How To Write an Email for Affiliate Marketing (With Examples)

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When it comes to marketing strategy for affiliate programs, email is still one of the most effective ways to promote products and services, alongside starting a blog. But for affiliate marketers, crafting an email that truly converts can be a challenge. 

In this article, I will share some tips and strategies on how to write an email for affiliate marketing that grabs attention, engages readers, and compels them to take action. 

With practical tips and real-life examples, I'll equip you with the tools and strategies to elevate your email marketing game. 

Let's dive in and transform your email marketing efforts into profitable successes!

How To Write An Email For Affiliate Marketing

When writing affiliate emails, it's important to have a clear and concise structure that will capture the reader's attention and encourage them to take action. 

Here's a breakdown of the typical structure for an affiliate marketing email. 

Affiliate Email Structure

• Subject line
• Salutation
• Email Body (shocking statement, bullet points)
• Segue
• Call To Action
• P.S. 

Now, let's break down each component of the affiliate email structure:

1. Compelling Subject Line

The subject line is crucial because it's what determines whether your recipients will actually open your email. So, here's a cool tip: try addressing them by their name and using a question-oriented subject line. You won't believe the impact it can have on your open rates!

In fact, a recent study conducted by Zippia revealed that including the recipient's name in personalized subject lines increases open rates by an impressive 29%. 

By asking a question that hits right at your email subscribers' pain points or desired outcomes, you're aiming to spark that curiosity. And you know what happens when curiosity strikes, right? 

Yes, you're way more likely to open that email! 

For example, "John, struggling to increase your website traffic?". This is the kind of question that grabs your attention, right?

So, there you have it!

A simple tweak to your subject line can make a world of difference.

2. Salutation

Using your recipient’s first name in the salutation not only increases engagement but also adds a personal touch to the email. Instead of going with formal greetings like "Dear Sir" or "Dear Madam," I suggest opting for a more casual approach.

Using someone's first name in an email can make it feel more personal and increases engagement. So, let's keep it friendly and informal right from the start.

Imagine opening an email that starts with a simple "Hi John" or "Hey Sarah." It immediately catches your eye and gives a sense of familiarity, doesn't it? It's like we're having a conversation over a cup of coffee, rather than a formal exchange.

3. Shocking Statement

When it comes to capturing the attention, I have a powerful technique to share with you.

That is to use a shocking statement. Trust me, it works wonders! 

Picture this: you're scrolling through your inbox, and suddenly you come across an email that begins with a mind-blowing fact or an unexpected statistic. It's like a jolt of electricity that makes you pause and think, "Wait, what?"

That's exactly what we aim to achieve by adding a shocking statement at the beginning of the email. 

We want to grab the recipient's attention and ignite their curiosity. It's about delivering something unexpected, something that makes them want to dive deeper into the content and discover what else we have to say. 

Whether it's an intriguing piece of data, a surprising statistic, or a thought-provoking statement, our goal is to leave the reader wanting more.

4. Bullets to Arouse Curiosity

The beauty of using bullet points strategically is that they give you the power to highlight the most enticing aspects of your offer, compelling your readers to lean in and explore further.

By crafting these bullet points in a way that stirs curiosity, you create a sense of intrigue that keeps them hooked.

5. Seque

Once you've captured your reader's attention, build curiosity, and provide value through engaging content, it's time to smoothly transition into the sales aspect of your affiliate marketing email. 

This is where the seque comes in—a strategic transition that leads your reader from the captivating introduction to the offer or promotion you want to present.

The seque is crucial because it helps bridge the gap between providing value and driving conversions. It ensures a seamless flow that doesn't feel abrupt or forced, but rather builds upon the foundation you've established earlier in the email. 

For example, "If you want to take your XYZ skills to the next level and achieve remarkable results, visit the XYZ Mastery Program. It is designed to provide you with comprehensive training, expert guidance, and valuable resources to accelerate your growth and success."

6. Call to Action (CTA)

Every sales email should include a clear and compelling call to action. This is the action you want the reader to take, such as clicking a link to a video, landing page, making a purchase, or signing up for a webinar. 

The CTA should be persuasive and encourage the reader to take the desired action.

And it's really important to only put one thing you want people to do in every email. Whether you want them to buy something by clicking a link or do something else, you should pick just one thing.

7. Personal Note (Optional)

Ending the email with a personal note, such as a P.S. can help you create a personal connection with your reader. 

It goes beyond the average sales email and shows that there is a real person behind the message. This personal touch can make the email more relatable and increase the conversion.

You can use this P.S. section to create urgency or add extra thought.

Tips On Writing Affiliate Marketing Emails

Here are my 10 tips for writing affiliate emails:

• Keep it simple, short and relatable

 Use tools like Hemingway to ensure that your writing is clear, concise, and easy to understand. This will help you avoid using language that is overly complex or advanced, making it accessible even to readers with a grade-5 level of understanding.

• Use short sentences and paragraphs

Break long sentences into shorter ones to keep your writing clear and easy to read. You can use ellipsis (...) to indicate where a sentence has been shortened.

• Create a sense of urgency:

Add time-sensitive language and limited-time offers to create a sense of urgency and encourage immediate action from your subscribers.

• Focus on benefits and outcomes

Highlight the specific benefits and outcomes that your readers can expect from the affiliate product or service. Clearly communicate how it can solve their problems or fulfill their desires.

• Provide valuable content:

 In addition to promoting affiliate products, offer valuable content such as tips, advice, or insights related to the niche or industry. This builds trust and positions you as an authority in your field.

• Include social proof

Add testimonials, reviews, or success stories from satisfied customers or yourself to build credibility and trust in the affiliate product or service you are promoting.

• Follow up

Don't forget to follow up with your subscribers. Send follow-up emails to remind them of the offer, address any concerns or objections they might have, and encourage them to take action. Follow-ups can significantly increase conversion rates.

• Test your emails:

Continuously test different elements of your emails, such as subject lines, email body, calls to action, and content placement.

• Don't use too many exclamation points!

This mistake can make your email sound needy.

• Make sure to add the right affiliate link

The Benefits Of Email Marketing In Affiliate Marketing

In the following sections, we'll discuss how an email marketing campaign can boost your affiliate efforts and help you generate passive income.

1. Cost-Effective

One of the key benefits of incorporating email marketing into your affiliate strategy is its cost-effectiveness. 

It's amazing how affordable it is to use an email marketing software these days!

Take MailerLite, for instance. It's an email marketing platform that offers impressive affordability and value. With their email autoresponder service, you can even start with a free account and send up to 12,000 emails per month to a subscriber base of up to 1,000.

That's a great deal!

This means you can reach a substantial audience and nurture relationships with potential customers without straining your budget. 

By leveraging the affordability of platforms like MailerLite, you can make the most out of your budget and ensure that your affiliate marketing efforts are cost-efficient and yield a high return on investment.

2. Targeted Personalized Messages

An effective affiliate email marketing campaign is all about making your emails stand out in a crowded inbox. You don't want to send another generic email that gets ignored. That's where personalized emails come in. 

Imagine opening an email that addresses you by name—it catches your attention, doesn't it?

By using automated affiliate marketing email sequences, you can create a series of messages that cater to your subscribers' names and preferences. It's like having a conversation with each of them individually. 

This helps build a personal connection through your emails boosts engagement and increases the chances of conversions.

3. Responsive Performance Tracking

When it comes to email marketing, staying informed about the performance of your campaigns is crucial. 

With the right email marketing platform, you can easily monitor key metrics such as the click-through rate and open rate. These metrics provide valuable insights into how engaged your audience is with your emails. 

It's like having a built-in compass that guides you toward optimizing your strategies and maximizing your affiliate marketing success.

Now, I think you have a clear idea of why we should use email marketing to generate sales.

Best Tools for Affiliate Email Marketing Campaigns

Affiliate email campaigns can be highly effective in converting leads into sales. To optimize your efforts in this area, it's important to utilize the right tools.

Here are two of the best tools I've found helpful for affiliate email marketing campaigns:

1. ClickFunnels

ClickFunnels is a comprehensive funnel builder service that plays a crucial role in your email marketing campaign.

Instead of sending people directly to your affiliate link, ClickFunnels allows you to create captivating opt-in or capture pages without the need to create a website.

These pages serve as an intermediary step where prospects provide their name and email address.

This is what an opt-in page looks like:

By utilizing ClickFunnels, you can design visually appealing opt-in pages with compelling headlines and call-to-action buttons. When visitors click the button, their email addresses are captured. This enables you to follow up with them via automated email sequences.

Personalizing affiliate emails by including their names can enhance the effectiveness of your communication,  and ClickFunnels empowers you to save time and effort by automating the process, ensuring that your follow-up messages reach your subscribers on autopilot.

You can now try ClickFunnels 2.0 absolutely free for 14 days! Get instant access here:

After capturing names and email addresses using ClickFunnels, you'll need a tool to collect all the information necessary for your email marketing campaigns.

This is where MailerLite comes in.

2. MailerLite

MailerLite is an email autoresponder service that seamlessly integrates with your funnel built using ClickFunnels or any other platform.

As prospects provide their email addresses through the capture page, MailerLite enables you to collect and manage these contacts efficiently. You can also create multiple email lists, each with its own follow-up sequence with this tool.

This allows you to nurture your leads over time by sending them pre-written emails at specified intervals.

You can strategically utilize these emails to share testimonials, proof of results, and overcome objections that potential buyers may have.

By doing so, you build social proof and address their concerns, increasing the likelihood of conversions.

Additionally, after the follow-up sequence, you can add your leads to a broadcast list.  This list enables you to send live emails to all your subscribers simultaneously, informing them about new content, promotions, or updates.

Give MailerLite a try and send up to 12,000 emails per month for free: 

Autoresponder vs. Broadcast Messages

An autoresponder is a series of pre-written emails sent automatically to nurture leads over time. It helps build relationships and guide subscribers towards a purchase.

On the other hand, broadcasts are one-time emails sent to the entire list simultaneously, perfect for time-sensitive announcements or promotions.

Both have unique advantages and can be used together to create a well-rounded email marketing strategy.

Autoresponders provide consistent communication, while broadcasts offer flexibility and quick reactions.

Integrating both can effectively engage the audience, build trust, and drive conversions in your affiliate email marketing campaigns.

Final Thoughts

In conclusion, knowing how to write an email for affiliate marketing opens up a world of opportunities to connect with your audience on a personal level and drive meaningful conversions.

By implementing effective email marketing strategies, such as crafting compelling subject lines, creating engaging content, including clear calls-to-action, and segmenting your audience based on their interests and preferences, you can leverage the power of automation and personalization to maximize your affiliate marketing efforts.