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The top five copywriting pitfalls of the everyday business email 22 February 2024

What does the way you use email say about you and your business? We’re not talking e-shot or e-newsletter here. Just your everyday email. That update sent out, perhaps to remind your clients of what’s available, or just to make contact. In my role as a freelance copywriter, I often find companies forget that this type of content is just as powerful in making a statement about their product or service as any other form.

Email has an important role to play in everyday business communications when it’s done effectively but watch out for these five pitfalls:

1. One size fits all

A one-size-fits-all email can feel incredibly impersonal. What it says is that each recipient is just one of a crowd. That impression could end up weakening those client relationships you’ve worked so hard to build. As with your e-newsletters, apply a copywriting approach that segments audiences for everyday emails, so that they are tailored around each type of customer. And don’t forget that your clients are at different stages in their relationship with your business. Some are new while others are well-established. Make sure your emails reflect that to avoid a sense of mis-match between the content people receive and the way they perceive your business.

2. Too formal

I’ve seen some companies doing a great job of connecting with customers face-to-face or over the phone – then reverting to a formal, jargon-loaded tone of voice in their email content. Again, this can seriously undermine the relationships they have developed and obscure the value of what they’re offering. Formality has its place; the secret is to know when to apply it. Some circumstances call for a more personal approach while others most definitely require a more “suited and booted” stance.

3. Too casual

Informal is serious stuff. How you use it matters. Companies sometimes apply a casual, chatty tone when they’re trying to appeal to people’s sense of humour. This needs to be done really carefully or it can create a perception that your company is more than a little cavalier in its approach to its customers. As I’ve written before, humour in copywriting can be powerful but needs to be applied with caution. Trying to impersonate the tone of voice of certain well-known brands can leave a company coming across as generic and, ironically, impersonal.

4. Too many voices

A few years ago, a client told me with a note of horror in his voice that he had just discovered one of his teams had been sending out email updates for months. Not only had they not informed him, the owner of the company, but the emails did not in any way match the usual tone of voice of the business. This is a cautionary tale about the risks of sending multiple emails from multiple teams. It’s great that your employees are keeping in touch with customers, but does it all add up to a clearly defined voice for your business? Does every email adhere to a consistent tone of voice, approach and visual style? If so, you should avoid the experience of my client – and the efforts involved with addressing the issue.

5. Just too much

This is the classic content problem of information overload. The temptation is to include everything in one email, without considering the format, length or relevance to the reader. Yet failing to be selective may mean that your voice goes completely unheard. As with all copywriting, be clear about your purpose for sending the email and keep the number of messages appropriate. It can be tempting to share as much as you can, seeing as you’re sending that email anyway. But the more there is to read, the less likely that it will be read.

Much more than everyday

There’s certainly more to the everyday email than just a quick update. It’s an opportunity to re-connect with your customers, to remind them why they value your product or services. Your copywriting approach should apply to your update emails as much as the rest of your content. So it’s worth taking the time to consider exactly how you’re communicating with email – and why.