Crafting engaging email content: Lessons from Cowrywise's newsletter.

Ever heard of Ope's Diary by Cowrywise?

I discovered this newsletter through Twitter. I kept seeing tweets on my timeline where people joked about how Ope from Cowrywise would send highly personalized messages that they could actually respond to.

Being the curious person I am, I decided to subscribe to see what it was all about. I did, and I have to say, Ope from Cowrywise was a hilarious and impactful newsletter.

The writing felt so familiar, like receiving an email from a trusted financial buddy. I also enjoyed the subtle jabs.

There are a few key moments when Ope trended on Twitter, like the famous April Fools' joke and when Ope from Cowrywise "resigned." Imagine having a newsletter column so beloved that people begged for it not to be discontinued.

Ope from Cowrywise became so popular that they even made a book out of it—that's pretty impressive.

In this article, we'll explore some strategies to help you get more people to open your emails and, as a result, make your email marketing more effective.

What is Cowrywise?

Cowrywise, a savings and investment platform, is all about providing people with the essential tools they need for personal financial management.

Cowrywise recognized the importance of email marketing as a way to communicate and built a lively community around 'Ope from Cowrywise' to strengthen customer relationships.

The real challenge, though, is making sure those emails don't just get sent—they need to be opened and read too. To illustrate this, we'll use Cowrywise's Ope's Diary as a prime example of a company that excels in email marketing to support each point we discuss below.

Building a community.

Creating an email subscriber list is crucial because you need an audience to send your emails to.

However, it's not just about amassing email subscribers and readers; it's about establishing a genuine sense of community.

When you build your list, aim to cultivate a community rather than simply collecting email addresses. The goal is to connect with your audience on a deeper level.

There are several ways to achieve this, such as using your subscribers' names in your newsletters to create a personal connection.

Using a newsletter strategy for "Ope from Cowrywise," the content marketing manager at Cowrywise, Michael Oladele, explained how they've successfully built a community around the persona of "Ope from Cowrywise" by connecting with each subscriber on a more personalized level.

In the image below, you can see they use their readers' names and remember to send them a happy birthday wish. This level of personalization can be achieved when subscribers are properly segmented.

This approach enables them to establish deeper, more personal connections with their customers, ultimately drawing them closer to the brand with every email they receive from Ope.

Invest in the right email marketing tools.

Investing in the right email marketing tools is a crucial aspect of Cowrywise's promotional strategy. They recognize the significance of email marketing as a versatile tool for sending very personalized messages to their audience automatically. 

For example, when Cowrywise wants to inform its subscribers about a limited-time offer on its website, they utilize effective email marketing tools to enhance engagement.

Instead of just including a plain link, they make use of attention-grabbing elements, like a button.

This was the case during their April Fools' joke about a resignation letter, where they included a "click here to read more" button. This strategy resulted in their highest click-through rate (CTR) to date.

However, by investing in advanced email marketing tools, you can do something even more effective. These tools allow you to turn that link into a colorful, attention-grabbing button that says, "Claim Offer Now!" This makes it crystal clear to your reader what action they should take.

As a result, more people are likely to click on this enticing button. This is a big deal in marketing because it will not only boost your email clickthrough rate but it also enhances your ability to engage with your audience on a personal level. 

In this way, Cowrywise shows how investing in the right email marketing tools can make a substantial difference in connecting with their audience effectively.

Nurture customer relationships.

To send emails that capture the attention of subscribers, companies should focus on building and maintaining strong connections with their customers, rather than just sharing information.

This can be achieved by creating content specifically designed for each customer segment. Such content helps guide customers through their entire journey with the company, from the initial stage of awareness to becoming paying customers (conversion), and even beyond that.

For instance, when you sign up for a fashion brand's newsletter, they might start by sending you emails about their latest collections and fashion tips (awareness).

As you continue to engage with their emails and website, they might send you personalized recommendations based on your style preferences (nurturing).

Eventually, they might offer you special discounts on birthdays or promotions to encourage a purchase (conversion). For example, Cowrywise wished a reader a happy birthday, as shown in the image above. The reader appreciated it so much that she shared it on Twitter.

This entire journey is facilitated through email campaigns tailored to your interests and needs.

Create content that resonates with your audience.

When you invest in the right email marketing tools, you gain valuable insights about your subscribers.

This knowledge helps you better understand the type of content that will appeal to them. An ideal email marketing tool should provide analytics that answer key questions:

• Who are my most engaged readers?
• Where are my readers located (by country)?
• How many people opened the campaigns I sent?
• Which Call to Action (CTA) received the most clicks?

By addressing these questions, you can determine the content preferences of your readers and tailor your email campaigns accordingly. This ensures that you capture their attention effectively.

In April 2021, Cowrywise cleverly applied this strategy by leveraging their customers' fondness for a character named Ope.

To create buzz around a new product, "Ope's Diary," they sent out an email playfully announcing that "Ope is leaving." This sparked curiosity and prompted many users to click on the Call to Action (CTA) in the email.

The CTA led them to a blog post where Cowrywise revealed it was an April Fool's joke and introduced "Ope's Diary." "Ope’s Money Diary" is a compilation of 21 short stories that explore how money works and how to use this knowledge to your advantage.

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This single email resulted in approximately 30,000 clicks within 24 hours, creating a substantial buzz that propelled Cowrywise to the fourth spot on Nigeria's Twitter trending topics.

All of this was made possible by understanding their audience and creating content that resonated with them through email marketing.

In conclusion, email marketing has evolved into a powerful tool for modern businesses seeking to connect with their audience in a meaningful way.

The success story of Cowrywise's "Ope's Diary" email campaign serves as a testament to the effectiveness of these strategies.

By understanding their audience's love for Ope and crafting content that appealed to this sentiment, Cowrywise achieved remarkable results, with 30,000 clicks in 24 hours and trending on social media.

Read: Email marketing analytics Every marketer needs to know.