Making squash soup is a lot like writing email copy. Hear me out. Last weekend, in celebration of cooler weather, I bought a couple of creamy butternut squashes and one of made my favorite soups of autumn: Butternut Squash Soup. Yummm. Don’t you love the smell of soup on a brisk day?
We savored the quash soup; it was heavenly. Butternut squash is sweet and buttery, with a complex nutty flavor that says winter is just around the corner. And the rich golden orange color is the happy, earthy color of comfort. what could be better on a November Saturday afternoon?
It was only later that I realized butternut squash soup bears some similarities to email copy..yes, you read that right.
Here’s what I mean:
Let’s start with ingredients, or the content itself.
1. Be fresh! Be Spicy!
First, you want to mix in something fresh (cream) or spicy (nutmeg) to your topic, especially if the topic itself isn’t brand new. If you do a Google search, you’ll find that you’re probably not the first person to dream up the subject you’ve chosen. BUT — and this is the good part (the part that only YOU excel at): you can liven it up with something fresh, your own special ingredient. Or you can think of something that’s trending online or a current event that people are talking about and tie it into your email.
Just think of what you want to say and start writing. I use this blog post as an example; the subject of awesome email campaigns is never far from my mind. And voila! the correlation between soup and email.
I always recommend going with some unique tangent that is whispering in your thoughts and give it a go. Sometimes, you’ll follow a thread that leads nowhere. But often, you’ll start writing and discover a powerful message lurking like a tiger in the corner. Sometimes you might even surprise yourself; you’ll never know if you don’t go after that small gem of an idea.
Your experience gives you perspective, and your perspective on an an old theme may be very interesting to someone already familiar with your topic, especially if it’s a saturated topic. And it could be just the thing that registers with someone who’s on the fence about the issue you’re covering, or even debating whether to purchase from you. If your angle (however odd it seems at the start) rings true for you and you can share it with conviction, then you’ve found your writer’s voice and people will read.
2. Use What You Already Have
In Butternut Squash Soup, some ingredients can be a few days on the counter; namely the squash itself since it’s one of those long-lasting winter gourds. (I’ve even made good soup from a butternut squash that had graced my kitchen counter for a couple of weeks!)
Just like aging squash, old content of yours is a perfectly acceptable base. Really, you should be harvesting from your blog posts and articles regularly to come up with ideas or to reintroduce an important subtopic to your readers. If your online materials are scarce, then source your company’s brochures or the marketing materials you receive from other businesses. You may have a list of FAQ’s by customers, or a stash of old printed newsletters you sent years ago. Check and see if they contain any content that is still relevant to your industry.
Just like aging squash, old content of yours is a perfectly acceptable base. Really, you should be harvesting from your blog posts and articles regularly to come up with ideas or to reintroduce an important subtopic to your readers. If your online materials are scarce, then source your company’s brochures or the marketing materials you receive from other businesses. You may have a list of FAQ’s by customers, or a stash of old printed newsletters you sent years ago. Check and see if they contain any content that is still relevant to your industry.
3. Avoid Exotic or Expensive Ingredients
Consider the simple ingredients in squash soup. Nothing fancy; nothing you can’t pronounce; they are all things you probably already have on hand — onions, butter, chicken stock, etc. When writing your emails, use simple language; words that are geared toward your audience. We have a tendency in business to make assumptions about our customers. We think we know what their problems are without asking them, and we describe how we can help them using jargon that they may not have ever heard before. That’s crazy!
A long time ago, I was shopping for a spa for our backyard in California (ah, what perfect weather for outdoor living!) and I’ll never forget an experience with the salesman in one display room. He dazzled me with too much perplexing information. I actually left the showroom thinking, “I wonder why he didn’t want to sell me a spa!” He talked about thermal retention, electrical requirements, pumps and filters as if I had worked on pools and spas all my life. All I wanted was to hear how easy it would be to maintain and how relaxing it would be to sink in after a long day. If he had taken the time to help me understand why these features and requirements were beneficial or helpful, I might have listened. But Instead it was a barrage of meaningless words.
To excel at communication, I recommend writing and speaking as if you want a very intelligent fifth grader to understand. Don’t use industry-specific words. Or if you do, explain what they mean. Just keep it simple with words (like ingredients) that you can get easily or already have on hand. If you have to go shopping for some special ingredient or word, perhaps you are trying to write “too smart.”
I absolutely DO advise using a thesaurus to find those juicy words you might not be able to summon instantly, but in general, just write like you talk. You’re rpobably going to connect with people much better than if you try to wow your audience with “$5 dollar” words.
4. Heat and Stir (You can’t please everyone)
Don’t be afraid of some heat! People read your email because they want your news, and your “take” on things. Remember, they signed up for that! You distinguish yourself as an expert among tepid opinion-givers when you make some bold and passionate declarations. Part of making soup is stirring the pot, so feel free to voice your opinion clearly. But while you can and should be tough on behaviors and practices; always be gentle on people.
You’ve heard that no publicity is bad publicity. In that spirit, your controversial stance on a subject just might attract some attention and buzz from your readership. No harm done as long as you can defend your claims.
5. Prepare for Leftovers
You know how soup is better after a day or two in the fridge? Your email copy should be able to stand that same time test. The more marketing messages people sign up for and receive, the more they are segmenting ways of receiving it. A common trend among consumers these days is to maintain one email address for marketing messages only. That way, all the coupons, newsletters, and event notices are stored in one mailbox; while personal emails are received in another. This may not be the case among older readers or B2B readers, but it’s certainly a trend to keep your eye on.
In general, your email may be consumed over a few days. Weekdays, especially Tuesdays through Friday mornings, are good times to send email to businesses, but they may not be the best time to send email to consumers. Many people save email for weekends when they have more time to browse things they didn’t have time to address during the work week. Depending on what type of business you are in, for example a liesure, hobby or lifestyle product email may get opened more often in evening hours or on weekends. Just don’t assume that your readers will open your emails immediately. Therefore, they should be hot the moment you hit “send,” but have a little staying power, too. All you ‘Call now’ button users and coupon senders, beware!
If you need some hot and savory email copy for your business, let us help you. We can dish up something good for your readers.
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