how the brain works is fundamental to creating a connection with the lead and increasing conversions.
In this sense, email marketing is a tool for getting closer and creating bonds, and this is the basis of healthy relationships. This also applies to emails that are not about sales.
And speaking of connecting with audiences, email verification allows professionals to focus solely on generating leads.
This is because a list without bounces means that messages will be delivered to the inbox and not blocked by anti-spam filters.
Working with the lead’s emotions in email marketing is the subject of one of our most popular webinars.
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Reason and emotion in how to write an email
The human brain has two systems that work together: the limbic complex, where our emotions are, and the neocortex, where our reason and logical processes are.
Everyone knows that things that require logical thinking take more time. For example, you don’t decide on a vacation trip overnight.
Before you go, you do your research to define your itinerary, plan financially, psychologically, etc. Planning is part of the brain’s logical process.
If your e-commerce business deals with travel, the tendency is to write an email that explores the rational side, since your buyer persona needs time to decide on the purchase.
Now, let’s look at a decision based on the emotional side of the mind: you’re walking down the street, the weather is warm and you decide to have an ice cream.
This impulse decision has no power to negatively influence your life.
After all, having an ice cream is a simple act that is part of everyday life, and for this, the brain naturally goes “on automatic”, working on the basis of triggers.
That’s where the emotional appeal of e-commerce comes in. But it’s important not to forget that the logical side of the mind works together with emotions.
Going back to the ice cream example, imagine you’re on a restrictive diet. The fact that you decided to eat it could lead you to regret it hours later.
The fact that you regret it denotes the rational side of the brain, which has reflected and come to the conclusion that the decision was not the right one.
That’s why, when writing an emotionally appealing email, you should also take into account the rational side, which can emerge as a cancellation of the purchase.
It all starts with personalization
Remembering that each person has a different way of seeing the world, personalization – one of the strongest principles of Inbound – comes in very handy.
In the world of email marketing, personalization is in everything:
- In audience segmentation.
- In the marketing funnel and its various stages.
- In customized communication, which will offer a solution to the buyer persona’s problem.
Even the name “persona” means individualization. And the purpose of personalization is precisely to get closer; to make it personal.
This is when writing an email with an emotional appeal makes a difference, despite being a mass communication channel.
The fact that you’re talking to millions of people at the same time doesn’t mean that your messages are generic. On the contrary: you can talk to each person privately, starting with their name.
In fact, personalizing the message is essential for an email to stand out from the thousands of other messages in the user’s inbox.
And anyone who thinks that personalization is only possible by calling the user by name is mistaken.
Here are some ways to personalize the subject line of your email:
- Exclusive promotion for gatekeepers.
- Here’s the best place to spend your vacation.
- Looking for a new hobby? You’ve found it!
Notice how all the subject lines are personalized without the need to insert the lead’s name? This was possible because the persona’s pain is highlighted in the sentence.
This type of personalization even improves the open rate of messages, since the closer the subject line is to the lead, the greater the chances of drawing them into the email.
Working together
How to write an emotionally appealing email for e-commerce needs the strengths of copy and design combined.
It’s worth noting that ChatGPT, which is widely used to generate copy insights, deserves extra attention when it comes to emotionally appealing content.
This is because AI can go overboard when creating emotional texts. You have to be careful not to alienate your audience.
With or without the help of AI, copy and design together need to form a single element of persuasion.
But how do you measure whether the whole piece really makes sense for the persona’s pain?
A/B tests are a great ally, capable of generating valuable insights for those designing campaigns.
Through it, you can get to know the persona better and predict their desires with assertiveness.
How to write an email with emotional appeal: conclusion
Working with emotional appeal in e-commerce emails means exploring the persona’s pains, with the aim of creating a connection with their desires.
Emotions can be worked on in various ways. Personalization is one of the best known, and can be applied not only to the lead’s name, but also to the internal part of the message, with communication that offers solutions to their purchasing needs.
FAQ
The mind is divided into two systems: the emotional side and the rational side. Generally, emotions take the lead in purchasing decisions, but the rational side is always involved, since purchasing decisions are not always made on impulse. Some require more thought.
Using the lead’s name is one way, but there are also countless possibilities for personalization by exploiting the persona’s pains, both in the email’s subject line and on the inside of the message.
First of all, you need to know your persona well. This way, you can create campaigns that make sense, but A/B tests make communication easier, as they allow you to get to know your audience’s preferences.