What is it: A sales email is a rhetorical situation we are all exposed to on a daily basis with the emails that are clogging our inboxes and trying to sell us on a sale, a new product, a service, etc.

Purpose: A sales email is drafted much like a persuasive letter, but it uses the email form and normally includes an extensive use of graphics while still utilizing the AIDA format.

Topic: In a previous module, you worked in a group for the company Profit, Inc. and in later work, you changed the name and type of business to one that interests the members of your group. For this assignment, though you are working alone, you should imagine yourself owning a company. As part of launching your business, or maintaining your profit margin, you need to send out sale and promotional materials through email. This email should be about one single product or service that you are advertising to your customers utilizing the AIDA format and rhetorical appeals (pathos, ethos, and logos).

Goals: A persuasive appeal aims at three possible outcomes:

• It wants to change the actions, the thoughts, or the feelings of the audience.
• Your audience should behave, think, or feel differently based upon your appeal.

Assignment Instructions

Tasks: You will have multiple tasks to accomplish to generate the persuasive email for your company.

• Determine your audience Who will you market your product to? You wont want to send it to everyone, so who is your audience? Are you marketing to other businesses (b2b), to consumers (b2c), or to specific sections of consumers (targeted marketing)?
• Provide compelling content You can review the table on page 195 for some help with this, but you will want to maintain the AIDA format.
• Sell your idea This is the focus of the action portion of the AIDA format, and it is where you will change the actions, thoughts, or feelings of your audience. Think and consider what rhetorical appeals are the best approach for your specific product and result.

Format: Sales emails do not have a specific format, but each features some specific content that you want to model in your email.

• Subject Your subject line needs to be compelling enough to get your audience to open the email. Thats the goal here. Spend some time on this short piece, as without a compelling or interest drawing subject line, nothing inside the email will be read.
• Graphics Even for established companies that dont necessarily need to utilize pictures, there are always graphics in email marketing. What pictures work best for your idea? How will those graphics appeal to your audience?
• Text Short paragraphs or groupings of words, often separated by additional graphics or close-ups of the product.
• Link There should be at least one link to the product or company home page, plus a direct link to call the company, etc. This is a necessary portion of the marketing email. You do NOT need to use a real link here, but you should use click here and make it a hyperlink that goes to the Palm Beach State homepage.

Length: 100-200 words

• Most people wont even read an email much longer than this, and they wont read a long email that is trying to sell them something. However, the more graphics that break up the text, the better chance you have to keep the attention of your audience.

Remember: Word choice and style are part of creating the personality of your company and building the characterization of your company as positive in the minds of potential customers or neighbors.