The job of an email newsletter is to lead the reader toward a specific target action — placing an order, registering for an event, and so on. But whatever goal an email is chasing, they're all alike at their core: for the reader to respond to the call to action, the copy has to be persuasive. We explain and show, with examples, how to achieve that.

Subject line and preheader: the essentials, briefly

Even the most motivating email is powerless if the user never feels like opening it. So don't underestimate the subject line and preheader — they're your chance to make a first impression with every single email you send. A poorly written subject line full of spam trigger words, caps lock, and exclamation points, on the other hand, is a good way to end up in spam.

According to HubSpot's "2024 Sales Trends" report, 33% of users open emails based on the subject line alone.

The phrase in your subject line should contain all the key information and spell out the benefit for the customer. For example, if you're offering a discount promo code, make sure the main terms of the deal are clearly stated and understood even before the email is opened.

Subject line

It's best to keep the subject line to up to three words (up to five if you count function words).

A sentence that's too long will get cut off on mobile devices anyway, and more and more people check email on mobile. That means you risk losing important parts of the meaning — and the customer's interest along with it.

Preheader

If the subject line is the hook with the bait, the preheader is the line trailing behind it. Length is limited here too: the cap for desktop is usually around 130 characters, and 50 for mobile.

Why bother with a preheader? If you skip it, email services will pull in some random snippet from the email. A well-written preheader, on the other hand, brings the reader one step closer to tapping the email open. Always check how it displays during testing before you send.

Copywriting formulas for email newsletters

You've settled on the email's marketing goal and target action, and sketched out a subject line and preheader. All that's left is figuring out how exactly to present the copy — what to say up front, and what to save for later? How do you present your USP in the best light? How do you make the text "sell" in a simple, unobtrusive way, while keeping it interesting to read?

We've put together an overview of popular formulas for writing marketing copy. Let's look at how they're applied within the structure of an email to boost newsletter performance.

1. ODC: Offer — Deadline — Call to action

We run into the classic ODC framework every day, both online and offline — in ad banners, flyers, brochures. It requires three essential components:

  • Offer. A product or service offer.
  • Deadline. A limit on the offer's availability that pushes the audience to decide faster.
  • Call to action (CTA). A call to action.

This framework is often used at the early stage of drawing users into the sales funnel. It's best to keep the copy short and to the point: the promotion is about to end (or the item is about to sell out) — no time to explain, just click the link!

According to LXAHub's "Email Marketing: Statistics and Trends 2023" research, short promotional emails of 200–250 words see the highest response rate — 19%.

Here's how we applied the ODC formula in a fragment of a newsletter for the sporting goods chain Sportmaster. An attractive discount on exercise equipment is offered for a limited time. We emphasize the deadline through the choice of verb, nudging the reader: "hurry and order…" This is followed by a bold CTA: "Buy at a discount."

2. BAB: Before — After — Bridge

In this framework, the customer is quickly walked from the "before" stage (the pain point exists) to the "after" stage (the pain point is resolved), and then shown the tool that made it happen. This approach builds a "bridge" from the current state to a future one — a far more appealing future.

The formula is popular in video ads. Let's look at an example from an email by the agency Woodpecker to see how to put it into words in a newsletter.

  1. The company, which provides SEO services, opens the email on a rather gloomy note — the before: "Customers can't see you, so they can't buy from you." The sender says they checked the site's domain authority rating and the results weren't great.
  1. The next paragraph, as you guessed, paints a rosy picture — the after. The domain is more authoritative, the site ranks higher in Google search results, and it attracts more traffic. Its market position strengthens. An internet marketer's dream!
  2. Next comes the bridge with recommendations for the fix:"…but we can help." The company talks about its extensive experience improving domain authority scores through a combination of SEO and content marketing.

Now that the recipient is interested in the offer, all that's left is to add a call to action. Here, it's an invitation to discuss the details further over the phone.

3. PAS: Problem — Agitate — Solve

Another popular email formula that starts from the customer's pain point, but approaches it differently: first you name the problem, then you agitate for solving it, and finally you reveal the solution. In that order, the components produce the intended effect.

PAS works well when the problem is less obvious. The reader might be encountering the awareness of it for the first time. You need to educate them a little and motivate them to seek a solution from someone competent in the field — namely, you.

Let's see how this scenario plays out in an article from Emailsoldiers — persuasive and full of humor.

  1. Problem. "Let's face it: most people hate the software they use at work."
  2. Agitate. "Business software is clunky and expensive, hard to configure, and unpleasant to use. Countless hours are wasted trying to set up software solutions. Companies have to hire specialized, highly paid staff just to babysit the software."
  3. Solve. "We believe your business deserves better software — simple and ready to use out of the box. All of our products meet that standard, and you won't have to rob a bank to afford it."

The classic list of PAS components in this email is topped off with one more effective element — outcome, or resolution. "Today, over 150,000 companies already trust our software with their business. And we believe this is only the beginning."

At the end, extra emphasis is placed on the advantages that make the reader want to choose the sender specifically, rather than anyone else. This matters so that a user who's been motivated through the earlier stages doesn't go looking for a solution from a competitor once they finish reading your email, realize the problem is real, and decide it's finally time to do something about it — like switching the office software at last.

Send emails that don't skimp on personalization, and sell more. Even something as simple as adding direct address to "you" in an email can boost sales by up to 47% (according to HubSpot's "2024 Sales Trends" report).

4. FAB: Features — Advantages — Benefits

This formula includes three elements that are important to tell apart. The difference between them isn't always obvious, but you need to grasp it in order to present the benefits of using the product (benefits) in the best light. That's what we're really selling with the FAB formula. To get there, you first need to show the key features (features) and advantages (advantages).

Let's look at how this mechanism underpins an email newsletter we made for B2B.Ostrovok, a travel booking platform. It's an event digest announcing upcoming business breakfasts.

  1. Features. What's special about the product, and how does it help the customer?The foundation of the copy here is the product's key characteristics and useful functions. We laid out the event format and touched on how often the events happen and where.
  2. Advantages. What makes the product a better choice than competitors? What new value can it offer?Here it was important to spotlight a unique angle that competitors definitely didn't have: the chance to get exclusive booking-platform news live, in person. That point rightfully takes the top spot. Other advantages weren't forgotten either — expert talks, the chance to ask questions.
  3. Benefits. What tangible or intangible benefits will the customer get?At this stage, we mentioned the gifts every active event participant could receive.

The final block in the FAB formula can vary. Try to share whichever product benefits are most relevant this time, for this particular email. Once you've covered the benefits, move straight to the CTA — the reader has formed an opinion and is ready to act.

Experiment with buttons in your newsletters: LXAHub research shows that simply switching from second person to first person ("I want to order…") can boost clicks by 90%.

5. AIDA: Attention — Interest — Desire — Action

Let's write some great emails! The last formula in this roundup, but far from least in importance or popularity. Every AIDA text follows the same structure: grabbing attention (attention), building interest (interest), creating desire (desire), prompting action (action). Newsletters are no exception.

Here's how HomeExchange, a world leader in home swapping, built its email around the AIDA formula. It's an invitation to explore homes in Ireland, timed neatly to St. Patrick's Day.

  1. Attention. This component is easy to achieve at the subject-line stage for email: grab the user's attention, and they'll open the email. The subject line brings together symbols of Ireland and catches the eye: "Wild nature, Guinness, fairy tales, and legends." Looks like the intrigue is working!
  1. Interest. The email's headline offers "a bit of green for St. Patrick's Day," reminding readers that this is a great time to visit Ireland. Interest builds, prompting readers to keep going.
  1. Desire. Next come the reasons to visit Ireland: green expanses, mysterious castles, lively nights in pubs. The reader is led to the fact that there are more than 700 homes available for swapping in the country on HomeExchange.

Action. A button at the end invites readers to learn more about homes in Ireland, and a sheep emoji gives the email an informal, lively feel.

And a bit about style

Your newsletter now has a solid framework thanks to one of these formulas, and you already know what it's going to say. Content and structure are relatively clear at this point. But what about the stylistic side? Here are a few tips to help answer the question of how to write the copy — which matters just as much as understanding what to write.

1. Balancing tone of voice with universal principles

Newsletter copy needs to match the brand's personal tone of voice while staying within the bounds of language norms — grammatical, stylistic, orthographic, and so on. This keeps all communications consistent in style and upholds the company's reputation.

An editorial style guide helps strike that balance, spelling out the rules down to the tiniest detail. (Yes, really — down to the length of dashes, which come in en and em varieties, both different from a hyphen.)

2. Current trends: simplicity and brevity win

Email copy is increasingly moving toward shorter text and simpler vocabulary and sentence structure. Swap out jargon, express complex ideas as simply as possible, and visualize them through design — everything should be easy to understand. (Yes, simpler than this paragraph would be nice.)

3. "Write, cut" — or is that outdated now?

Digital marketing trends never stand still. Not long ago, Maxim Ilyakhov's guide to "info-style" writing was treated as gospel, but these days it's drawing more and more criticism. For example, in his article "Write, Rewrite," editor Alexander Grigoriev breaks down why info-style doesn't always serve the text well, and sometimes runs completely against the logic of the language.

So which new principles should you follow, and how do you avoid errors and clichés as much as possible? Which text-checking tools should you use for newsletters? How do you write in a way that lowers unsubscribe rates? There are a lot of questions and details, and it's important to bring together a professional team of writers and editors who know where to find the answers — whether that's an in-house team or an outside one.

At Mailfit, we offer a wide range of copywriting services — not just writing and coding newsletters, but also developing landing pages, presentations, website and social media content, tone-of-voice guides, and editorial policies. We write copy from scratch and edit existing material — you can get a free sample proofread of your website's content. Come to us with any copywriting task, and rest assured your message is in good hands!