5 Ways To Create Urgency In Your Emails

You nailed your subject line, have killer art, and narrowed down your frequency rate; so why aren’t you receiving action from your emails?

You may have forgotten to include a sense of urgency.

ur•gen•cy   |   noun   |   importance requiring swift action

We've all been there, receive an email that looks interesting, star it so we can read when we're a little less busy, get sidetracked, and return to it a week or two later just to realize we missed the deadline listed in the fine print. All because the sender didn't provide any signs of urgency encouraging us to act now.

Creating a sense of urgency isn’t just a successful marketing strategy, it’s supported by human psychology. “Urgency is a psychological trigger that is deeply rooted inside our brain … Scientifically speaking, urgency is a time-based concept that prompts us to act quickly.” (abtasty.com)

Here are five psychological marketing tactics to start incorporating so your emails don't fall by the wayside.

1. Time Sensitive Words/Phrases
Utilize words that allude to urgency: Act Fast, Hurry, While Supplies Last, Last Chance

2. Expressive Grammer
Similar to the above, use punctuation, capitalization, and emojis to show urgency.

3. Clear & Direct CTA
As mentioned in my article from 03.18.21, ‘Are You Calling Your Customers To Action?’, never assume the recipient will follow up with you, demand action by telling them what to do.

4. Minimal Copy
Don’t overload your emails with too much text. Tip #1 from my 10.12.20 article, ‘How to Simplify Your Flyers While Increasing Impact’, explains how emails are meant to be bite-sized teasers to pull the reader in and lead them to a destination of your choosing.

5. Loss Aversion / Stress Scarcity (FOMO)
Remind the viewer of what they're losing out on: Ends Today, Seasonal Edition, Final Hours

You can combine multiple tactics to really stress urgency, but don’t get carried away!

Don’t let your customers hesitate on your emails, show them they need to act with urgency.