5 min
read •
May 14, 2024

Why the Tone of your email copy matters

By
Josh @ Hoppy Copy
3x founder, CMO, loves email marketing
Published in

Sometimes I think tone of your emails might be even more important than the message itself.

Much like the label of a beverage or a designer's brand name on clothing, the tone of your emails can help shape how you feel about a brand – leading to more sales.

"It's not what you say, but how you say it." - Albert Mehrabian

What exactly is tone?

Tone is how you make people FEEL about what you're reading.

It is the emotion and attitude that comes through in your writing.

It's NOT the ‘message’ itself. It's everything that surrounds it.

Tone lets the reader know if you are a no-nonsense person, or if you are a jokester, or if the reader should take the subject you're talking about seriously. Tone subconsciously signals to the reader how you want to be perceived.

Tone is your brand!

Tone is more important today than ever  

Because unless prompted the right way, AI-generated copy is causing a lot of content on the web to now sound the same. I'm noticing it more and more, and as brands, we really need to stand out with a unique voice now more than ever.

You ever receive an email and it just grabs you? It makes you feel like you know the writer, or trust the writer. This is what you should be striving for in your copy today. Because if you’re anything less, you’re going to blend in with the masses.

What kind of tone should I use?

This depends on:

  1. Your brand (what you want people to associate you with)
  2. Your message (what you want people to associate your message with)

For example, you could have a fun, quirky brand tone, but the message you are delivering might be really serious, perhaps at a time when you need to build trust with your audience—so you may choose to use a more professional tone at this time.

But in general, there are some best practices for tone.

Check out how tone works in practice, with this statement below:

Email marketing is important because it's the most profitable marketing channel. By using its full potential, your business can grow from six to seven and eight figures in revenue and more.

Boring.

Witty/Playful tone.

Email marketing is serious business - it can take your biz from potato to po-TOTALLY awesome! Maximize its potential, and you're sure to see your revenue skyrocket to 8-figures and beyond.

Good for:

  • Grabbing attention and keeping the reader engaged
  • Persuading the reader by making the copy more memorable
  • Giving readers the impression your brand is fun, creative, and doesn't take itself too seriously.

Persuasive tone.

Unlock the power of email marketing to skyrocket your business beyond its current boundaries. With its unmatched potential, you could soon be turning eight figures in revenue and endless possibilities are within your reach.

Good for:

  • Encouraging action or adopting a certain point of view
  • Helping people perceive a brand as knowledgable and confident. Just be careful it doesn't come across as manipulative.

Professional tone.

Email marketing is an essential component for any business looking to maximize their overall profitability. When utilized to its fullest potential, it can be a powerful tool in helping to increase revenue from six to seven or even eight figures and beyond.

Good for:

  • Showing your brand is trustworthy and knowledgeable in your field by displaying a level of competence, which can lead to increased loyalty
  • Communicating serious subject matter

Luxury tone.

Email marketing is an essential tool for elevating your business to new heights of profitability. With its full potential, you can take your business to unprecedented success, achieving seven, eight and even nine figures in revenue

Good for:

  • Showing your brand is sophisticated, high-end, or exclusive
  • Making readers feel that using your products or services will bring them one step closer to a luxurious lifestyle

Casual/Relaxed tone.

Email marketing can be a great way to grow your business, with the potential to take it from six to seven and even eight figures in revenue. It's one of the most profitable marketing channels, so it's worth exploring how you can best use it to reach your goals.

Good for:

  • Creating a friendly and approachable brand voice that can be trusted
  • Making readers feel like they are talking to a friend rather than being sold to
  • Good for brands relating to young, informal audiences

Bold tone.

Email marketing is ESSENTIAL for businesses looking to scale their profits. With its immense potential, you can skyrocket your business from six to SEVEN and EIGHT FIGURE revenue and beyond!

Good for:

  • Grabbing attention and emphasizing key points
  • Conveying a sense of confidence and authority, and project strength and reliability. Just be careful it doesn't come off as too pushy as that can have the opposite affect.

Trustworthy tone.

With its proven track record for generating high returns on investment, email marketing is widely recognized as the most profitable marketing channel. By tapping into its full potential, you can take your business to the next level, achieving revenue growth that may have seemed out of reach.

Good for:

  • Creating a sense of transparency and honesty to foster lasting trust
  • Building confidence with consumers in industries where wild claims are often made

Personal tone.

I'm so passionate about email marketing because it's not just a profitable marketing channel, it's THE most profitable. When you tap into its full potential, you can take your business from six to seven and even eight figures in revenue - and beyond. Trust me, I've seen it happen.

Good for:

  • Building a relationship with the reader, which can make content more memorable and impactful
  • Building trust vs making it seem like the content is coming from a faceless corporation
  • Making a brand appear more approachable through humanization

Critical tone.

Email marketing may be important, but it's not necessarily a guarantee of success. While it has the potential to bring in revenue, there's no guarantee it will take your business from six to seven and eight figures. It's just one piece of the puzzle, and success depends on a multitude of factors beyond email marketing alone.

Good for:

  • Expressing a brand is transparent and honest about its strengths and weaknesses, and willing to take responsibility for flaws and shortcomings—leading to more loyalty

Direct tone. (one of my favorites)

Maximize your profits with email marketing, the most lucrative marketing channel available. Unleash its full potential and take your business to new heights, earning six, seven, or even eight figures in revenue and beyond.  

Good for:

  • Expressing urgency and calls to action, or presenting straightforward information that is easy to read without any filler words.
  • Building confidence as an authoritative no-BS brand that stands out from competitors

Controversial tone.

Some people still don't get it, but let me spell it out: email marketing is the holy grail of profit-making. If you're not using this channel to its full potential, you're leaving money on the table. Don't settle for mediocrity when you could be raking in six, seven, or even eight figures in revenue. Wake up and smell the coffee, my friend!

Good for:

  • Hooking in people's attention and generating viral buzz around content by eliciting a strong emotional response. Just use with caution, as it can be polarizing and turn off people who don't agree with the viewpoint presented.
  • Showing your brand as bold, daring and willing to take risks.
  • Showing your brand as a thought leader with unique perspectives in your industry
  • Encouraging engagement with your content

What a difference, right?

Don't forget, Tone is not just influenced by words

It is so much more.

Fonts types and sizes. Emojis😋       spacing       Punctuation! CAPS. Bold. -Structure- And more...

It's all these things that come together to further influence how your reader feels.

How to play with tone in your own copy

Because tone is so important, we had to add a Tone Changer right in our Hoppy Copy toolbar.

You can also explore more tones (and enter your custom tone) in the Content Improver tool, which will also improve overall readability of your content. It's one of our most loved tools in Hoppy Copy.

Enjoy having fun with Tone! 😋

By
Josh @ Hoppy Copy
3x founder, CMO, loves email marketing

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