Write More Effective Emails with AIDA

In university advertising class, one of the first things I learned was AIDA. This acronym stands for the four stages a piece of advertising should take its readers through – if it is to be effective.

What is AIDA?

AIDA stands for:

Attention

Interest

Desire

Action

Let’s see how you can apply AIDA to write more effective emails.

1. Get their ATTENTION with a compelling subject line.

Chances are, your readers get at least a dozen emails a day. How do you make sure they open yours, when they have so many other messages competing for their time and attention?

You grab their attention with a subject line that conveys both importance and urgency.

One of the best ways to write an email subject line is by promising a benefit or answering the question, “What’s in it for me?”

For example: “How to schedule 60 posts in 5 minutes in your Wordrpess blog”

You can find more tips for writing great subject lines here.

2. Pique their INTEREST in the first paragraph.

Ok, so your reader actually clicked your email open. How do you keep them reading? You pique and sustain their interest.

Don’t be roundabout in your writing – get to the point, and fast!

Pretend you’re writing a news article. The first paragraph should contain the whole story – what? when? where? how? who?

Example: “I just wanted to share with you a new WordPress plugin, which lets you automatically upload blog posts and schedule them for publication in a matter of minutes. And you can get it for free.”

And then you can go into details farther down the email.

3. The rest of the email should tap into their DESIRE.

Your readers are reading your email – now what? Don’t leave them hanging.

Tap into their desires by offering a solution to their problem, or an answer to their question.

(Uh, you are offering a solution, aren’t you? If not, then what are you writing the email for?)

Example: “This plugin usually retails for $47, but I know one way you can get it for free today.”

4. Make them ACT.

The ultimate measure of a successful email is the number of readers who click on the link in your email. To achieve this, you need a clear call to action.

And for heaven’s sake, have only one call to action.

Example: “Click here to download this WordPress plugin for free – until midnight tomorrow only:”

Don’t have so many links in your email that your readers get confused – and leave (Links at the bottom of your message, including the “unsubscribe” link, don’t count, of course).

When you give too many choices, oftentimes your reader makes the easiest choice of all: doing nothing.

So have one clear call to action and one link to click. You can mention the link several times throughout your email, at least twice, even three times if it’s a long email.

In summary, an effective email should: catch the reader’s attention; sustain their interest; arouse an intense desire; and, move them to action.

Remember AIDA next time you write an email. You’ll find your open rates and click-through rates shoot up.

PS: Incidentally, there IS a WordPress plugin you can use to upload and schedule posts in minutes, and you CAN get it for free. Click here to find out how.

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About the Author

Alexis Rodrigo is a passionate blogger, copywriter and Internet marketer – when she isn’t changing diapers or cooking meals, that is. A self-confessed word nerd, she is a lifelong student of how words influence people’s thoughts, attitudes, feelings and actions.

Visit Lexi Rodrigo Online at: TheSavvyFreelancer.com