How to write better marketing emails faster

You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.

— James Clear (American writer, author of Atomic Habits)

One of the most common things I hear from marketers is this:

“I know email marketing works. I just don’t have time for writing.”

Writing good emails can feel like a time sink. You stare at a blank page. You overthink the opening line. You tweak sentences. Hours can go by and you’re still not happy with the result.

Over time, it’s easy to make the connection “email = time drain = don’t bother.”

I see this a lot, and it breaks my heart! Email is by far one of the most impactful channels for growing your business, and it’s one of the best ways to truly connect with your audience and customers. AND it’s incredibly cost effective compared to almost any other marketing channel out there.

I have good news for you: sending great emails regularly is possible.

But only with a solid process — one that works for you.

Here’s a simple workflow that helps me write emails much faster, without lowering quality.

I hope you find it helpful, and if you have any tips of your own you’d like to share then please let know so I can feature them in a future issue!

1. Capture ideas before you sit down to write

The hardest part of writing is starting with nothing.

Instead, keep a simple list of email ideas as they occur to you: questions customers ask, mistakes you’ve seen, small insights, stories from the week.

When it’s time to write, you’re choosing from a list — not staring at a blank screen.

I don’t have a fancy 10-step system, I have a note file in Notes on my iPhone.

2. Start with the core idea, not the introduction

Many people try to write emails from the top down.

Instead, write the point of the email first.

What’s the one thing you want the reader to learn, understand, or do? What is the purpose?

Once you’ve written that, the rest of the email often becomes much easier to structure around it.

3. Write the first draft quickly

There’s an old saying: “write drunk, edit sober”…

I’m not proposing you crack out a bottle of wine before every newsletter, but give yourself permission to write a rough (and potentially rubbish) first version.

Don’t worry about polish. Don’t worry about perfect wording. Just get the ideas out of your head and onto a page — physical or digital.

The goal of the first draft is simply to exist.

You can’t improve something that hasn’t been written yet!

4. Edit for clarity, not cleverness

Once the draft exists, the job becomes much simpler: make it easier and more enticing to read.

Shorten sentences. Remove unnecessary words. Break long paragraphs. Make the structure clearer.

Good emails, especially in the marketing world, rarely come from long prose, and definitely don’t tend to pop out of one’s brain on a first draft.

They come from editing well, and breaking things down into bitesized chunks.

5. Write the subject line last

Many people start with the subject line and get stuck immediately.

The subject line is critical — as we’ve discussed previously, it’s even more important than the content of the email itself.

But the subject line’s job is to represent the email honestly — to entice the reader into opening to learn more.

Once the email exists, writing the subject line often becomes a lot easier. I tend to write 4-5 subject lines down as I’m editing my draft.

You can also use the EcoSend Subject Line Generator (for free, no sign up needed) to help you craft a great subject line in a pinch!

Simple steps, no heroics

A good email doesn’t always need hours of effort or a groundbreaking, profound idea.

It needs a clear idea, a simple structure, and a short editing pass.

Done well, an marketing email can be written in an hour.

And as I have found, when writing feels lighter and less time consuming, you’re much more likely to hit send on a consistent schedule.

P.S. It’s B Corp Month — be sure to check out our social channels to see the amazing B Corps we’ve featured so far!