How I Wrote 5 Emails in 55 Minutes: Email Writing Productivity Tips

Want to write faster emails? Forget templates, stop waiting or scrolling for inspiration, and no more trying to write the perfect email. All of these things that are supposed to be helping you are actually slowing you down. I wrote five sales emails in under an hour—and they converted. 

I hear too many business owners spending 2 hours writing one email or one post, so today I’m going to share how I do it so much faster. The one thing that all of my multi-6 and 7-figure DFY clients have in common is that they ALL send emails to their list regularly (at least weekly). Email marketing is the backbone of how they nurture, connect, and convert. Writing good emails quickly is one of the most important skills you can develop as a business owner. 

A couple months ago, I set a challenge for myself: batch write my weekly emails in one hour per month. I surprised myself and have been on average writing five emails in 55 minutes. The first week I wrote 3 emails in 30 minutes. So I’m averaging about one email every 10 minutes for my own business from scratch (and they’ve already sold!). 

If you’re wondering how I did it, I’ll walk you through exactly what worked for me to write quickly and effectively. The best part? You can replicate this process, even if you’re dealing with mom brain, distractions, or a packed schedule (because same). Do this as you are writing your holiday and end-of-year sales copy. Your email writing productivity is about to get an overhaul. Tune in to hear how I pulled it off.

0:01:20 - The one thing all of my 6 and 7-figure DFY clients are doing in common
0:03:10 - The challenge  to write five emails in under an hour.
0:04:15 - 10 tips to write email copy faster
0:19:00 - Final thoughts on your writing process.
0:20:15 - How messaging guides help streamline the writing process.
0:22:00 - Writing faster opens up time for other tasks.

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https://www.megankachigan.com/email-writing-productivity-tips-to-write-5-emails-in-55-minutes

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Transcript

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Welcome to the copywriting for coaches podcast. My name is Megan catchin, and I am obsessed with having your brand actually sound like you on the internet. We help you write all the things that you've been trying to articulate about your business but have never been able to put into copy. We're going to go deep to up level your business without adding more to your already full plate. We'll keep it simple and sustainable. Sound like a breath of relief. Let's dive in. Want to write emails faster. Of course, you do it. Can feel like it takes forever if you're not doing these things that I'm about to share with you, forget templates, stop waiting or scrolling for inspiration, and no more trying to write the perfect email. All of these things that are supposed to be helping you are actually slowing you down. I wrote five emails in under an hour, and they converted. I hear too many business owners spending two hours writing one email or one post. So today I'm going to share how I do it so much faster and no, you don't have to be a pro copywriter for this to work for you. Let's and let's talk about this. The one thing that all of my multi, six and seven figure done for you clients have in common is that they all send emails to their list regularly, at least weekly email marketing is the backbone of how they nurture, connect and convert. Writing good emails quickly is one of the most important and profitable skills that you can develop as a business owner. A couple months ago, I set a challenge for myself. I wanted to batch write my weekly emails in one hour per month, and I surprised myself, and I've been averaging writing about five emails in 55 minutes. The first week, I wrote three emails in 30 minutes. The next week was five emails in 55 minutes, and so on. And that's about how it averaged as well. So that comes down to about one email every 10 minutes. And this is from my own business, not for my clients. And this is writing from scratch. This is not just revamping or tweaking, you know, an email that's already existing. This is literally from scratch that I'm talking about. And no, AI, does not play a huge role, if any at all. So I'm gonna get into all of this. But maybe this is nerdy, but tracking my time like this has been a fun way to keep me focused during my writing hours. And I don't know anyone else do this, just me, but maybe you should. It's it was really a great way to keep me super focused. Because just like you, just like anyone else you know, when you sit down to write, it's like, oh, I need to clean, the laundry needs to be done, the dishes need to be put away, and all the other things that come up. And so this was a great way and a fun way to keep me focused. So there are, let's see how many nine steps I have for you today to just really break down how I made this happen. So if you're wondering how I did it, let me walk you through exactly what worked for me to write quickly and effectively. And the best part is you can replicate this process even if you're dealing with Mom Brain distractions or a pack schedule, because same do this as you are writing your holiday and end of year sales copy especially, I mean, I mean, do it all year long, but I think especially relevant with all of this coming up, so you're writing email, writing productivity is about to get an overhaul. Here's how I pulled it off. Step one is to get specific about your goal. So before I even open up my laptop, I knew I wasn't just writing random emails. I knew I wanted to batch emails promoting this specific offer, and having this clarity was my first boost in email writing productivity. Next, I joined a co working call and told everyone exactly what I plan to accomplish, and declaring my intentions helped hold me accountable. And I'm not typically a person who, like, needs accountability buddy, like I am highly disciplined type A if I say it's gonna get done, like it's gonna happen. But something about this was different, like every time a distraction popped up, I knew I was on the clock to write these emails, and maybe it's the competitive side of me, but it made me really want to get this done, and I knew everything else could wait. The dishes can wait, the clutter needs that needs to be put away. It can wait and accountability made it easier to stay focused and productive. And I occasionally offer co writing sessions in copy critique club. So if that is helpful for you, that could be a great place for you to join and get started there as well. Okay, next step was. Is to separate the writing from the editing. And I know this is like a typical piece of advice that you hear from writers, but it's because it works. So one of the biggest time wasters when writing is editing while you write, you know the drill, backspacing sentences, rewriting the same paragraph three times, agonizing over which sentence sounds just right. I didn't do any of that. Instead, I focus on getting my thoughts out of my head and onto the page. That's all you do when you're writing your first draft. Editing comes later. So by separating these two processes, it helped me stop overthinking and just let the words flow. It makes writing feel easy when you don't have to worry about editing when you So, okay, think of it this way, editing while writing is like cooking while doing the dishes. It's slowing you down, and quite honestly, it just doesn't make sense, right? So make the ugly first draft and and just get it down. And editing becomes so much easier when you have a ton of stuff that you're working with, and now you're just paring it down to what actually needs to be there. And then writing also is so much more fun when you just let it flow, and you don't worry about what it sounds like if it's good enough, if it's going to convert what other people are going to think, let that all go this simple mindset, simple but not easy mindset. It's a shift that significantly improved my email writing productivity along the lines of overthinking. Something that has helped me is allowing chatgpt to come and clutch, but not in the way you might think. So. I did not ask chatgpt, or, you know, your AI of choice, to write my emails for me. Instead, I used it as brainstorming to spark ideas. I fed chatgpt a ton of my own writing. So sales page copy for the offer. I was promoting a few stories. I had already written a brief description of my brand voice. So I'm sending a ton of information. My prompts are always like a mile long to really get anything you know, halfway close to what I'm looking for. Then I asked it to outline three different email angles promoting. It was copy critique club in this case. So chat GPT gave me the ideas, and I chose the one that resonated most and then tweaked it to fit my message. Having all of my ideas narrowed down helped me stop the pattern of overthinking it all and just choose a direction and then let my message flow from there. So because this is the internet, let me be clear, I don't let chatgpt write for me. Every word in my emails comes from my heart and my thoughts. And chatgpt, of course, is simply a tool. It's a brainstorming partner. It helps me explore different angles, but it will never replace my creativity or authenticity, and I hope it doesn't replace yours either. So when used with intention, chatgpt, for sure, can save time and spark ideas, but it's still up to you to bring your unique voice and message to the table. This process reassured me that I had considered all the angles while still keeping my copy authentic and in my voice, it chatgpt did not replace my creativity. Instead, it kept me focused instead of getting stuck in my head, is that familiar to anyone else? So using AI thoughtfully can add a valuable layer to your email writing productivity. Okay, next step, I got really specific about my outcome. I didn't just sit down and say I'm writing emails today. I had a clear, measurable outcome. I knew I wanted five emails promoting copy critique club, and I broke it down even further. I wanted one per email for the rest of the month. Actually, it was for two months, so I was already halfway through the month. I wanted to finish out that month and then do the next month as well. And this specificity gave me a roadmap. So instead of wondering, what do I write next, I knew exactly what I needed to create and batch writing my emails together help the emails flow a little bit better between each other. Not that everyone necessarily remembers what you wrote next week, but it helps me with my thinking of what do I want to say next in the next email. So that was super helpful and just clear goals in general, help you reach your outcome much better. All right. Next step was preparing ahead of time. So preparation for me looks like gathering everything I needed I had right at my fingertips. I opened up my sales page copy. I had stories I wanted to reference that I just keep on a note in my what's it called on my iPhone, notes, and then I also have at hand on my task board, notes on my ideal audience and their pain points. So I keep a running list on the Notes app on my phone of things I want to talk about, so things that I that pop in my head of like, Oh, that would make a great email. Like, while I'm going. About my day, but I'm not ready to sit down and write my emails yet. I just keep a running list of that so that when I do sit down to batch my emails, boom, boom, boom, all my ideas are right there, and I don't have to think about what am I writing about today, because I already have a list ready. So then I can reverse engineer those stories to connect with the CTA that I'm going for having all this ready means I can dive straight into the writing without wasting time hunting for information, overthinking things. And so preparedness is this simple but powerful way to boost your email writing pro tip productivity, and write these emails that you need you know you need to write, but now you can do it so much faster. Next is creating the right environment. And I used to think like, this is kind of woo, woo extra like, just sit down and get it done. You know, come on. But protecting my time and environment for full focus with no distractions is essential during this time. So I take one minute to make my desk totally clutter free. It's the winter time, and even when I live in Southern California, I still got a cozy blanket on my lap. I had my water bottle within reach. I may try a quiet place with no distractions in sight. You know, I had a babysitter for my kids. I, like, I was fully focused. So maybe for you, that's going an extra step, and like lighting the candle or turning on a playlist, if that helps you focus. For me, I like it totally quiet. For me to focus, I know I'm probably in the minority for that, but you do you. You know the point is to create an environment that supports your writing. So whatever it needs. Literally, it just takes you a minute to set it up, and then you feel like, okay, this is it. And it also helps you be like, Okay, this like, this is what I'm doing. This is what I'm set up to do. So you write your emails, get it done, don't let the distractions take over. I feel like that is the biggest thing, right? There are so many other things that tug at your attention when it's time for you to even if you block it on your Google Calendar, to batch write your emails. You want to do all these other things. So that leads me to my next tip, which is to focus on one email at a time. Once I started writing, I just tackle one at a time. I didn't let myself think about the next email till I'd finished the current one, and the single tasking approach kept me from feeling overwhelmed, oh my gosh, all these emails I have to write, and allowed me to fully focus on the message I wanted to convey. And so caveat there I do kind of outline what I want to talk about in each email, and then I take that and then focus one email at a time, so I know generally what I'm going to say, and then I let it flow right out of me. Next is trusting the process. Because here's the thing about writing, your brain will try to convince you that it is not good enough, right? Thoughts like this isn't going to resonate. Pop up or what if no one likes this, those pop up for me too. And literally, copywriting is my full time job. So when that happens, remind yourself to trust the process. The goal is to get the words out, not write a masterpiece on the first try, editing and reframing the emails comes and our last step, which I'll give you right now. So once the initial writing is done, then I add in the subject lines, the hooks, the CTAs and the links and the proper first name trigger, right? We don't want to make that embarrassing mistake, so I don't worry about these things at all during the writing process. If a great hook comes to me, or if a great subject line just like jumps out to me while I'm writing. Sure I'll add it in there. But it's not something I'm stressing over during the writing process. All of this stuff is super important so it comes out at the end. Once I reach through I finish writing each email, I read through each one out loud. Then that's when I edit it. I say, Okay, what am I really trying to say? How can I say this more concisely? What can I take out of this and still, you know, get the message across. How can I make this more enticing of a hook of a subject line? Does this logically lead to my call to action? You know, is that call to action linked if, if, you know, there needs to be a link. So all of that stuff gets added in at the very end, and then when I'm done, I just tag my VA to schedule it in my email service provider. And this saves me, again, time from getting bogged down and scheduling tasks, and just allows me to truly focus where my brain needs to focus. So this is why email writing Productivity Process. This is why it works, even with Mom Brain or whatever else that you're working with, I know as a mom of two little ones, my brain often feels pulled in a million directions, and writing five emails in under an hour feels like an impossible task at first, even for someone who does this for a living, but, but. Following this process, I made it happen consistently month after month. This is what I do, and this is how long it takes me. The key is knowing your messaging really well and having a streamlined workflow, instead of operating from inspiration air quotes there and focusing on these email writing productivity tips. So knowing your message as a business owner, I feel like is not stressed enough. It's like having this well worn trail through the forest as you're hiking. It gives you a clear path to follow, and it cuts down on the time that you would spend second guessing or wandering off course. Here's how it helps you write faster. So one the clarity eliminates the overthinking, and I think that is the number one killer for the majority of us, is we overthink things, and the distractions get the best of us. So when you are crystal clear on your core message, you don't waste time wondering what to say or how to say it. You already know your key themes, you already know your tone, your values, all those things. So this means you can just sit down and dive straight into the writing, instead of getting bogged down in so much brainstorming. And then having this consistent voice also saves you mental energy as well. Your message defines your voice and style with these guidelines in place, you don't have to reinvent the wheel every time you write. It's easier to draft content because you're working within a framework that already feels natural, and then your audience feels clearer, too. When your message is well defined, you know exactly who you're speaking to, and you know exactly what they need to hear to move them to action. This eliminates guesswork. It allows you to tailor your writing to your ideal client's struggles, desires and questions right away. Then you can streamline your editing too. Knowing your message gives you this clear barometer for what fits and what doesn't this makes self editing so much faster, because you can quickly eliminate anything that strays from your purpose by anchoring your writing in clear a clear and well articulated message, you free yourself from the mental clutter and emotional overwhelm of figuring it all out on the spot. The result is faster drafts, sharper content and more time to focus on the big picture work that you love, right? You don't want to spend your whole day writing emails or sales pages or whatever it is. You want to get back to being the CEO visionary and serving your clients in the way that you are meant to do. So we've got to get these emails written. So let's do it quickly, doing these things. And so I talked a lot about, like, the real key to this is knowing your message, and a lot of that comes with, like, having a messaging guide written down. Don't let that live in your head. If it's in your head, Great. Now let's get it down on paper, because one is going to bring so much more clarity to you. And two, when and if you ever decide to delegate this in whatever form, done with you, done for you. Copywriting. It helps a copywriter so much. So so, so, so, so much to have a messaging guide or brand voice guide already in place to operate from. It makes it so much easier for us to capture your authentic voice, so that the writing feels seamless in transition to me writing it, versus you writing it, and then we can't tell the difference who wrote it. That is one of the key things. So that is why it's also something mandatory that I have you do when you join copy critique club, I give you a template for a messaging brand voice guide, if you don't have one already. So it comes with your copy critique club membership, and even if you just want the messaging guide to fill out like it's worth just the one month of copy critique club just to get that and you can see how I think and do some of these things that we've talked about today in action as I loom video you in copy critique club critiquing, you know, your sales page, your email sequence, or whatever it is that you are working on. So writing faster is not just about saving time, though. Obviously that is huge. It also frees up so much mental space for the other things that matter in your life, in business. So for me, that's spending time with my kids, my family, serving my clients, and showing up as the best version of myself, not a scatterbrain, you know, trying to do all the things. So by mastering a process like this, you can create content that connects with your audience, drive sales and builds your business, all while building your email writing skills. Because, like I said at the beginning, that is one of the most important skills you can develop as a business owner. So if you want to experience. Process, process in action. A Power Hour is one of the best ways to do that. We can write your copy together. Here's what happens. You tell me what needs to be written. So whether that's your sales page, an email sequence your website, you name it, I send you my starter Google Doc. Literally how I start writing for my multi six and seven figure done for you clients. You brain dump on the dock all the things. Then we meet on Zoom and start writing in flow together. These sessions are so much fun. I they light me up so much. And a typical response at the end of these sessions is, wow. I feel like I am a much better copywriter now, seeing how you think in real time, and I feel like I have so much momentum to now take this and do more copywriting on my own, because I see how you think about it, and the ROI of these sessions can look like $6,000 from six emails, just like in this case study that I'm linking for you in the show notes that was back in episode nine. So writing copy doesn't have to feel overwhelming or time consuming. It is totally possible for you, even as not a copywriter, to do this with the right process. It can even be, dare I say, fun. So what are you waiting for? Set your timer, grab your favorite drink and start writing your email productivity will thank you. Thank you for tuning in to the copywriting for coaches podcast. If you've been enjoying these episodes, let me know that you're listening and what you love about it by clicking on the copywriting for coaches show in Apple podcasts and leaving me a review. Be sure to subscribe while you're there. So it's easy to catch new episodes every week if you want digital resources to finish that copy project you've been working on, the links are all waiting for you at copywriting for coaches podcast.com you.