Ethical Copywriting Tips For Creating an Email Sales Campaign with Integrity
We all get bombarded day after day with hundreds of emails. Most of which use every sales tactic in the book to get you to buy their product or service. And while these strategies may work, they kind of feel wrong and sometimes downright sleazy.
Nowadays, the average consumer has caught on to these tricks, and honestly, they are sick of them. When creating your email sales campaign, you want to focus on clarity, honesty, transparency, and respect. Treat your audience with respect, and they will do the same for you.
How do you go about this while still competing for your audience’s attention? Your competitors aren’t going to change their ways as long as they are converting, so how can you break the chain and stand out from the rest ethically and with integrity?
How to Write Your Email Sales Campaign Ethically.
You need to make sales. I mean, that's how you stay in business. But there is a fine line between ethical and unethical sales.
First of all, be honest with your audience. If you make claims about your product or service, you better back it up. Lay out all the facts, be transparent, and don’t withhold information.
You want to build trust with your audience, establish a genuine connection, and uphold your credibility, all while still being persuasive and compelling.
By adding ethical practices to your copy, you not only benefit the audience but the overall success and sustainability of your business. Here are some tips to ethically get the clicks for your email sales campaign.
Put the Person Before the Sale
Remember who you are writing to. You want to focus your email sales campaign on your audience rather than solely on you or your product. While you want to fully cover the features of your offer, be sure to include the benefits as well. Speak TO your audience. Don’t make it all about yourself.
In essence, put yourself in your audience’s shoes. Think about why they would want to read your email. What are you offering that can help solve their problem?
Your emails should ease your audience’s mind and prove that you are the solution. But be careful. You need to back up your claims with facts.
Get to know your audience, their wants, their needs, and show how your business can help. This can be done by researching in places your audience hangs out. Whether that be Facebook, Instagram, Reddit… etc. See what they are saying, what problems they are facing, what they are struggling with. If you have prior customers, reach out and ask about them.
Your research will go a long way in tailoring your emails towards your customers.
Compelling Subject Lines
Grab your customer’s attention with a compelling subject line. You want to use something that will entice your audience to click but avoid clickbaity or misleading subject lines. Clickbait subject lines may grab attention initially, but they often disappoint customers and erode trust.
Honesty really is the best policy. Focus on creating subject lines that reflect and clearly communicate the content of your email and deliver value. You want your customers to know what to expect in the body of your email.
Your subject line is your first impression with your customer. It's important to be transparent, relevant, and honest. A compelling and honest subject line will build integrity and trust with your customer and encourage higher open rates.
Craft Honest and Persuasive Body Content
You learned about your customer and their needs. You created a compelling and attention-grabbing subject line and got the click. The body of your email should focus on providing valuable information, addressing your customer’s needs, and giving a genuine solution.
The body of your email is where you need to focus on the features and benefits of your product or service. Explain what your product does (the features) and how that will help solve the customer’s problems (the benefits). Pretend you are your customer and ask yourself, “how does this help me?”
Back up your claims by using client testimonials, statistics, case studies, whatever you can to support your claims. This builds your integrity and trust with your customers.
Don’t make promises you can’t deliver on. If you can’t support it, don’t use it. You will only be hurting yourself and jeopardizing your relationship with your customer.
Be empathetic when discussing your audience’s pain points. You don’t want to exploit them, you want to empathize with their problems and show compassion.
Telling a story of how your product or service helped a customer displays immense value. Not to mention builds trust and helps you connect with your customer. Try to pair the story with a testimonial to strengthen your claim.
Most importantly, write clear, simple, and easy-to-understand emails. Remember that most people are reading your emails on their phones. You need to be able to keep their attention. Clear and concise copy will do that.
Creating a Sense of Urgency Ethically
Creating a sense of urgency in your email sales campaign is a great way to get more sales. But you need to be cautious going this route.
Be genuine when using scarcity in your emails. If you say limited time only, make sure it’s for a limited time only. I’m sure you’ve received an email or two claiming, “Wave goodbye to 65% lifetime access forever!” only to get the same email a few weeks later. It’s misleading and, quite honestly, can turn people off to your product or service.
Just be responsible when generating scarcity with your customers. Avoid using manipulating tactics or aggressive/deceptive language.
Putting it All Together
By following these ethical copywriting tips, you will create a compelling and persuasive email sales campaign while respecting your customer’s time and attention. You will build trust, foster genuine connections, and drive sustainable growth in your business.
This will not only lead to higher engagement and conversions but also give your brand a positive image and nurture long-term customer loyalty.
If you are looking to rebel against the cringey email norms, book your free call with me today.
About The Author: Justin is a talented direct response copywriter, working with brands to create a plan to help them reach more people, educate and inform their audience about their wonderful products and services, generate organic website traffic, rank their site among the tops in their industry, and of course increase your revenue. Visit his website at https://www.justindubs.com/.