5 Easy Tips to follow to Write Better Stories in your next Email Campaign

You don't need to be J.K. Rowlings, or Earnest Hemmingway to write creative and engaging story-based email campaigns.

Just follow the below 5 tips and you can write your first email easily!

1- Start with the Climax in mind!

"My friend stole my work and did something even worse after that!"

"I yelled at my Boss and threw water on his face and this was his reaction!"

Wouldn't you want to know what happens next?

YES! Is my answer. Especially the second, because I sometimes want to do that too!

But joking aside, I found that the best and easiest way to hook readers into reading emails is to think of the Climax of your story. The climax is the most exciting part of the story.

Then think of the key event that leads to the climax. Write that down.

Start simple:

My friend stole my hard work and did not pay me for it.

And then take out an important chunk of it so it becomes more intriguing and readers would want to continue reading to know what happens next.

Then remove the important part:

My friend stole my work and did something even worse after that!

Easy!

2- Tone & Mood!

The Tone is the author's attitude to the story. In a way, it is the voice of the business owner.

Was he hurt, sad or was he glad? What words were used to describe the event?

If you are a copywriter, the best way to understand the tone or voice of the business owner is to have regular weekly meetings and record them for future references.

The Mood is the overall feeling you want to transcend the screen and reach the reader. Ironic, sarcastic, optimistic, pessimistic, hopeful, dreamer, and even more moods are available to decide from.

So choose the one that suits your story.

3- Don't forget the Setting!

Where? When? How? What? Who?

Answer all those questions and don't leave anything out!

If I say "vehicle", what is the first thing that comes to your mind?

Car, train, bus, or boat?

And if you say "car", do you mean green car, white car, black car, or gray car?

A convertible, jeep, SUV, or a limo?

Always paint a CLEAR PICTURE in the minds of your reader. But stay away from over-describing and going into unnecessary details. Leave something for the imagination!

The easiest way to do so is to dump out everything you want to say and then start trimming:

" I had given her everything. Even from the beginning. (When)

(Who) My friend and I worked for the library. (Where)

If she needed help with anything, I was there for her. But one day she offered to pay me to write a product description for her personal business. (What & How)"

Becomes this:

"(When) One Tuesday, while my friend and I (who) were stacking books in the City library as usual (where), she offered to pay me (What) to write a product description for her flower business (How)."

4- All hands and legs must safely stay inside the Ride!

Map out the rollercoaster ride (the plot) of the story before you commence with the body of the email!

Remember the three important parts of the body of the story:

Rising action

The slow climb to the top! This is the part of the ride that you want to end FAST so you can be at the top and see the whole park in front of you and the steep drop below you. So be sure to make it fast-paced and entertaining. Use dialogues because people love (he said, she said).

Climax

The exciting part of the ride, the top! The climax in an email campaign is usually compressed into 1 to 2 sentences. Just give it to the reader.

A Mini Tip: If you writing a blog and the story's ending is also in the blog, then you could use a CTA (Call-To-Action) to get readers to finish reading the story.

Another mini tip: do not forget to inform your readers how many lines or paragraphs they need to skip before continuing to the juicy part of the story.

Falling Action

The excitement does not end with the climax. All the twist and turns and drops that comes after the climax is just as exciting. Reveal everything, solve every problem, end it with a bang. And the Falling action leads us to an important part...

5- Call-To-Action

A Call-To-Action is the part of the email where you ask or tell your reader to take a certain action. Join a live stream, subscribe, buy now, etc...

It is advisable to not use it in this type of email. The purpose of a Story-based Email Campaign is to establish a deeper connection with your reader and not buy anything from you.

But I have seen many great copywriters use CTAs in story-based email campaigns. How?

One way is to add a "P.S." at the end of the story and include a CTA.

For example, the end of my story is:

"P.S. Even though that witch took my hard work and never paid for it, I have met 7 other clients whom I helped double their income in 6 months.

You can also double your leads and in turn, increase your income. Just reply with "interested ✋" to know how."

The End.