5 Tips for Beating Writer’s Block With Your Email Content
Key Takeaways
- Great email content is foundational to a successful email marketing strategy. It drives engagement, conversions, and subscriber retention, while poor content leads to unsubscribes and hurts ROI.
- Your email automation tool is more than a time-saver: past campaign data is a goldmine of inspiration for what content resonates with your audience.
- Benchmark Email’s Smart Text feature can help you break through writer’s block by fixing errors, building on existing ideas, rephrasing, and adjusting tone on demand.
- A/B testing isn’t just for optimization. It’s also a creative exercise that reveals which subject lines, headlines, and content formats your audience responds to best.
- A strong subject line doesn’t just get emails opened. It sets the direction for your entire email body, making it a useful starting point when you’re stuck.
- Tools like CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer and Benchmark Email’s built-in subject line tool remove the guesswork and give you a creative launchpad when inspiration runs dry.
From the subject line(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) to the email body, compelling and engaging content (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) is one of the pillars that define the success of your email marketing strategy (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab). However, there’s a method to the madness, and a few things are needed to create a successful email.
Every effective email marketing strategy(opens in new tab) consists of the following:
- Content and frequency planning
- Creative and content development
- Spam-free deployment system
- Email campaign tracking, analysis, and reporting
Excellent email content engages your subscribers and makes them more likely to read your future marketing emails(opens in new tab). Conversely, boring or poorly written content can cause your audience to lose interest, leading to more unsubscribe requests and negatively affecting your email stats and ROI (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab).
While great content is the goal, we understand that creating it can be challenging, especially when you are wearing many hats as a business owner. Below are our top tips for overcoming writer’s block when writing email content:
1. Tap Into Insights From Your Email Automation Tool
Daniel Murphy, a marketing automation consultant, states that creating customer-centric content(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) is one of the elements of a successful marketing automation implementation.
One of the reasons for implementing marketing automation(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) in email marketing (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) is to cut down on repetitive tasks, freeing up significant time. However, your email marketing automation(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) tool can also help you overcome writer’s block in moments when coming up with engaging content is challenging.
How? Insights from past campaign performances help you identify email content types that have worked for successful campaigns. All you need to do is draw inspiration from the campaigns’ content to develop another engaging campaign that will hook your readers.
2. Use Benchmark Email’s Smart Text Feature
On days when you can’t get your creative juices flowing, turn to Benchmark Email’s Smart Text(opens in new tab) to get you started with engaging content ideas for your email. With the Smart Text feature, you can fix spelling errors, build on existing text, rephrase content, and adjust tone.
3. Practice A/B Testing
A/B testing(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab), often referred to as split testing, is a great way to test content ideas to see if they resonate with your audience and can be a fun way to overcome writer’s block when writing your emails.
Regularly testing different sections of your email content will help you identify which subject lines, email headlines, and email body content resonate with your audience, as well as which content formats and types to avoid.
Drawing inspiration from split tests helps you identify content formats that have worked for your audience. That way, you can focus on coming up with similar content types in a bid to replicate the same success. You get inspiration for your email copy and give your email campaign (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) a good chance of success.
3. Create Captivating Subject Lines with CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer
The email subject line is an essential element of your email marketing. Many email users(opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab)(opens in new tab) decide whether to read emails based on how captivating the subject lines are. Beyond capturing your readers’ attention with your subject line, a great headline sets the tone and direction for your email copy.
So, if you are unsure what to put in your email content, head to CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer(opens in new tab) and generate multiple headlines that you can use as your email’s subject line. You can keep trying until you find what works. The headline provides you with inspiration and direction for your copy. Once that’s settled, you can get to crafting the actual copy that tallies with what you have in the headline.
4. Benchmark Email’s Subject Lines Tool
Do you have a Benchmark Email account? We have a tool that provides you with inspiration to create compelling, relevant content for your target audience (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab).
In our drag-and-drop email editor, there’s a subject line section with a little lightbulb that, when clicked, shows users the top-performing subject lines from previous emails and past email campaigns.
Identifying what has worked in the past could inspire you to get creative and pull off something similar to replicate the same success! Instead of digging through past campaigns, our tool does the heavy lifting for you and brings the success stats straight to you.
Not a Benchmark Email user? No worries! Use our free Email Subject Line Generator(opens in new tab) to help ensure your email subject lines are compelling and inspire opens.
Engaging and relevant content is vital to nurturing your relationship with your audience via email marketing (opens in new tab)(opens in new tab). With it, you enable conversions and sales because your audience looks forward to your content, and customers and prospects are more likely to take action on your CTAs. Implement these tips today and open your business to engaging content, free from writer’s block!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does email content matter so much for my marketing strategy?
Email content is what keeps subscribers engaged and coming back. Strong content drives opens, clicks, and conversions, while weak or irrelevant content pushes people to unsubscribe, directly impacting your ROI and sender reputation.
What’s the fastest way to overcome writer’s block for email campaigns?
Start with data. Look at your past campaigns to see what performed well, then use that as a creative springboard. If you’re starting from scratch, a subject line tool like Benchmark Email’s built-in generator or CoSchedule’s Headline Analyzer can give you a direction to write toward.
What is Benchmark Email’s Smart Text feature?
Smart Text is a built-in writing assistant inside Benchmark Email’s editor. It can help you fix spelling, build on existing copy, rephrase sentences, and shift the tone of your content. It’s useful for those days when the words just aren’t flowing.
How does A/B testing help with content creation?
Beyond telling you what works, A/B testing gives you a structured way to experiment with new ideas without the pressure of guessing. Over time, your test results build a picture of what your specific audience responds to, giving you a content playbook to draw from.
What should I write my email about if I have no idea where to start?
Start with the subject line, not the body. Use a headline tool to generate options until one clicks, then let that subject line guide the rest of your email. A clear headline gives you a focus, and the copy almost writes itself from there.
Do I need a Benchmark Email account to use the subject line tool?
No. Benchmark offers a free Email Subject Line Generator at benchmarkemail.com that anyone can use, no account required.
