Email Writing

Master email marketing from subject lines to sequences. Templates for welcome emails, nurture campaigns, sales emails, and newsletters that get opened, read, and clicked.

When to Use This Skill

• Writing email subject lines that get opens
• Creating welcome email sequences
• Building nurture and sales sequences
• Writing newsletters that engage
• Re-engagement and win-back campaigns
• Reviewing and improving email performance

Methodology Foundation

Source: Compiled from Copyhackers, Really Good Emails, Val Geisler, Joanna Wiebe, and direct response email best practices.

Core Principle: Email is a conversation, not a broadcast. Every email should feel like it came from a person, provide value, and respect the inbox.

Why This Matters: Email still delivers the highest ROI of any channel ($36 for every $1 spent). But only if it gets opened, read, and clicked.

What Claude Does vs What You Decide

Claude Does	You Decide
Structures production workflow	Final creative direction
Suggests technical approaches	Equipment and tool choices
Creates templates and checklists	Quality standards
Identifies best practices	Brand/voice decisions
Generates script outlines	Final script approval

What This Skill Does

1. Writes subject lines that get opens - Curiosity, value, or urgency
2. Crafts email body copy - Engaging, scannable, action-oriented
3. Builds email sequences - Welcome, nurture, sales, launch
4. Creates newsletter formats - Consistent, valuable, efficient
5. Optimizes send strategy - Timing, frequency, segmentation

How to Use

Write Subject Lines

Write 10 subject lines for:
Email type: [welcome, newsletter, sales, etc.]
Content/offer: [what the email is about]
Audience: [who receives it]

Write a Complete Email

Write a [type] email for:
Product/service: [description]
Goal: [click, reply, buy, etc.]
Recipient context: [new subscriber, past customer, etc.]

Build an Email Sequence

Create a [number]-email [type] sequence for:
Product: [description]
Trigger: [opt-in, purchase, abandoned cart, etc.]
End goal: [purchase, demo, engagement, etc.]

Audit Email Performance

Review this email and suggest improvements:
[paste email]
Current open rate: [%]
Current click rate: [%]

Instructions

When writing emails, apply these frameworks:

Subject Line Mastery

## Subject Line Formulas That Work

### Category 1: Curiosity
Create a gap between what they know and want to know

**Formulas:**
- "[Unexpected thing] about [topic]"
- "I was wrong about [topic]"
- "This changes everything"
- "Quick question"
- "Weird thing happened..."

**Examples:**
- "I was wrong about cold email"
- "This surprised me about [product]"
- "The $100K email (not clickbait)"

---

### Category 2: Benefit/Value
Promise clear value for opening

**Formulas:**
- "[Number] ways to [achieve outcome]"
- "How to [achieve result]"
- "The [adjective] way to [do thing]"
- "[Resource] inside"

**Examples:**
- "7 ways to fix your landing page"
- "Your [Month] marketing calendar is ready"
- "The lazy way to write better emails"

---

### Category 3: Personal/Conversational
Feels like it came from a person

**Formulas:**
- "Quick question about [topic]"
- "Thoughts on [topic]?"
- "This made me think of you"
- "Re: [previous topic]" (use sparingly)

**Examples:**
- "Quick question about your goals"
- "Thoughts on this approach?"
- "Made me think of you"

---

### Category 4: Urgency/Scarcity
Time-sensitive (only if genuine)

**Formulas:**
- "[X] hours left"
- "Last chance: [offer]"
- "Closing [timeframe]"
- "Before you miss this"

**Examples:**
- "24 hours left (then price goes up)"
- "Closing at midnight"
- "Last call for [offer]"

---

### Category 5: List/Story
Promise organized content

**Formulas:**
- "[Number] [things] you need to [outcome]"
- "A story about [topic]"
- "How I [achieved result]"

**Examples:**
- "3 emails that made us $50K"
- "A story about my worst launch"
- "How we fixed our churn problem"

---

## Subject Line Power Words

**Open-Boosters:**
- Quick, Fast, Easy
- New, Now, Today
- How, Why, What
- You, Your
- Free, Save
- [Numbers]

**Spam-Triggers to Avoid:**
- FREE!!! (all caps + exclamation)
- URGENT!!!
- Act now!!!
- Buy now
- Click here
- Too many emojis

---

Email Body Structure

## The Anatomy of a High-Performing Email

### Opening Line (The Hook)
- First 1-2 sentences determine if they read on
- NO "Hope this finds you well"
- Start with curiosity, story, or direct value

**Good Opens:**
- "I made a mistake last week."
- "Quick question for you:"
- "You asked for this, so here it is."
- "[Name], I noticed something about your [X]..."
- Direct statement of value

**Bad Opens:**
- "Hope this email finds you well!"
- "Just checking in..."
- "I wanted to reach out because..."
- "As per my last email..."

---

### Body (The Value)
- One idea per email (focused)
- Short paragraphs (1-3 sentences max)
- White space is your friend
- Write for mobile (52% open on mobile)
- Use bold for emphasis sparingly
- Bullets for lists

**Reading Length Guidelines:**
- Newsletter: 200-400 words
- Sales email: 150-300 words
- Welcome email: 150-250 words
- Promotional: 100-200 words

---

### CTA (The Action)
- One primary CTA per email
- Make it button or obvious link
- Tell them exactly what happens when they click
- CTA above and below long emails

**CTA Templates:**
- "Click here to [get specific thing]"
- "Grab your [offer] →"
- "[Action verb] now →"
- "Reply and let me know"

---

### Signature (The Close)
- Consistent, personal sign-off
- Photo optional but humanizing
- Keep it short
- P.S. line for second pitch (optional but effective)

---

Email Sequence Frameworks

## Welcome Sequence (5-7 Emails)

### Email 1: Deliver + Introduce (Immediately)
- Deliver what they signed up for
- Quick intro to who you are
- Set expectations (email frequency)
- Single CTA: consume the content

### Email 2: Your Story (Day 2)
- Why you do what you do
- Relatability and trust building
- Light value add
- CTA: Read, watch, or reply

### Email 3: Quick Win (Day 4)
- One actionable tip they can use today
- Show your expertise
- CTA: Implement the tip

### Email 4: Common Problem (Day 6)
- Address common mistake/misconception
- Position yourself as authority
- CTA: Related content or resource

### Email 5: Social Proof (Day 8)
- Customer story or testimonial
- Make success tangible
- CTA: See more success stories / take next step

### Email 6: The Pitch (Day 10)
- Introduce your offer clearly
- Connect to value you've provided
- CTA: Learn more / start trial

### Email 7: Q&A / Objections (Day 12)
- Handle common questions
- Reassure and reduce friction
- Final CTA + close the loop

---

## Nurture Sequence (Ongoing Weekly)

**Purpose**: Provide value, stay top of mind, build relationship

**Content Mix:**
- 80% value (tips, insights, stories)
- 20% promotion (offers, products)

**Templates:**
- "One thing I learned this week..."
- "Quick tip for your [problem area]"
- "This worked for [customer], might work for you"
- "Curated: 3 things worth your time"

---

## Sales Sequence (5-7 Emails Over 7-14 Days)

### Email 1: Problem Aware
- Acknowledge the problem deeply
- Show you understand
- Hint at solution
- CTA: Learn more

### Email 2: Solution Aware
- Introduce your solution
- Explain the mechanism
- Why it works
- CTA: See how it works

### Email 3: Social Proof
- Customer stories
- Results and outcomes
- Make it real
- CTA: Read the case study / start trial

### Email 4: Deep Dive
- Features and benefits detailed
- FAQs answered
- Objections handled
- CTA: Get started

### Email 5: Urgency
- Deadline or scarcity (real)
- Recap of value
- Last chance messaging
- CTA: Buy now

### Email 6: Final Call
- Straight-up last chance
- Summary of what they're missing
- Risk reversal reminder
- CTA: Final chance to join

### Email 7: Cart Closed / Doors Closed
- It's over (for now)
- When it opens again
- Alternative way to stay engaged

---

Email Types Deep Dive

## Newsletter Best Practices

### Purpose
- Consistent value delivery
- Stay top of mind
- Build relationship
- Drive traffic

### Successful Newsletter Formats

**The Curator**
- 3-5 links to content you didn't create
- Your take on each
- Easy to produce, high value

**The One Thing**
- Single topic deep dive
- One actionable insight
- Long enough to be valuable, short enough to finish

**The Story**
- Weekly story with a lesson
- Personal, relatable
- Builds connection

**The Roundup**
- Your week/month in content
- New posts, podcasts, videos
- Works for content-heavy creators

### Newsletter Template

[Subject line: Specific to this week's content]

[Hook: 1-2 sentences that compel reading]

[Main content: 200-400 words]

• Insight 1
• Insight 2
• Story or example

[CTA: One thing to do/read/click]

[Sign-off]

P.S. [Secondary pitch or teaser]

---

## Re-engagement Emails

### Purpose
- Wake up cold subscribers
- Get permission to stay or leave
- Clean your list

### Best Practices
- Acknowledge the silence
- Make it easy to stay (one click)
- Make it okay to leave
- Don't be desperate

### Re-engagement Template

Subject: Still interested?

Hey [Name],

It's been a while since you opened one of my emails.

No hard feelings—inboxes are crowded.

But I wanted to check: still want to hear from me?

→ [Click here if you still want my emails]

If I don't hear from you, I'll remove you in a few days. No hard feelings, saves us both time.

If you DO want to stay, click above and you'll keep getting [value you provide].

[Sign-off]

---

## Cart Abandonment Sequence

### Email 1: Reminder (1 hour)
- "Still thinking it over?"
- Remind what's in cart
- Simple CTA: Complete your order

### Email 2: Objection Handler (24 hours)
- Address why they might have left
- FAQ or guarantee
- CTA: Complete with confidence

### Email 3: Urgency (48-72 hours)
- Cart won't stay forever
- Scarcity if applicable
- Last chance messaging

---

Email Performance Optimization

## What to Track

### Primary Metrics
- **Open Rate**: Subject line effectiveness
  - Industry avg: 15-25%
  - Good: 25%+

- **Click-Through Rate (CTR)**: Content + CTA effectiveness
  - Industry avg: 2-4%
  - Good: 4%+

- **Conversion Rate**: Overall email effectiveness
  - Varies by goal

### Improvement Strategies

**Low Open Rate (< 15%)**
- Test subject lines (A/B test)
- Check sender name (person vs. company)
- Review send time
- Clean your list (remove cold)
- Check deliverability

**High Open, Low Click (< 2%)**
- Email too long
- CTA not clear/visible
- Content/CTA mismatch
- Wrong audience segment
- Weak value proposition

**High Click, Low Conversion**
- Landing page issue
- Expectation mismatch
- Too many steps after click
- Wrong audience in sequence

### A/B Test Ideas
1. Subject line (curiosity vs. direct)
2. Send time (morning vs. afternoon)
3. CTA button vs. text link
4. Email length (short vs. long)
5. Personal vs. branded sender
6. With image vs. text only

Examples

Example 1: Welcome Email

Context: SaaS trial signup welcome

Output:

Subject: Your account is ready (+ quick tip)

Hey [Name],

Welcome to [Product].

Your account is ready to go: [Login Link]

But before you dive in, here's the #1 thing I wish someone told me when I started:

**Don't try to do everything at once.**

Start with [one key feature]. It takes 5 minutes and you'll see the value immediately.

Here's exactly how to set it up:
1. [Step 1]
2. [Step 2]
3. [Step 3]

That's it. Once you've done that, you'll be ahead of 80% of new users.

Questions? Reply to this email—I actually read them.

[Sign-off]

P.S. I'll send you a few more tips over the next week. They're short and useful, promise.

---

Example 2: Sales Email Sequence

Context: B2B software, demo booking goal

Email 1 of 5:

Subject: The spreadsheet problem

[Name],

Every Monday, you probably do the same thing.

Open the spreadsheet. Wait for it to load. Scroll through 47 tabs. Spend 20 minutes finding the number you need.

And by the time you find it, it's already outdated.

Sound familiar?

That's because spreadsheets weren't built for [specific use case]. They're where good data goes to die.

Tomorrow, I'll show you what happens when you ditch the spreadsheet.

Until then,
[Sign-off]

Email 2 of 5:

Subject: Ditch the spreadsheet

[Name],

Yesterday I mentioned the spreadsheet problem.

Today, the solution: [Product Name].

Instead of 47 tabs and outdated data, you get:
- Real-time [specific data] in one dashboard
- Updates that sync automatically
- Reports that take seconds, not hours

[Customer Name] at [Company] made the switch 6 months ago.

Results: "We got 3 hours back every week. And our numbers are actually accurate now."

Worth 15 minutes to see if it'd work for you?

[Book a 15-min demo →]

No pitch. Just a look at your data and whether we can help.

[Sign-off]

---

Example 3: Newsletter

Context: Marketing newsletter for B2B audience

Output:

Subject: We killed our best-performing email

Hey,

Our welcome sequence was converting at 12%.

Last month, we deleted it and started over.

Here's why:

The sequence was 18 months old. Our product had changed. Our positioning had changed. But our first impression hadn't.

New subscribers were getting promises we no longer make.

It was converting—but to the wrong people.

**The lesson**: High performance isn't everything. Performance aligned with where you're going matters more.

We're still A/B testing the new sequence. Early signs: 8% conversion but 40% lower churn at 30 days.

Worth it.

**This week's links:**
- The 5 emails every SaaS needs (our framework) [Link]
- Why your free trial converts worse than it should [Link]
- Tool I'm testing for email analytics [Link]

Until next week,
[Sign-off]

P.S. Building your own sequence? Reply and I'll send you our new template (not published yet).

Checklists & Templates

Email Review Checklist

## Before You Hit Send

### Subject Line
- [ ] Under 50 characters (mobile-friendly)
- [ ] No spam words (FREE!!!)
- [ ] Creates curiosity OR states clear value
- [ ] A/B test version ready

### Opening Line
- [ ] No "Hope this finds you well"
- [ ] Hook in first sentence
- [ ] Recipient will want to read more

### Body
- [ ] One main idea only
- [ ] Short paragraphs (1-3 sentences)
- [ ] Scannable on mobile
- [ ] Value before pitch
- [ ] Conversational tone

### CTA
- [ ] One primary CTA
- [ ] Clear what happens when clicked
- [ ] Button or obvious link
- [ ] CTA repeated (if longer email)

### Technical
- [ ] Preview text set
- [ ] Links working
- [ ] Personalization tokens tested
- [ ] Mobile preview checked
- [ ] Unsubscribe link present

---

Email Sequence Planner

## Sequence Planner

### Sequence Type: _______________
### Trigger: _______________
### End Goal: _______________

| Email # | Day | Subject | Goal | CTA |
|---------|-----|---------|------|-----|
| 1 | 0 | | | |
| 2 | | | | |
| 3 | | | | |
| 4 | | | | |
| 5 | | | | |

### Success Metrics
- Target open rate: _____%
- Target click rate: _____%
- Target conversion rate: _____%

### A/B Tests Planned
1.
2.

---

Subject Line A/B Test Template

## Subject Line Test

### Email: _______________
### Send Date: _______________
### Audience Size: _______________

### Variant A
Subject:
Hypothesis:

### Variant B
Subject:
Hypothesis:

### Winner Criteria
- Metric: Open Rate
- Significance: 95%
- Sample: 50/50 split

### Results
| | Open Rate | Clicks | Winner |
|---|-----------|--------|--------|
| A | | | |
| B | | | |

### Learnings
[What did we learn for future tests?]

Skill Boundaries

What This Skill Does Well

• Structuring audio production workflows
• Providing technical guidance
• Creating quality checklists
• Suggesting creative approaches

What This Skill Cannot Do

• Replace audio engineering expertise
• Make subjective creative decisions
• Access or edit audio files directly
• Guarantee commercial success

References

• Wiebe, Joanna. Copyhackers email copywriting methodology
• Geisler, Val. Email sequence frameworks
• Really Good Emails - Email design and copy examples
• Litmus - Email performance benchmarks
• Campaign Monitor - Email marketing research

Related Skills

• headline-formulas - Subject line formulas
• copy-frameworks - Email structure with PAS/AIDA
• cta-writing - Email CTAs
• copywriting-schwartz - Awareness levels for segmentation

---

Skill Metadata (Internal Use)

name: email-writing
category: content
subcategory: email-marketing
version: 1.0
author: MKTG Skills
source_expert: Multiple (Wiebe, Geisler, industry consensus)
source_work: Compilation of email marketing best practices
difficulty: intermediate
estimated_value: $800 email marketing course
tags: [email, subject-lines, sequences, newsletters, automation]
created: 2025-01-24
updated: 2025-01-24