Sending Emails

How to Create a Marketing Email That Actually Gets Read

Most marketing emails fail for the same boring reason: they read like marketing emails. They open with a fanfare, bury the point, and ask for too much. Readers — your readers — delete them in under two seconds.

This guide walks through how to create a marketing email that survives that two-second test. The frameworks work whether you're announcing a novel, promoting a course, or sending a weekly newsletter. We'll cover the structure, the copywriting moves that earn clicks, and the small calibrations (subject line length, send time, link count) that quietly move your numbers.

1

Start with the job the email has to do

Before you write a word, answer this in one sentence: what should the reader do after reading this? Not "feel excited about my book" — what action. Click a preorder link. Reply with a question. Tap a coupon. Forward to a friend.

If you can't name the action, you're not writing a marketing email — you're writing an update. Updates are fine, but they don't need a subject line workshop. Marketing emails do.

A few examples of clean jobs:

  • Get the reader to preorder Book 3 before Friday.
  • Get the reader to download the free prequel novella.
  • Get the reader to leave a review on Goodreads.
  • Get the reader to reply with their favorite character so I can use it in a future newsletter.

One email, one job. Two jobs in one email cuts conversion roughly in half — readers freeze when they have to choose.

2

The structure that works

Strong promotional emails almost always follow some version of this skeleton:

  • Subject line — earns the open
  • Preview text — extends or contrasts the subject
  • Hook (first 1–2 lines) — earns the scroll
  • Body (50–250 words) — earns the click
  • Call to action — one button, one job
  • P.S. — catches scanners

The P.S. is not optional. Eye-tracking studies going back to the direct-mail era show readers scan to the P.S. before reading the body. Put your strongest reason-to-act there in one line.

3

How to write a subject line that gets opened

Aim for 30–50 characters so it doesn't truncate on mobile. Mobile is 60–70% of opens for most lists.

The four subject-line patterns that consistently outperform generic announcements:

  • Curiosity gap: "The chapter I almost cut"
  • Specificity: "Book 3 launches Tuesday at 9am EST"
  • Direct benefit: "Free novella, today only"
  • Question: "Should Marcus survive the next book?"

What to avoid: ALL CAPS, more than one exclamation point, the words "free" and "buy" stacked together, and emoji clusters. These don't always trip spam filters, but they signal mass-mail energy and tank opens from your most engaged readers.

When in doubt, A/B test two subjects on a 20% slice of your list and send the winner to the rest. A 3-percentage-point lift on a 5,000-person list is 150 extra opens — enough to matter on a launch.

4

How to write the body

Three rules cover most of the work:

Write to one person. Not "hi everyone" — "hi." Imagine you're emailing one specific reader you've actually met. Your sentences will get shorter, your contractions will come back, and the email will read like it was written by a human.

Lead with the reader, not yourself. Compare:

  • Weak: "I'm thrilled to announce my new book is out today!"
  • Stronger: "If you liked the slow burn between Anya and Cole in Book 1 — Book 2 picks up exactly where that left off. It's out now."

The second version answers the only question the reader actually has: what's in this for me?

Cut every sentence that doesn't move the reader toward the action. Most marketing emails are 40% longer than they need to be. Read your draft and delete any sentence that's there for politeness, throat-clearing, or your own reassurance.

5

A quick marketing email sample

Here's a 90-word launch email that hits every beat:

Notice what's not there: a plot summary, a cover reveal speech, three different links, a request to leave a review. One job. One link. One P.S. with a second reason to act.

6

Calibrations that quietly move numbers

  • Send time: Tuesday–Thursday, 9–11am in your largest reader segment's time zone is the safe default. Your list may differ — check your open-time report after three sends.
  • Link count: One primary CTA. If you must include a secondary link, make it text, not a button.
  • Image count: Zero to one. Heavy image emails get clipped by Gmail and routed to Promotions.
  • From name: Use your name, not your imprint or business. "Jane Smith" beats "Hollowfield Press" by 10–20% on opens for most author lists.
  • Plain text version: Always include one. Apple Mail and corporate clients render it; spam filters check for it.
7

Deliverability is part of copywriting

The best-written promotional email never works if it lands in spam. Two things matter most:

  • Authentication: Set up SPF and DKIM on your sending domain. If you're on a platform like AuthorMailingLists.com or Mailchimp or ConvertKit, this is a setup-once checkbox. Skip it and your inbox placement drops 30%+.
  • Engagement: Mailbox providers watch what your last 10 sends did. Sending a promo to people who haven't opened anything in a year drags your sender reputation down for everyone else. Segment out cold subscribers before launches.

If you haven't built your list yet, start there: how to make an email list from scratch and how to grow your email list are the two foundations every marketing email rests on.

8

A repeatable workflow

When I write a promotional email now, the sequence is:

  1. Write the action in one sentence.
  1. Draft the P.S. first — it forces the reason-to-act to be concrete.
  1. Write three subject lines, pick the two least similar, A/B test.
  1. Write a 60-word body around a single hook.
  1. Read it out loud. Cut anything that makes you wince.
  1. Send to yourself. Check the preview text on mobile.
  1. Send.

Seven steps, maybe 25 minutes once you've done it a few times. Faster than the average author spends agonizing over a single subject line — and the emails perform better because they're shaped by the job, not the mood.

9

What to do next

Write one email this week using the structure above. One job, one link, one P.S. Send it. Look at the open rate and click rate the next morning. That single data point — your list, your readers, your voice — is worth more than any general benchmark.

Then do it again next week. Email copywriting is a muscle. Eight reps in, you'll be writing better promos than most agencies.

Frequently asked

How do you create a marketing email from scratch?
Start by naming the single action you want the reader to take — preorder, click, reply, download. Then write the structure in this order: P.S. first (the strongest reason to act), then subject line, then a 60–250 word body built around one hook, then one CTA button. Read it aloud, cut anything that doesn't push toward the action, and send a preview to yourself on mobile before launching. The whole process should take 20–30 minutes once it's a habit.
How do you write a good marketing email that doesn't sound salesy?
Write to one person, not a list. Use the reader's name, contractions, and short sentences. Lead with what's in it for them — not what you're announcing. Replace "I'm thrilled to share..." with a concrete hook tied to something the reader already cares about. Keep it under 250 words, use one link, and sign off with your first name. Salesy emails feel salesy because they're written to a crowd; conversational emails feel personal because they're written to a person.
How do you write a promotional email subject line?
Stay between 30 and 50 characters so it doesn't truncate on mobile, where most opens happen. Use one of four patterns: curiosity gap ("The chapter I almost cut"), specificity ("Launches Tuesday 9am"), direct benefit ("Free novella today"), or a question ("Should Marcus survive Book 4?"). Avoid ALL CAPS, multiple exclamation points, and emoji clusters. When you have a meaningful list, A/B test two subjects on 20% of subscribers and send the winner to the rest.
How do you write an email campaign that converts?
A campaign is a sequence, not a single send. Plan three to five emails around one goal — a launch, a sale, a course enrollment. Each email does one job: the first builds anticipation, the middle ones add proof or context, the final one creates urgency with a deadline. Stagger sends 24–72 hours apart, and segment out anyone who's already converted so they stop hearing about it. Most of your conversions will come from email two and the deadline email — plan those hardest.
How long should a marketing email be?
Most promotional emails should land between 50 and 250 words of body copy. Shorter when the offer is simple (a discount, a launch announcement). Longer when you need to overcome skepticism or tell a story tied to the offer. Length matters less than density — every sentence should move the reader toward the action. If you can delete a sentence and the email still works, delete it. Long emails fail because they're padded, not because they're long.
How often should I send marketing emails to my list?
Weekly is the sweet spot for most author and small-business lists. It's frequent enough that subscribers remember who you are, and rare enough that you're not draining engagement. Going dark for months is worse than sending too often — when you finally do email, mailbox providers treat your send like a stranger and route it to Promotions or spam. A weekly always-on newsletter plus occasional launch campaigns is a sustainable rhythm that keeps your sender reputation healthy.

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