Whether you're writing cold outreach emails or sending marketing emails to your 10k user list — you should never send an email that forces someone to scroll more than 2-3 times.

The vast majority of emails are read on a mobile device. That means you have about 3-4 lines to answer the question: "What's in it for me?" (WIIFM).

How I Learned This the Hard Way

I credit Kyle Milligan for this strategy. When I first started writing sales emails, I would spend hours perfecting long-form emails. I'd follow the same formulas you're told when you first start writing — PAS, AIDA, BAB.

After sending these long emails out, I would see things like 0.3% CTR or 0.4%. The emails were getting opened, but basically everyone — 99.7% of the list — was not clicking the link. I would think: "Do I suck at email copywriting?" And the answer was an overwhelming yes.

Not because I was a bad writer. Not because my research wasn't good. Not because I wasn't following the frameworks correctly.

It was simply because I was taking too long to give the reader an itch that needed scratching. I would wait until line 6 or 7 to address the WIIFM question.

Three Hard Truths About Email

  • Your reader doesn't give a sh*t about you
  • Most people don't spend more than 20 seconds reading an email — in fact, most of them don't even read, they skim
  • Getting the click is the only reason to send an email

Burn all three of those into your head. You're not writing emails for fun — you're writing them to get someone to take action and drive traffic to your sales page or product.

Read It and Shrink It

It doesn't matter if you think it's a good read. Find a way to deliver the message of your email in as few lines as possible. Refine it until you cannot refine it anymore. If you can fit enough intrigue and answer the WIIFM question in a single line — do it.

And remember, your subject line is your friend. Use it appropriately. The subject line is doing work before the email even opens — don't waste it.

I have a free e-book with subject line templates you can copy and paste into your own emails. Start there. You'll see how easy it is to fit a ton of information into something as simple as a subject line.