Episode 174: 5 Simple Email Tweaks to Increase Sales w/ Anita Siek
Struggling to turn your email marketing into actual sales conversions? In this episode of Small Business PR, copywriting expert Anita Siek reveals five powerful email copywriting hacks that can instantly boost your email open rates, engagement, and clicks—without sounding salesy or gimmicky. Learn how small tweaks in tone, structure, and psychology can transform your emails into high-converting sales tools. Whether you're in e-commerce, coaching, or service-based business, these actionable strategies will help you stand out in a crowded inbox.
Unlock the Power of Psychology-Driven Copy to Boost Email Sales
Why AI-generated email templates fail to connect with modern consumers
The role of design thinking in crafting emails that grab attention and drive action
The psychology behind word choice
Simple yet powerful email tweaks: optimizing signatures, formatting for readability, and refining CTAs
How to use curiosity-driven subject lines and pre-headers to increase email open rates
Addressing objections within emails to eliminate hesitation and drive purchases
How changing hyperlink colors can boost click-through rates
Mastering email copywriting isn’t just about clever words—it’s about connection. By applying psychology-driven tweaks, refining your messaging, and infusing personality into your emails, you can turn simple messages into powerful conversion tools. Adapt to your audience’s behaviors, test what resonates, and use your brand’s unique voice to stand out in crowded inboxes. Shift your strategy from just selling to truly engaging, and watch your emails drive more opens, clicks, and sales.
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Resources Mentioned:
Join the PR Secrets Masterclass
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DM the word “PITCH” to us on Instagram to get a pitching freebie https://www.instagram.com/gloriachoupr
Connect with Gloria Chou on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/gloriaychou
Join Gloria Chou's PR Community https://www.facebook.com/groups/428633254951941
Follow Anita Siek on Website (Wordfetti): https://wordfettigroup.com/
Website (Anita Siek): https://anitasiek.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/anitasiek/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anitasiek/
Apple Podcast (Brandfetti): https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/brandfetti/id1464154049
Spotify (Brandfetti): https://open.spotify.com/show/25t0wDskK5z4wofCWFgM0A
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Transcript
00:00:00 Gloria: What's up, small business heroes? Welcome back to Small Business PR, where we make small business PR and marketing super accessible and simple for the everyday small business hero. And that's you. Today I have my sister from another sister, sister from another mister from Australia, Anita Siek. You might have seen her on the interwebs. She is the founder and CEO of Wordfetti. She also hosts an amazing podcast called the Brandfetti Podcast. And she's really a wordsmithing queen, it's how I like to call her.
00:00:29 Gloria: What's unique about her, and we've had other copywriters on the show, is that she really infuses design thinking and human psychology into the way that she approaches writing. And so today we're going to talk about all the ways that your emails can probably use a little bit of tweaks from the queen herself. And she's going to give you actionable steps on exactly little, and these are very simple tweaks that we can all take today to get our emails not only open, but clicking so that they can buy. So welcome to the show, Anita.
00:00:57 Anita: Gloria, thank you so much. We were actually just chatting about how it was around a year ago that we were hanging out in New York together.
00:01:03 Gloria: Yeah, and congratulations. I know you're a new mama. You look incredible.
00:01:07 Anita: Thank you. Thank you, thank you.
00:01:09 Gloria: Yeah. So you have such an interesting take on copy. And I really call you like a master copywriter, like teacher, because you do something that's just beyond just copy. Like you really understand the human psychology of it. So before we get into it, can you talk about what does it mean when you focus on the design, thinking, and human psychology when you approach writing?
00:01:31 Anita: When it comes to writing words or writing copy, a lot of the time we jump straight to the fact that, oh, it's just about stringing together some nice sounding sentences or words, words like strategic, words like innovative, words like creative. Like just very, it's so same-same. Whereas when we really get to the heart of great copy, the whole point of it is to grab attention and stand out.
00:01:55 Anita: Like you don't want to really do the same same. Like, if some, I always say if you, like if someone zigs, you zag. Like you've got to create something that is radically different, that gets you remembered. And not only that, connected so that they end up taking action or I guess for product businesses case, like end up buying and rebuying and telling all their friends about your product.
00:02:18 Anita: So I guess when it comes to infusing psychology into copy, at the end of the day, we're selling to humans. And I always say, if you want to write or communicate, because at the end of the day, words are the central medium in which how you and I connect and communicate. You've got to understand what triggers, what excites, what frustrates your audience to really grab their attention. So that's why a lot of what I focus on is the psychology element, why people buy, why people don't buy, why certain words trigger different feelings and emotions.
00:02:57 Anita: So for example, I could say massive and titanic. They're two words that explain like big, but the latter actually feel a lot bigger. Titanic feels a lot bigger than massive. And that is a concept called sound symbolism. So it's like there's so many different concepts that just makes words absolutely fascinating to me.
00:03:20 Anita: You also mentioned design thinking. So just very quickly, design thinking is all about putting humans and the problem we're solving at the core. When it comes to writing, whether or not it's a product based business or a service based business, so often we jump straight to, yeah, let's talk about the product and the service and all of that. But the thing is you're in business because you're in the business of problem solving. You have, you're solving a problem.
00:03:43 Anita: So what design thinking is is it's all about placing the human and the problem that you're actually solving at the core of everything you create, from emails to the content to what you write, from usability on a website. It's understanding what is that person trying to do and how can we make this website or email more optimized.
00:04:06 Gloria: Yeah, and I will say in the age of like, AI and everybody using the same templates and oversaturation of people doing the same thing, the only way you can stand out actually is in e-commerce is to have words that are different. And so I think for anyone that's thinking, well, I'm just an e-commerce product. I don't need to really worry about this. You are absolutely dead wrong because, I know for me, I'm buying products because they make me feel a certain way. It's your non-negotiables, your values, and you communicate that with words. And so we're going to kind of get into it.
00:04:37 Gloria: And the reason why I know we could talk, give like a five-hour master class on all that you teach. You know so much about words. But I want to need to talk about email specifically, because I think this is a one piece that we know is so important. I make most of my money through email. I think for a lot of our audience, there's still a gap there, and a lot of them either find it overwhelming or they're still using the same templates that everyone else is using. So can you tell me, first of all, why it's so important for e-commerce people to really focus on writing emails, not just using a template or something with AI, but something that infuses personality?
00:05:09 Anita: Well, to your point to echo everything that you mentioned just there, I think, especially this year, I feel like, yes, you can absolutely use ChatGPT or Claude or AI to help you write copy. But I think if you want to stand out and if there are two products, let's just say there's a business A that sells hand washes and there's business B that also sells hand washes and you're not able to distinguish or sell like, or communicate, something deeper, you're just hand washes. You're literally just buying a hand wash.
00:05:44 Anita: So, whether or not it's personality conveying a deeper substance storyline or whether or not it is making someone feel like, if a core value is giving back, like if communicating more of how buying this hand wash is going to give back, like all of that is important to go beyond just, it's a hand wash,
00:06:05 Anita: So it's important for us to not just, and this is emails, but also website copy. It's important for us to approach copy, I think, in this era with the infusion of AI and all of that from the standpoint of the one thing that's going to set you apart is going to be story, is going to be identity, is going to be individuality.
00:06:28 Anita: I think more than ever we are yearning for just characteristics and behavior from brands that are humanized as opposed to just a blanket suite of products. I know even in my own purchasing behavior, like I'm gravitating towards brands and I'm just looking at all the things on my desk now, like brands who aren't just a candle, aren't just like another coaster. Like it's usually something deeper and that's where so many of the language and words come in. So yeah.
00:07:00 Gloria: Totally. Me too. I mean, I'm thinking about, are they woman owned? Like, what is the story? Where do they source their stuff? And we are at a point in our market maturity that there's so many choices available. It's not enough to just have a pretty website or an influencer. It's like, I want to know more.
00:07:17 Gloria: So I think, we can obviously record a whole other podcast about that. But I want to talk about email because we know that that's where it converts. It's not enough to just get people onto your website once they opt in. That's really your opportunity. So can you tell us a quick simple tweaks that we're probably overlooking, but if we just made these tweaks, it would really get the click rate so much higher. Let's start with the first one.
00:07:37 Anita: Yeah, let's do it. So the first simple tweak that you can make, we send a lot of emails, like whether or not it's marketing emails or just in day-to-day communications. One thing that I have found, especially even with previous e-commerce clients that we've worked with, is literally adding an extra liner on your email signature.
00:07:56 Anita: So think about it. Like you send emails even in like to manufacturers to new, like new people that you're connecting with, like putting an extra line in, maybe it's a new collection. Maybe it is a free shipping code. Maybe it is a resource that you've created for, your audience. But popping that in in your email signature, that could also be an offer. Like obviously if you are running a campaign at the moment for your e-commerce business, you could literally put that in because some people might not have realized or signed up to your email list. That could also invite people to join your email list and giving them a reason why.
00:08:33 Anita: When we're talking again, simple tweaks, the emails that are sent every day, another thing that works well is like a massive email signature block where you're actually inviting people to take different journeys. So I'm making a lot of hand gestures and I know some of you guys would be listening and not watching me.
00:08:52 Anita: But like what that would look like is, for example, instead of, you could have a listicle where it's like, here are three products that you cannot miss at the moment. But you could also have it visually presented at the end of an email where you have one product that's featured that is hot, another that is, for example, something that is new and you want to drive traffic to, and another that is like a product bundle, for example.
00:09:18 Anita: I remember we did this on an email campaign for a client where we put this block, so it is a visual block and it was side by side instead of like a listicle format and we featured a hot product, a new product and a bundled product and that invited people to take their own journeys, right? Towards the end of the email, people skim, they move towards the end of the email and with the visual and the wording, we were able to get clicks through that as well.
00:09:43 Anita: So very simple. Something that you can either whip out on Canva and also a liner you can just put on your email signature. Literally 60 seconds but it could invite people to visit your store, buy the thing, or let them know that you've actually got a campaign on just in case they've missed it. Because how many emails do we receive and we just sometimes don't even realize or just delete it, you know?
00:10:05 Gloria: Yeah. I will say that it actually works for psychology because I think about the way that I read my emails on mobile and I read the beginning and then I scroll until the end until it stops. So people are much more likely to see the end of the email than probably the middle part. So that's really precious real estate, whether it's like you said, a one line PS, or it could be a graphic block with three must have or new things that you need to know. So that's brilliant. That's something we can try today. What's another simple tweak?
00:10:33 Anita: Oh my gosh, I have so many. Another one, just as you're on the topic of readability. I think it's something that we don't think too much about when we think about,, what words should I use? What should I say? What should I write? We don't pause to think about actually, how does this actually look when someone opens up this email? Is it overwhelming? Is it clear? Am I confusing them? Am I sending them three different call to actions? And they're like, oh my gosh, what do I actually press?
00:11:02 Anita: So I think the second thing that I'll probably speak to is more about readability and very simple tweaks that you can make to increase and better your readability so that we make it easier for people to take action.
00:11:16 Anita: So I want you to imagine this. So when you are opening up an email, majority of the time too, it's on, probably on the phone. Maybe you're in the bathroom. Maybe you're on the toilet. The amount of people who actually read emails on the toilet, okay? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Me too, me too. Or in the bath. Slightly not safe, but when you think about opening up your email on your phone, a lot of the text and image, it's already like literally narrowed. It's already condensed.
00:11:45 Anita: So it's really important that yes, you've got to test what it looks like on mobile. But when you're scrolling that email, just like you mentioned, Gloria, like our eyes don't work in the way where we're like, let's start off in the first sentence and then the second sentence. And we don't do that. When scientists and psychologists have looked at how we as humans read and the signs of reading, we skip and skim. And we don't actually read full words.
00:12:16 Anita: So two simple things that you can really do to really optimize the readability, really leverage the power of spacing. Try to not write a big block of text. There's nothing worse. I don't know whether you've ever experienced this, but like to, maybe you're behind someone at a movie theater and you can just see in front of them, like a big block of text that they received. You're like, oh dear. Someone's having a deep conversation.
00:12:43 Anita: Like create spacing through bullet points, through actual paragraph spacing so that it's easier, breathable, and easier for people to skim and read as opposed to reading a big block of text. No one wants to read this massive paragraph because that increases our cognitive load. We don't want to do that. We're already busy as it is? So, spacing is one.
00:13:09 Anita:The second I'd probably say is the fusion of either fonts, bolding, italics, play with that a bit. So obviously there's certain things you want your audience to gravitate towards, putting that into a box, putting that into a quote, putting that into a different font. Which again, the reason why this works is because of a concept called the isolation effect. It's almost like when you see all red apples, but then you see a green apple in the middle, it's gonna stand out.
00:13:41 Anita: So if we scroll, scroll, scroll, and then we automatically see like a different, like an interruption or disruption, that's going to get us to stop and pause. Right? So again, if you've got like a discount code, you've got a free shipping code, instead of hiding it, make sure you, obviously you bold it, but putting it into a completely different font so that it's highlighted and it's different and creates that disruption.
00:14:05 Anita: So the power of spacing, fonts and if I was to say one more thing, one more thing to increase readability is to just watch the amount of call to actions you have. There's nothing worse than opening up an email and it starts off with, hey, we've just launched this new collection and, make sure you actually sign up to our newsletter so that you're first to know when this, and we've also got a camp- No wants that. That's exhausting and I'm overwhelmed just hearing it, just talking about it so limit your call to actions and where possible one focus, one email, one focus.
00:14:39 Gloria: So can we have one call to action, but it's multiple buttons to the same call to action?
00:14:44 Anita: As in one, hang on, one call to action?
00:14:47 Gloria: Yep. So let's say that there's only one call to action, but I am giving them multiple buttons where they can stop.
00:14:54 Anita: Right. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. It's where you've got multiple like objectives where it's just like, we have a free shipping code, and also don't forget to sign up to our newsletter so that you are first to know as soon as we launch a new product, and PS, like until the end of May, like we've got, this that's just, launched. So overwhelming. You're talking about four different things at the same time.
00:15:19 Gloria: Yeah, one call to action. Got it. Yeah. That's definitely a golden rule that honestly hasn't changed in all the years of email marketing so it definitely makes sense. It is hard, because we want, there's so much we want our audience to do. And I'm guilty of it sometimes where I'll have more than one call to action and I'm like, oh, I've got to reel it back in. So that's a really good reminder. What is another simple tweak to just get the reader to actually enjoy our emails?
00:15:44 Anita: Yeah. I'd say the testing of subject headlines and pre-headers. Now writing a juicy, curiosity driving subject headline is, again, nothing new. But I think what a lot of e-commerce businesses may not realize is there are going to be certain themes of subject headlines that are going to resonate more with your audience than others.
00:16:10 Anita: So I know for a fact that for one of e-commerce clients that I've had is a lot of curiosity driving type of subject headlines and pre-headers get people actually clicking in. So this could be, were you're thinking this? Or just things that have people go, yeah, like, or I need to know more.
00:16:33 Anita: And one way in which you can write a curiosity driving subject headline and test it is when you create like a sudden stop, sudden loop. So if it's okay, can I share an example of what that might look like and be? So it's called the Zeigarnik effect. And an example of this is, when you watch a series of just really good movies or like a TV series, Game of Thrones, or I don't know, the Twilight series or just like the James Bond movies and you're left at the end with a sudden just boom. Like that's it. Black screen and you're just like, oh my gosh, what's happened? Like what is next? Right?
00:17:18 Anita: And our brain always wants to close the loop. So we're obviously waiting for the next James Bond movie. We've been waiting for years now. We're waiting for the next sequel, next movie that's coming out. The same principle applies if you want to create a really juicy subject headline that gets people to click because they are closing the loop.
00:17:38 Anita: So if you can create a subject headline and test it with your audience, so for example, you won't believe it if I said dot, dot, dot. Like it gets people clicking on it and read your actual email. There's no point in writing an exceptional email when no one actually ends up clicking on it or opening it.
00:18:01 Anita: So a lot of copywriters always say you write your headlines or your subject headlines last because literally if no one clicks on it, no one's going to read your email. So really test the power of inviting people to close that loop with your emails, testing different subject headlines and pre headers with your audience.
00:18:20 Anita: One of the things that I love to play with on pre headers as well. It's almost like the subject headline is like the thing that obviously is the hero of, what you want people to click on. But the pre-header is like a bit more of a, let me paint the scene a little bit.
00:18:36 Gloria: Okay. So I love what you said about, so let's talk about pre headers. Can you give me an example? For example, like let's say we have a lot of like skincare founders. How would a pre header and the subject line look?
00:18:46 Anita: Yeah. So using a skincare product, so let's just say it's a product that makes your skin glowy and just bounce? So on your subject headline, if we're to really leverage the power of that curiosity, you could have dewy skin? Question mark. You could put an emoji in there if you want, if that's suitable for your audience. But for the pre-header, you could then be like, yes, please. Or something along the lines of you won't believe the fact that it takes only 60 seconds to see the difference.
00:19:17 Anita: So it's almost like it gives people like a fuller picture of why you should, it's almost like this conversational back and forth between your audience to get them to open up the email. So yeah, the subject headline could be dewy skin and then the liner could literally be like, it only takes 60 seconds for you to see the effect?
00:19:35 Gloria: Yeah, and you're talking about preview text, which I think a lot of people don't even use, honestly.
00:19:40 Anita: Yeah. And it's worth testing. And it's the thing literally, again, it's the first thing you read after the subject headline? You usually see a little bit of it on your desktop if you're looking there and underneath if you're reading on a mobile. So it's almost like it gives people that extra nudge being like, you've got to read this. So for the skincare product, if it's something that like, wow, it works literally within moments and seconds, that's going to be the thing that's going to get them over the line.
00:20:07 Gloria: So good. I love it. Okay. You've given us a lot to think about in terms of all the different tweaks. What's another simple yet effective tweak we can make today with our emails?
00:20:15 Anita: One of the final ones that I really want to speak to is objection handling. So I think so often people think, and what I'm going to talk about is FAQs, but people think FAQs are like this long listed page on your website with all these questions listed out and you respond to it.
00:20:37 Anita: Now, yes, those are called FAQs, but we, and what I like to encourage, like product businesses to do is to always consider and think about the things that would stop your audience from taking action. Whether or not it is you're selling a dress, but then one of their biggest blocks is, well, what if this doesn't fit me? What if it doesn't feel good? What if this is just not the right dress for me? That's going to stop them from hitting buy?
00:21:05 Anita: So if we were to use an FAQ and objection handling technique here to combat that in email, you could have, you've got the dress there, but then you could be like, PS, if it doesn't fit, if it doesn't, you don't love it,, you can return it to us for free and we've got a 30 day free exchange or returns policy, right? It could be a very simple line-up just underneath, but instead of them having to trawl through your website or instead of them just hitting X and like leaving, you're very quickly able to handle that objection through a somewhat FAQ.
00:21:41 Anita: They may not be frequently asking you that question, but it's something that they're thinking. And I think the more we can start to treat FAQs as well as a way in which you can unblock these hazard cones that your audience have to buying, to hitting the next button, that's a very simple tweak you can literally make on any email campaign.
00:22:03 Anita: So really pause to think about the product that you're selling. What could be a potential block for them to not buy this? Maybe it is the fact that it may be outside of their budget and they're wondering if there's a payment plan or they're wondering if they could put this on, I think you guys have like Afterpay and zipPay and all of that where you pay and then it's like through installments.
00:22:24 Anita: So like very minor like wording one sentence. You don't need to write like a paragraph, but it's something so simple that very quickly unblocks the fear that someone may have to take that next step. And a lot of the time it's in going to your website and actually going add to cart.
00:22:42 Gloria: Yeah, that's so brilliant is to, at the end of the email, in the PS, address the next reasonable or most popular objection they have before they click out of it. That's so good. That's so good. I know you talked about this one bonus hack, which hopefully we have time for, but it was about hyperlinks. Can you tell me a little bit about that?
00:22:58 Anita: Ah. So a little bit earlier on, I think it was like the second or third share that I had was all about readability. I talked about the isolation effect and how when you have something just radically different or very just unexpected that it's going to grab someone's attention. As we all know, like we're all short on attention. We delete emails. We're short on time, we want to get to the point.
00:23:22 Anita: So when it comes to hyperlinks, I think, you know, the traditional hyperlink color is blue. So if we really want to draw attention, make it radically different. Create and test a different color with your hyperlink. And this sounds so simple and probably takes you no longer than like 10 seconds to do. But again, I have found through a lot of our e-commerce clients, like literally tweaking the color of the hyperlinks and making it not your standard blue, but maybe it could be orange, it could be purple. Like you could also choose a brand color of yours just to make it stand out and be completely different.
00:24:02 Anita: At the end of the day, the whole point of us sending emails is for people to click on the thing to then go on our website, right? It's great the fact that they open up the emails, we want them to read it, we're going to better that through readability, but we want them to click and take the next step. So testing, playing with different hyperlink colors, again, very simple, but it could be the thing that is like, oh, yeah, like I wanna, like it brings it out and it actually stands out and I, yeah, it disrupts people's like autopilot way in which they read.
00:24:36 Gloria: Yeah, I'm gonna actually do that for the email I write tonight actually. That's absolutely brilliant.
00:24:41 Anita: Do it.
00:24:42 Gloria: Yeah, I love that so much. You're just a wealth of knowledge. I actually love your website and, it's so funny as I'm doing my new website, I always tell people like, this is an example of a website that just gets it because you're not following some,, like girl next door, like one of those like vanilla sales [inaudible] that we've all seen. Like, oh, if I- and it's unique. And I love that about you because there's so much personality in there. And that's exactly what we need in marketing.
00:25:10 Gloria: Because people buy because of your personality, right? Like I know that people buy and they join my PR thing is not because they necessarily need PR. Yes, they do, but there's other PR people out there, but they buy because of my values, my mission. And we need to be able to communicate that. So you've given us a lot to think about. We're probably going to have to have you back on the podcast to talk about the copywriting part for sales page. But in the meantime, how can people find you and get into your world?
00:25:33 Anita: Yeah, I'd love to connect. Come hang. So find Wordfetti on Instagram, W-O-R-D-F-E-T-T-I. And yeah, feel free to shoot me a DM, voice note over on my personal brand, which is Anita Seek, A-N-I-T-A S-I-E-K. And as Gloria mentioned, I've also got a podcast as well called Brand Fetti. And Gloria is going to be a guest as well on our podcast, which is going to be amazing. So yeah, come find us on all those channels.
00:26:00 Gloria: Thank you.
00:26:01 Anita: Thanks, Gloria.
00:26:05 Gloria: Hey, small business hero, did you know that you can get featured for free on outlets like Forbes, the New York Times, Marie Claire, PopSugar, and so many more, even if you're not yet launched or if you don't have any connections? That's right. That's why I invite you to watch my PR secrets masterclass, where I reveal the exact methods thousands of bootstrapping small businesses use to hack their own PR and go from unknown to being a credible and sought after industry expert.
00:26:33 Gloria: Now, if you want to land your first press feature, get on a podcast, secure a VIP speaking gig, or just reach out to that very intimidating editor, this class will show you exactly how to do it. Register now at gloriachou.pr.com slash masterclass. That's gloriachou, C-H-O-U pr.com/masterclass. So you can get featured in 30 days without spending a penny on ads or agencies. Best of all, this is completely free. So get in there and let's get you featured.