Why Right Now Is the Best Time Ever to Be an Email Copywriter
By Jen Phillips April

Timing is everything.

Ask Jamaican sprinter Elaine Thompson-Herah, who not only won the gold medal for the 100 meters at the Tokyo Olympics, but also beat Florence Griffith Joyner’s 33-year Olympic Record by a mere .01 seconds.

Ask the person who bought stock in Amazon back when Jeff Bezos just sold books. When Amazon went public in May 1997, it was $18 per share. In May 2021, you would have paid as much as $3,484.73.

Or the person who invested in Zoom Video Communications … In January 2020, they paid up to $71.90 per share. 18 months later, in July 2021, Zoom was trading at as much as $386.48 per share.

It’s easy to talk about having great timing when we’re looking back at the past. As they say, hindsight is 20/20.

It’s harder to predict the future. It’s more of an educated guess to say if the timing is right for something at any given time.

Except with email marketing right now.

We are in the midst of the best time ever to be an email copywriter.

Why?

I believe it boils down to two basic truths:

1. Companies are sending more customer and marketing emails … more often … than ever before.
2. Companies need trained email copywriting specialists for the best results.

Let’s look at what this means for email copywriters right now …

Companies Are Sending More Emails More Often

If you think you’re getting more email than before the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re probably right. To prove it, Pathwire surveyed 760 companies to learn how the pandemic affected their email marketing strategy and results.

More Emails

They found that 55.5% of companies are indeed sending their customers more emails. Only 14.9% said they’ve reduced the number of emails they send.

More Often

They also found that 49.1% are emailing their customers more frequently. Whereas just 14.7% are sending less often.

What kind of frequency are we talking about, you ask?

• Daily — 6.5% now vs. 4.8% pre-pandemic
• Twice a week — 12% now vs. 6.1% pre-pandemic
• Once a week — 17% now vs. 14.2% pre-pandemic
• Twice a month — 24.25% now vs. 19.3% pre-pandemic
• Once a month — 40.25% now vs. 55.6% pre-pandemic

That’s a lot of emails that are being sent. Customer inboxes are more crowded than ever.

And this means it’s more important than ever that companies send quality emails … written by trained, professional email copywriters.

Both B2C and B2B Marketers Are Sending Email

A report by Content Marketing Institute shows that 74% of B2C (Business-to-Consumer) marketers are sending email newsletters. The same report shows that 76% of B2C marketers use email to distribute content.

Even more B2B (Business-to-Business) companies are doing so.

Content Marketing Institute shows that 77% of B2B marketers are sending email newsletters. And 87% of B2B marketers use email to distribute content.

Across the board, marketers are using email. That’s a lot of marketers who need email copywriters.

Getting Email Clients Is Easier Than Ever Because Stats Prove Results

Just because anyone can write a company’s email doesn’t mean they should. And there are stats to prove just how good a company’s email efforts are performing.

Since there’s data that can drive decisions on email marketing, it’s fairly easy to land an email client … when you have the data.

Return on Investment Stats That Show a Company Needs an Email Copywriter

According to a study done by the Direct Marketing Association, email marketing delivers an average return of $38 for every $1 spent. If your prospect is making less than that, they need you.

Open Rates and Click-Through Rates That Show a Company Needs an Email Copywriter

Campaign Monitor reports that marketing emails had an average 18% open rate and 2.6% click-through rate in 2020. If your prospect sees numbers less than those, they need you.

Industries with Less Than Average Stats Need Email Copywriters

According to Campaign Monitor, industries with below-average open rates (below 18%) include:

• Food and Beverages
• Retail
• Travel, Hospitality, and Leisure

Industries with below-average click-through rates (below 2.6%) include:

• Advertising and Marketing Agencies
• Consumer Packaged Goods
• Food and Beverages
• Logistics and Wholesale
• Retail
• Travel, Hospitality, and Leisure

These are great industries to target when marketing yourself as an email copywriter.

But what about the industries that have above-average rates?

Companies and Organizations with Stats Less Than the Average for Their Industry Need Email Copywriters, Too

Companies and organizations that are in industries with above-average email stats but whose own individual stats are lower than their competitors’ are perhaps even better target markets than the industries listed above.

They know better results are possible in their industry. And what they’re currently doing isn’t getting them those results.

For example, Campaign Monitor’s stats show nonprofits average a 25.50% open rate and a 4.10% click-through rate. If you have a nonprofit prospect that isn’t getting these kinds of results, they need you.

The averages for real estate, design, and construction are 19.70% open rate and 3.50% click-through rate. If you have a prospect in this general industry that isn’t getting these results, they need you.

Industries with above-average email open rates (above 18%) include:

• Advertising and Marketing Agencies
• Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting
• Education
• Financial Services
• Government and Politics
• Healthcare Services
• IT/Tech/Software Services
• Logistics and Wholesale
• Media, Entertainment, and Publishing
• Nonprofit
• Real Estate, Design, and Construction
• Wellness and Fitness

Industries with above-average click-through rates (above 2.6%) include:

• Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting
• Education
• Government and Politics
• Healthcare Services
• IT/Tech/Software Services
• Media, Entertainment, and Publishing
• Professional Services
• Real Estate, Design, and Construction
• Wellness and Fitness

Now’s the Time!

Now really is a fantastic time to be an email copywriter. These projects can be one-time deals to write a specific email sequence or retainer deals to write ongoing messages every month.

You can specialize and do nothing but email copywriting, or it can be just one of the services in your overall toolbox.

For me, it is one of several services I provide. And this year, I’ve seen a dramatic increase in prospects and current clients coming to me for help writing their marketing emails — both sequences and e-letters.

In fact, in the first seven months of 2021, 34.4% of my income has come specifically from email copywriting … making it my most profitable service category overall for this year so far.

And I have to admit, emails are at the top of my list of favorite projects to write. So I’ve been having a lot of fun this year!

You can, too.

Now’s the time to develop your email copywriting skills. There are clients out there who need you! Don’t let them down.

If you want to discover more about writing email messages that deliver great results for your clients, this is your chance to learn from a new self-study program created by one of the best in the industry.

Do you want to be an in-demand email writer? In the comments, let us know what types of email clients you think you’d enjoy.