Writing emails that get opened, read and clicked
An email is won in three successive battles
A successful email wins three battles, in order, and each depends on the previous one. First the open: if the subject line doesn't entice, the rest doesn't exist. Then the read: if the opening lines bore, the thumb heads for the trash. Finally the click: if the call to action is vague or absent, the email served no purpose. Most entrepreneurs only polish the middle content and lose the battle at the subject line. So you write backwards: what should the reader do, and how do you guide them there from the subject line?
An email isn't a document to read, it's a path to travel — from subject line to click, without a single step that discourages.
The subject line: the front door
The subject line decides the open. The principles that work: short (readable on mobile, where most emails are opened), clear on the benefit or curiosity, and honest (a deceptive subject kills trust and deliverability). A few proven angles: the promise ("3 mistakes that ruin your follow-ups"), curiosity ("what nobody tells you about…"), real urgency ("last day"), or personalization. Avoid ALL CAPS, exclamation-mark barrages and spam-trigger words ("free!!!", "make money"). The preheader (the text following the subject line in the inbox) extends the promise: don't waste it.
The structure of an email that converts
Beyond the subject line, an effective email follows a simple skeleton:
- A hook: the first sentence restates the subject line's promise, with no useless preamble.
- One message, one goal: one email = one idea and one action. Three topics dilute everything.
- Airy text: short sentences, brief paragraphs, scannable at a glance.
- A clear and single call to action: an obvious button or link, one thing to do.
- A human signature: you write from a person to a person, not from a brand to a database.
Plain text or all-image email?
Counter-intuitive reflex: simple emails, close to a personal message, often outperform ultra-designed newsletters crammed with images. Three reasons: they feel more authentic, they display everywhere (images are sometimes blocked by default), and they weigh less on deliverability. An all-image email — with no real text — is also a spam signal and stays unreadable if the image doesn't load. The rule: text first, images to support, never to carry the message alone.
Generative AI: an assistant, not autopilot
Assistants like ChatGPT, Claude or the generators built into some ESPs genuinely speed up writing: brainstorm ten subject lines, rough out a first draft, rephrase shorter, adapt one message to two audiences. But the golden rule stays constant: AI proposes, you correct. A fully generated email sounds generic, loses your voice and drives away an audience that subscribed for you. Use AI to beat the blank page and save time, keep control of the tone, the concrete examples and what makes you distinctive.
Personalization and segmentation
The same message sent to everyone wastes half its power. The most basic personalization (the first name) helps little; the real strength comes from segmentation: sending customers a different message from prospects, or only mentioning a topic to those who showed interest in it. Your ESP's custom fields and tags let you adapt content without rewriting everything. An email relevant to a subgroup always beats an "average" email for everyone: relevance is the first lever of opens and clicks.
Testing before sending
An email goes out once: no do-over. Three checks before the big button. The display test: send yourself the email and read it on mobile (where it will mostly be opened) and on desktop. The link test: click every link, check they lead to the right place. The A/B test when the ESP allows it: compare two subject lines on a fraction of the list, send the winner to the rest. These three minutes prevent costly mistakes — dead link, "{{first_name}}" shown as-is, broken layout.
Key takeaways
An email is won in three battles: the open (the subject line), the read (the hook and structure), the click (a clear and single call to action). Polish the subject line and preheader, write airy and human, and prefer simple text over image factories. Use AI as an assistant — it proposes, you correct and keep your voice. Make relevance your weapon through segmentation, and always test display and links before sending. What's left is to make these emails work on their own, at the right moment: let's move to automation.