Email Copy Email Copy 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When writing a re-engagement email to inactive subscribers, what is the most effective opening approach?
- Immediately offer a large discount
- Acknowledge the gap and ask if they still want to hear from you (Correct answer)
- Send a standard promotional email as usual
- Threaten to delete their account immediately
Correct answer: Acknowledge the gap and ask if they still want to hear from you
Acknowledging the silence shows respect and gives subscribers a clear choice, which improves list quality and engagement.
Question 2: What is 'plain text' email copy and why might it outperform HTML emails for certain audiences?
- Emails with no subject line, favored by developers
- Simple text-only emails that look like personal messages and feel less like marketing (Correct answer)
- Emails sent without encryption
- Emails formatted for print distribution
Correct answer: Simple text-only emails that look like personal messages and feel less like marketing
Plain text emails mimic personal correspondence and can generate higher engagement with audiences fatigued by heavily designed marketing emails.
Question 3: Which psychological principle explains why 'limited-time offers' in email copy are effective?
- Social proof
- Reciprocity
- Scarcity and loss aversion (Correct answer)
- Authority
Correct answer: Scarcity and loss aversion
Loss aversion makes people more motivated to avoid missing out than to gain something, so deadlines drive immediate action.
Question 4: What does 'deliverability' refer to in email marketing?
- The speed at which emails are written by the copywriter
- Whether emails successfully reach the recipient's inbox rather than spam (Correct answer)
- The design quality of email templates
- The accuracy of product descriptions in emails
Correct answer: Whether emails successfully reach the recipient's inbox rather than spam
Deliverability measures inbox placement rate—high deliverability means your emails land in the inbox, not spam or promotions tabs.
Question 5: Why should email copy be written at approximately an 8th-grade reading level for most audiences?
- Lower reading levels are required by the CAN-SPAM Act
- Simpler language is faster to read and understood by the widest audience (Correct answer)
- Email clients only render basic vocabulary
- Higher reading levels trigger spam filters
Correct answer: Simpler language is faster to read and understood by the widest audience
Easy-to-read copy reduces cognitive load, keeps readers moving through the email, and serves diverse literacy levels.
Question 6: What is the purpose of a 'P.S.' line at the bottom of a marketing email?
- To include the legal disclaimer
- To reinforce the main offer or CTA, since it is one of the most-read parts of the email (Correct answer)
- To list all product features
- To show the email was proofread
Correct answer: To reinforce the main offer or CTA, since it is one of the most-read parts of the email
Eye-tracking studies show readers often jump to the P.S., making it prime real estate to restate the key benefit or deadline.
Question 7: Which of the following is an example of 'benefit-focused' copy versus 'feature-focused' copy?
- 'Our software has 50GB of storage' vs. 'Never worry about running out of space again' (Correct answer)
- 'Buy now' vs. 'Click here'
- 'Free trial' vs. 'No credit card needed'
- 'Download the app' vs. 'Install on iOS or Android'
Correct answer: 'Our software has 50GB of storage' vs. 'Never worry about running out of space again'
Benefits translate features into what the reader actually gains; '50GB storage' is a feature while 'never run out of space' is the benefit.
Email Copy Email Copy 4
When writing a re-engagement email to inactive subscribers, what is the most effective opening approach?