If you’re running an eCommerce business, email is an essential channel for bringing in revenue and connecting with your customers.

And it’s not just eCommerce businesses that should be utilizing email. There are enormous opportunities for SaaS companies, service-based businesses, heck — even copywriters (wink, wink) to harness the power of the inbox.

89% of marketers use email as the primary channel for generating leads.

So, it’s no wonder…

• 72% of customers prefer email as their primary channel of communication
• Email marketing ROI is 4200% (!)
• And email is 40% better at converting (compared to Facebook and Twitter)

Perhaps you’re thinking, “sure, those stats are great, but they’re well above what I’m seeing in my business… how do I get results that incredible?!”

It’s not just about copy. Or beautiful images. Or design.

To fully realize the power of email, you have to think like a strategist.

So… if you’re looking to hire an email copywriter, make sure they do more than simply write words on a page. 

Ensure you hire an email copywriter who thinks like a strategist. 

The best email marketing partners are partners. 

They’ll help you develop an email strategy and write conversion email copy for your business that turns leads into customers and customers into lifetime fans of your brand.

They’ll find out what works well and what doesn’t — and continually optimize to help you get results.

If you’re not exactly sure what to look for when hiring an email copywriter, start with these questions.

1. Does your email copywriter think like a strategist?

There are email copywriters… and there are email marketing strategists. (Often, the email strategists write copy, too.)

How do you know if your email copywriter is a strategist? 

Do they help you solve problems rather than simply write emails?

Do they build a comprehensive email strategy as a roadmap for your automations and campaigns?

Do they consider all aspects of email — from lead capture to design to conversion copy — as influencing the success of your email marketing program?

Email strategists help you define your goals with email marketing. Then they help you achieve them. It’s not typically a one-and-done project. Email strategists care about results, and they’ll help you find ways to achieve them.

2. Does your email copywriter pay attention to metrics?

You might not think “writers” care about metrics. But when it comes to email marketing, metrics matter! 

And copywriters — especially conversion copywriters — are trained to write words that move readers to take action. So you have to measure whether or not the words are doing their job.

Your email copywriter should be digging deep to find what works with your audience. From email deliverability to subject lines & preview text to body copy and CTAs — strategic email copywriters assess it all. Then they’ll take the initiative to optimize current and future flows and emails.  

3. Does your email copywriter believe in finding the right message(s) using research?

Without conducting ‘voice of customer’ research, copy is only a “guesstimate” of what might work.

Email strategists dig deep to find the right messages to move your audience to action. They’re looking for:

✓ Your unique value proposition

✓ The language you use in your business

✓  The benefits you provide

✓  Who your target market(s) are, and your customers’ pain points

✓  What matters most to your prospects

In research mode, they’ll review the competitive landscape. They’ll mine reviews, collect testimonials, and even interview your customers. They’re looking for customer pain points, language, attitudes, and what drives a sale.

Voice of customer research helps your email copywriter write copy that resonates with your audience — it converts them to customers and lifetime fans of your brand. Because they feel like you understand them. And there’s no better way to do that than to pull the language straight from them.

4. Does your email copywriter conduct A/B testing?

Strategists always build testing into the optimization process. ‘Cause we all know what happens when you “assume” you know what will work best… (insert lame joke about making an *ss out of U and Me).

You want an email copywriter who tests variations of subject lines. Known as A/B testing, you should always send (the first ~20% of emails with) Subject Line A to some prospects and Subject Line B to others. The goal is to determine which one results in more email opens. Then the remainder (~80%) of your emails get sent to your audience with the better-performing subject line.

It’s also important to test the body copy (and design/images) to determine what works best for each audience. 

A strategist looks at all parts of the email and makes recommendations to optimize and improve the performance — based on statistics and facts (not feelings).

Time to hire an Email Strategist

Now that you know what to look for, if your eCommerce business isn’t earning at least 30% of revenue from email marketing, it’s time to hire a new email copywriter. And the best email copywriters are also email strategists — so make sure you know how your partner measures up according to the questions above.