How to Write Emails That Get Read, Clicked, and Engaged With

Rita Obaze

10 min read

It’s super disappointing when you’ve spent time and money on your business’s email marketing, only to see disappointing levels of engagement, and maybe a few conversions here and there.

Unfortunately, there are many touchpoints that can be causing your email conversions to go haywire.

The good news? There ARE touchpoints that you can check to help your email marketing grow. In this post, we’re going to focus on the written aspect of email marketing (with you, the non-copywriting expert, in mind). Because, in truth, writing emails that get read, clicked, and converted isn’t an exact science. Yet, there are rock-solid strategies that may help businesses. Here, we’ll break down what works, what doesn’t, and how you can craft emails that drive real business results.

Why Your Small Business’s Email Marketing Results Are Bad

Your emails should be working for you. They should be driving traffic, nurturing leads, and generating sales. But if they’re not, chances are you’re running into one (or more) of these problems:

1. No One is Opening Your Emails

It doesn’t matter how great your offer is - if your email isn’t getting opened, it’s a dead end.

Common culprits:

Boring, vague, or clickbait-y subject lines
A sender name that feels impersonal or spammy
Your emails frequently land in the promotions or spam folder

The fix? Write subject lines that spark curiosity and feel human. Use a real sender name (not “no-reply@yourbusiness.com”). And make sure your emails don’t trigger spam filters.

2. Your Emails Get Opened… But No One Engages

Maybe your emails get decent open rates, but once inside, people skim for a couple of seconds and move on.

That’s a sign your content isn’t connecting.

This usually happens when:

Your emails feel like generic mass blasts
They’re too promotional and not valuable enough
Your CTA is unclear or buried in fluff

The goal? Make your emails feel personal, useful, and action-driven. Every email should have a clear purpose - whether it’s educating, entertaining, or selling.

3. Your Subscribers Aren’t Turning Into Customers

If your results don’t reflect that your list is growing or the effort you're putting into your email marketing;

This could be because:

Your emails lack a strategic sequence that eases your customer in (to your community, offer, or action you want them to take)
You’re either selling too aggressively or not selling at all
There’s no clear next step for subscribers to take

Before You Write For Your Local Business’s Email Marketing

What’s Important To Your Audience?

If you want your emails to get read, clicked, and converted into sales, you need to know how to find out what they’re already talking about.

“What’s In It For Them?”. This question should be your constant go-to. You can then tie in what YOU want, plus some value for them. This way, you’re giving them a reason to read on and act on it if it piques their interest.

You can fix that by getting crystal clear on two things:

Who you’re emailing
What they actually care about

What If Your Business’s Email List Has People With Different Interests?

You may need to tweak certain aspects of your email for each category of lead you have. Now, this may sound like extra work, but doing this can go a long way to boosting the results you see. Not every customer is the same, and sending one-size-fits-all emails is a fast track to the spam folder. If you don’t know exactly who you’re writing to, your emails will feel generic, disconnected, and easy to ignore.

So, who is your ideal customer? You’ll probably need to think beyond basic demographics like age and location. Dive into their:

Pain points – What challenges are they facing that your product or service can solve?
Needs and desires – What are they actively looking for? What would make their life easier?
Interests and behaviors – What kind of content do they engage with? What influences their buying decisions?

For example;

If you sell high-end skincare, you might have a segment of your audience that are ingredient-conscious beauty buyers who want proof that your product is natural or maybe cruelty-free. Another segment might be more focused on a feature where you guarantee that your skincare product cuts out three steps of their regular beauty routine, so they can have more time for themselves.

See how these two segments may respond to different kinds of messaging? Your emails should sound like they were written for one person, not blasted to a list of random subscribers.

Have Your Email List Segmented

Once you’ve defined your audience, don’t just dump everyone into one big email list and send them the same messages. Instead, segment your list so each subscriber receives content that actually matters to them.

You Need Your List Segmented because:

People only care about what’s relevant to them – If your email isn’t, they’ll ignore it.
Different customers are at different stages – A first-time visitor doesn’t need the same email as a repeat buyer.
More targeted emails = higher engagement – The more personalized your emails, the better your open rates, clicks, and sales.

How do you segment?

Start with:

Behavior-based segmentation – Did they open your last email? Click a product link? Abandon their cart? Each action tells you what they’re interested in.
Customer journey segmentation – New leads need education. Warm leads need an offer. Existing customers need upsells. Different emails for different stages.
Purchase history segmentation – Sell software? Send targeted case studies based on their industry. Sell fashion? Recommend items based on their last purchase.

Let’s say you run a subscription box business. Someone who just signed up for your newsletter doesn’t need an aggressive sales pitch - they need a welcome sequence that makes them feel more comfortable trusting your brand. But someone who abandoned checkout needs a reminder email (ideally with a really really good incentive).

Writing Engaging Email Content

Your email has one job: to get read and acted on. If your audience opens it and sees a wall of text, irrelevant content, or a boring sales pitch, they’ll delete it faster than you can say “unsubscribe.” Here’s how to write emails that actually hold attention and drive engagement:

Customize Relevant Emails For THEM

Your audience doesn’t care about your latest promotion. They care about what’s in it for them. Personalized emails get higher open rates and more conversions because they feel like they were written for one person, not a mass audience.

What personalization looks like:

Dynamic first names – “Hi Alex” (kinda obviously) works better than “Dear Customer.”
Behavior-based recommendations – If a customer browsed a product but didn’t buy, send a follow-up email with a discount or a review.
Past purchase follow-ups – If someone bought a coffee maker, suggest premium coffee beans a month later.
Time-sensitive offers – Use purchase history and engagement data to time your emails when customers are most likely to buy.

Example: Let’s say you had an online bookstore, and you see that a customer bought a business book. Instead of sending a generic sales email, you can send a curated list of top business books, increasing the likelihood of another purchase. (Don’t worry - there are ways to do this automatically so that you aren’t stalking all 2000 subscribers on your list).

Keeping It Scannable

Your audience does not have time to read long emails. They scan. Emails should be formatted for quick consumption:

Short sentences – No long-winded explanations.
Bullet points – Make key takeaways pop.
Clear headings – Readers should instantly know what’s important.
Whitespace – A cluttered email is an ignored email.

Let Your Emails Be “Easy On The Eyes”

Your email should be visually compelling. This does not necessarily mean that there must be images, but you’ll need to pay attention to easy reading and flow. Images can be a great addition - they help to break up text, make emails more engaging, and improve click-through rates.

But the con of having them in your emails is that Email Service Providers like Apple Mail and Gmail are more likely to put them in the promotions tab. (Regular emails from, say a co-worker, don’t usually have images and logos in them. So, ESPs are more likely to draw the conclusion that you’re promoting something).

Either way, make sure that you break up text and use fonts and styles that make it almost effortless to read.

What works:

✅ Product images – Show, don’t tell.
✅ Lifestyle shots – Let customers see how the product fits into their life.
✅ Minimalist design – Simple, clean visuals keep the focus on the message.

What doesn’t work:

❌ Heavy, slow-loading files – If your email takes too long to load, you lose the reader.
❌ Stock images – If it looks fake, it’s hurting your credibility.
❌ Too many visuals – More images = more distractions. Keep it focused.

Calls-to-Action (CTAs) that Inspire More Clicks, Sales, and Engagement

Your email could have the best subject line, engaging content, and stunning visuals… but if your call-to-action (CTA) falls flat, so will your results.

Here’s How to Optimize your CTA for Maximum Impact

1. Use Action-Oriented Language

The best CTAs points out the one action you want the reader to take. You may also find that your leads may be more willing to act now if you hint at them to act now. So, adding a sense of urgency (in a non-spammy way) might just work in your favor.

✅ Use:

“Claim Your Free Trial”
“Shop Bestsellers Now”
“Book Your Spot Before It’s Gone”

❌ Avoid:

“Click Here” (Too vague)
“Learn More” (No urgency)
“Submit” (Sounds like homework)

2. Make It Visually Stand Out

Your CTA shouldn’t blend in with the rest of your email.

Use bold, contrasting (in a good way) colors that grab attention
Make the button large enough to tap easily on mobile
Surround it with whitespace to keep it from getting lost in the design
Make the text easy to read. So, no calligraphy texts in tiny font sizes.

Example: A dark blue button on a light background = easy to see.

3. Place It Where It Matters

Readers shouldn’t have to search for your CTA.

Above the fold – Put your first CTA where readers see it without scrolling
At the end – Reinforce your message with a final CTA
In multiple places – If your email is long, add CTAs throughout so readers can take action anytime

Mobile-Opened Emails are People Too (Remember mobile users)

Over 40% to 60% of emails are opened on mobile devices, depending on your industry. So, if your emails aren’t mobile-friendly, they won’t just be ignored - they’ll be deleted.

Here’s how to make sure your emails look great, load fast, and drive results on any device.

Use a Responsive Design
- Your email should adapt to different screen sizes automatically.
- Most email marketing platforms (Mailchimp, Klaviyo, HubSpot) offer mobile-responsive templates - use them.

Keep It Short and Scannable
- Use concise sentences and short paragraphs (2-3 lines max).
- Break up text with headings, bullet points, and white space.
- Avoid large blocks of text that look overwhelming on small screens.

Optimize Images and Fonts
- Use high-quality but compressed images to avoid slow loading.
- Stick to easy-to-read fonts (no fancy scripts or tiny text).
- Keep font sizes at least 14-16px for body text and 20-24px for headlines.

Make CTAs Thumb-Friendly
- Buttons should be at least 44x44 pixels so users can tap them easily.
- Place CTAs above the fold so they don’t get lost.

F. Testing vs. Email Conversions

Even the best email marketers don’t get it perfect on the first try - they test, analyze, and optimize.

If you’re not tracking performance, you’re guessing what works.

What Should You Test?

Open Rates – Are your subject lines compelling enough?
Click-Through Rates – Are readers engaging with your content?
Conversion Rates – Are CTAs driving actual sales or sign-ups?
Email Layouts – Do certain formats perform better than others?

How to Test and Improve

A/B Testing – Compare two versions of an email by changing one variable at a time (e.g., subject line, CTA wording, button color).
Check Across Devices – Send test emails to iPhones, Androids, tablets, and desktops to ensure a consistent experience.
Analyze Data, Then Adjust – If your open rate is low, tweak your subject lines. If people aren’t clicking, refine your CTA.

Conclusion

You’ve got the tools now - clear answers to your leads' questions and the urgency to drive them to act. But here's the thing: knowing what to do is only half the battle. The real difference comes when you put these strategies into action, track the results, and keep refining them until you get them right.

It’s time to stop wondering why your leads aren't converting and start making it happen. Take a hard look at your current strategies, get your messaging right, create urgency, and watch your leads turn into loyal customers. Make sure yours is the one they can’t ignore.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) On Email Marketing For Smaller-Sized Businesses

Why Do Regular Local Businesses Do Email Marketing?

When executed well, email is one of the most powerful and cost-effective ways to build relationships, engage customers, and drive sales - without blowing your marketing budget. And this is true for big corporations as well as most smaller-sized everyday businesses.

It’s direct
It’s personal
It’s profitable (Email marketing delivers an average ROI of $36 for every $1 spent.)

How Do I Know What’s Important To My Customers?

If you did a decent job with your targeting (and didn’t just buy someone else’s list on the dark web), you’re already off to a good start. It means that they perceive value in something you offer. But as we’ve already established, that’s not nearly enough if you want to have them engage with your emails.

Aside from the methods we’ve already discussed (like segmenting your list), you’ll probably benefit from addressing the "Who, What, Why, and How" questions on their minds.

They need answers to these 4 essential questions before they’ll consider buying:

Is this for me?

Potential customers want to know if what you’re saying right now is relevant to them. If they can’t see themselves using your offering, they won’t buy it.
Tip: Use specific language that appeals directly to the pain points of your target demographic. If you're selling a productivity app, address how it helps busy professionals save time.

What will it do for me?

Your leads need to understand the benefits of your product. This is where features become relevant - they translate to solutions that directly improve the customer’s life.
Tip: Focus on the end result. What does your product help them achieve? Whether it’s increasing revenue, saving time, or solving a specific problem, make it clear how your offering improves their situation.

Why should I care?

Answer this: Why should they choose you over anyone else?
Lead with your uniqueness (USP) so that your leads don’t mentally put you in the same basket as the others.
Tip: You can also wire in some testimonials, case studies, or customer success stories to build credibility.

How does it work?

If leads can’t quickly figure out how to use your product or how to get started, they’ll abandon the purchase process.
Your messaging should explain how easy it is to integrate your product into their daily routine or workflow.
Tip: Break the process down into simple steps. Use clear calls-to-action (CTAs) to show the lead how to take the next step.

How Can I Get My Email Subscribers To Act More Immediately?

Even after addressing key questions, leads may still hesitate to take the final step. Creating a sense of urgency can push them to take action now, instead of putting it off for later. Here are a few strategies to introduce urgency:

Limited-Time Offers
Exclusive Deals
Scarcity Tactics
Countdown Timers
Urgent Follow-Up Emails