How to Write Emails That Sell Without Being ‘Salesy’

SalesmanMarketers often make the mistake of writing their emails like sales letters. This means that “they pack them with benefits and use all the usual copywriting tricks – out of context – and selling ‘choke holds,'” according to Ben Settle, a direct-response copywriter and email marketing strategist writing for Copyblogger.

What marketers should be doing instead is writing emails that talk about the pain caused by the problem your readers want to resolve. A call to action and a link to your website are still necessary, but the goal isn’t to drill your product and all its glorious benefits into your readers’ heads.

Using this approach preps readers to look for a solution as they are, ideally, taken to your landing page. When done correctly, after they read your email they’re looking to be sold to.

The best part of this approach is that it’s simple, according to Settle.

Dan Hudson, co-founder and president of B2B sales and leads company 3FORWARD, says that marketers should be helpful guides to readers, not just unrelenting sellers. This means equipping prospects with information that can help them solve problems.