Using the AIDA Model to Write Strong Email Content

You’ve probably heard the phrase “content is king” too many times to forget it. But think about it, why do people preach it so much? Is content really king? Think of a company that bombards you with hundreds of irrelevant emails. Now, think of the company that sends you minimum emails, but each has a relevant takeaway. Which one are you likely to follow? The latter one.

Emails are a rich source of knowledge for most people. According to a recent study by Bluecore and NAPCO Research, 68% of people, across all demographics, prefer to receive brand communications via email.

Despite this preference, no one wants to be bothered by too many emails. Therefore, adapting the quality over quantity principle works better in modern times.

Sending a few high-quality emails is a better marketing strategy, as opposed to sending many low-quality emails. So, how do you formulate good email content? Along with following good email etiquette, many marketers follow email marketing best practices and use email marketing tools. These include practices such as the AIDA model to write exceptional emails.

What Is the AIDA Model?

Elias St. Elmo Lewis, an American advertiser, created the AIDA funnel in 1898. This funnel helped salespeople guide customers along their purchasing decision-making process. The AIDA model is still used in the current time to guide potential customers through the purchasing process. But, what does AIDA mean?

AIDA is an acronym that stands for the four fundamental aspects of marketing: attention, interest, desire, and action. The idea behind this simple model is as follows.

Attention

The very first thing that every marketer will have to do is grab the customer’s attention. In terms of emails, the email subject should be enticing enough to make the customer look closer into the content.

Interest

Once you’ve successfully grabbed the customer’s attention, you will have to get them interested in the email content. This is the trickiest step in email writing since you’d want to get the customer engaged enough to look at the product or service you are marketing.

Desire

Developing interest is good, but that will not help you sell products or services. Marketers need to develop a desire in the customer’s hearts. Only through this desire will the customers consider making any purchase.

Action

While desire is the fueling agent to selling, customers take action that actually sells products. It is when an action is taken, that your marketing objective is completed.

How Can the AIDA Model Make Email Content More Effective?

According to a study, 81% of SMBs use emails as their primary customer retention and acquisition channel. Most of them use the AIDA model because of its sublimity. Much like any sublime principle, the AIDA model is a relevant tool even after its inception over 120 years ago.

Each of the four elements of the AIDA model can be applied to your email template to boost sales. Let’s explore the use of this model in email marketing below.

Attention

An average person receives about 92 business emails a day; therefore, you need to compete with many to send an email that the customer has chosen to open. The subject of your email is the first thing the potential customers see in their inboxes. Therefore, given below are a few tips on grabbing the customer’s attention via subject lines.

• Keep it Short – Nobody wants to read emails that have huge subject lines. It feels mundane and irrelevant. Therefore, to stick to relevance, you must keep the subject line short. Impose a limit of 50 characters on your subject lines to keep them crisp and to the point.
• Know your Audience – Keep the subject lines relevant to the geographic location. You can also keep them specific to shopping habits or the audience’s interests to grab their attention. Take your time to know your audience and create personalized subject lines for each interest or geographic group.
• Titillate Their Curiosity – Nothing attracts people more than curiosity. Adding a question to the subject line or an intriguing catch will ensure they open the email. An example of this can be, “Have you wondered how to enjoy your past? Here’s how.”
• Personalization – Thanks to several automated email sending software, you can easily send personalized emails. Sending a personalized subject line is more likely to improve email opening rates.

Interest

The first 2-3 lines determine whether a customer will be interested in your email or not. These are the lines that transition curiosity into interest; therefore, it is essential to pay attention to the opening lines.

• • Be original – It is vital to write plagiarism-free opening lines since they hit the customer like a breeze of fresh air. Do not resort to the cliched opening lines that the customer is used to reading in hundreds of sales emails.

• • Stick to the Point – There’s nothing as useful as writing an email that sticks to the point. Such opening lines allows the reader to understand what the email is about, without giving them time to get distracted or uninterested. An example is “Buying a washing machine can be difficult, but it doesn’t have to be that way.”

• Use Humor – Using humor in the opening lines of the email breaks the ice between the reader and the sender. Lines such as “we know you’ve been trying to convince your parents to buy your car because we are too” are sure to keep the customer in the loop.

Desire

People are likely to buy products that they want instead of buying the products that they need. Let’s put it into perspective, if you’re an Apple enthusiast, you might need a new phone. However, what you want is an iPhone, so that’s what is likely to spark a desire in you.

• Jump the Bandwagon – Most people want to buy products that everyone else is buying. Therefore, tags such as ‘bestselling product’ will spark a desire in the customer.
• Hook With the USP – Every product or service has a USP (Unique Selling Proposition) that makes it stand out. Highlight it in the email to hook the customer. Make it seem to be the only important thing in the world. For example, if the smartphone you are selling comes with a 65W charger, highlight the lightning charging speed. Hence, this will be all that the customer cares about.
• Limited Time Offers – Aren’t you more likely to take advantage of offers that are only available for a short period? These offers make the customers feel unique, something that sparks desire instantaneously. Lines such as “get a free pair of shoes by meeting us at XYZ place within two days,” work wonders.

Action

The entire point of sending a sales email is to get the customer to buy your product or service. The most important thing that you need to do towards the end of a business email is to create a call-to-action button. A clear and direct CTA is the right way to make sales through an email.

The CTA section of the email acts as a consent section that allows you to make sales when the customers consent to buy, by pressing the CTA button.

• Be Direct – You have done all the enticing that you could do through the length of the email. The CTA section is a place to direct the fact that you are in the customer’s inbox to make a sale.
• Don’t Ask for Too Much – Too much commitment via email can be intimidating, and therefore, very few customers are likely to opt for it. If the product or service that you are marketing costs too much, you can direct the customer to a website sales funnel.
• Make it Stand Out – Most people are likely to be tired by the time they reach the end of an email. Therefore, make sure that your CTA stands out. You can experiment with different colors or fonts for better yields.

Bottom Line

The point of writing any sales email is to close a deal. The AIDA model acts as a content funnel within an email. You can articulate your content following the AIDA model. This will help you to direct the customer’s attention exactly where you want them to focus – the CTA button.

Remember, content is king. The quality of the content that you present the customer with can make or break a sale. Therefore, put some extra effort into the email content to retain and accumulate customers.

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