1.
) No Images I see it all the time in sales emails.
There's nothing more spammy than an email about a big sale with pictures of models wearing the new season's clothes, or a product with a price-slash on it.
Instead of including pictures in your emails, add a link redirecting customers to the site if they want to see for themselves.
This way if they're even slightly interested after reading what you have to say, they'll dive into your whole website instead of focusing on that one sale product.
2.
) Make it feel personal Subject line- their name.
It doesn't matter what company you're from, people are more likely to open the email when they feel that it directly concerns them.
It shows that you spent the time to write to them, and makes the customer feel a bit more obligated to see what you have to say instead of instantly deleting the message before opening it.
3.
) A little bit of improper grammar This doesn't mean, "how u doin" is an acceptable greeting.
But starting off an email with "Hope all is well!" has always worked for me and my colleagues.
You want your email to seem conversational and non-threatening.
You want to seem comfortable enough to converse with the customer, to encourage them to get involved with you/your company and respond or ask questions.
4.
) No funny colors When you write an email to your friends, do you use black text or bright red? You use black.
To respond you use blue.
Sticking with the plain black font is the way to get your customers to read your email instead of assuming you're trying to sell them something (which you probably are).
5.
) No bullet points Bullet points are tacky in sales emails.
When you're trying to sell, or in my case buy things from customers, you should make it as easy to manage as possible.
Don't list everything, and don't put it in bullet points.
You're more likely to read "Company A works mostly with the purchase, sale, and repair of Extruders, Injection Molders, Dryers/Mixers, Grinders/Shredders, Downstream equipment, and other plant support equipment.
" without thinking twice.
As opposed to: "Company A would be interested in the following equipment: *Extruders *Injection Molders *Dryers *Mixers *Grinders *Shredders A semicolon gives the reader the chance to mentally skip the following list.
It prepares them to involve themselves in your product, which they can choose against.
6.
) No enlarged text If you want to grab someone's attention and direct it at a specific point in the email, just delete the whole email.
You're not doing it right.
See "Keep it short and simple" 7.
) Read receipts It's sneaky.
I know.
But there's no better way to judge the potency than attaching read receipts to your emails.
This way you can tell how many "reads" you get out of the total amount of sent emails, and how many "deleted without opening" notifications you get.
You can also go even further, and compare total reads to total replies.
The fun is endless.
This way if you want to try more than one version of an email in honing your craft, you can see which works better and why.
Another sneaky aspect of read receipts comes into effect when you make a point to mention that you have one attached.
Just adding "*Read Receipt Attached" in smaller text underneath your signature can catch someone's eye, and in times even guilt them into responding.
I know, I'm awful.
8.
) Hopeful conclusion "I look forward to working with you!" etc.
It's sweet, hopeful, polite.
It tells the customer that you have their interest in mind, and that their response matters to you.
It'll also put you above the rest of your kind that are also fighting for their attention.
9.
) Keep it short and simple Keeping it short an simple means that the reader can make their way from start to finish in 30 seconds.
Most people don't check their email for the purpose of shopping.
They check their email to absorb necessary information and move on.
Referring to "No enlarged text", it's important that in this thirty seconds your email would be lucky to receive, you include the most important information only.
This, of course, aside from casual greeting and hopeful conclusion.
If you find yourself making something a crazy color or bold in order to draw attention, perhaps take some time to get rid of unnecessary information.
10.
) Send it to one address at a time I know, this is the worst part.
However, when someone sees that their name is the only one in the "To:" box, they feel more like this is a personal conversation between you and them.
They see that you took the time out of your day to "check in" with them.
This factor mixed in with your conversational approach will not just give you that upper-hand in the sale, but it may even help you to form a relationship with the customer, making you their go-to person/company for their needs in the future.
Wouldn't you rather have your customers come to you than have to go to them? Feel free to leave your input in "Comments".
What other factors have you experienced that forge the difference between a read email and a deleted email? http://www.
SMDO.
org
) No Images I see it all the time in sales emails.
There's nothing more spammy than an email about a big sale with pictures of models wearing the new season's clothes, or a product with a price-slash on it.
Instead of including pictures in your emails, add a link redirecting customers to the site if they want to see for themselves.
This way if they're even slightly interested after reading what you have to say, they'll dive into your whole website instead of focusing on that one sale product.
2.
) Make it feel personal Subject line- their name.
It doesn't matter what company you're from, people are more likely to open the email when they feel that it directly concerns them.
It shows that you spent the time to write to them, and makes the customer feel a bit more obligated to see what you have to say instead of instantly deleting the message before opening it.
3.
) A little bit of improper grammar This doesn't mean, "how u doin" is an acceptable greeting.
But starting off an email with "Hope all is well!" has always worked for me and my colleagues.
You want your email to seem conversational and non-threatening.
You want to seem comfortable enough to converse with the customer, to encourage them to get involved with you/your company and respond or ask questions.
4.
) No funny colors When you write an email to your friends, do you use black text or bright red? You use black.
To respond you use blue.
Sticking with the plain black font is the way to get your customers to read your email instead of assuming you're trying to sell them something (which you probably are).
5.
) No bullet points Bullet points are tacky in sales emails.
When you're trying to sell, or in my case buy things from customers, you should make it as easy to manage as possible.
Don't list everything, and don't put it in bullet points.
You're more likely to read "Company A works mostly with the purchase, sale, and repair of Extruders, Injection Molders, Dryers/Mixers, Grinders/Shredders, Downstream equipment, and other plant support equipment.
" without thinking twice.
As opposed to: "Company A would be interested in the following equipment: *Extruders *Injection Molders *Dryers *Mixers *Grinders *Shredders A semicolon gives the reader the chance to mentally skip the following list.
It prepares them to involve themselves in your product, which they can choose against.
6.
) No enlarged text If you want to grab someone's attention and direct it at a specific point in the email, just delete the whole email.
You're not doing it right.
See "Keep it short and simple" 7.
) Read receipts It's sneaky.
I know.
But there's no better way to judge the potency than attaching read receipts to your emails.
This way you can tell how many "reads" you get out of the total amount of sent emails, and how many "deleted without opening" notifications you get.
You can also go even further, and compare total reads to total replies.
The fun is endless.
This way if you want to try more than one version of an email in honing your craft, you can see which works better and why.
Another sneaky aspect of read receipts comes into effect when you make a point to mention that you have one attached.
Just adding "*Read Receipt Attached" in smaller text underneath your signature can catch someone's eye, and in times even guilt them into responding.
I know, I'm awful.
8.
) Hopeful conclusion "I look forward to working with you!" etc.
It's sweet, hopeful, polite.
It tells the customer that you have their interest in mind, and that their response matters to you.
It'll also put you above the rest of your kind that are also fighting for their attention.
9.
) Keep it short and simple Keeping it short an simple means that the reader can make their way from start to finish in 30 seconds.
Most people don't check their email for the purpose of shopping.
They check their email to absorb necessary information and move on.
Referring to "No enlarged text", it's important that in this thirty seconds your email would be lucky to receive, you include the most important information only.
This, of course, aside from casual greeting and hopeful conclusion.
If you find yourself making something a crazy color or bold in order to draw attention, perhaps take some time to get rid of unnecessary information.
10.
) Send it to one address at a time I know, this is the worst part.
However, when someone sees that their name is the only one in the "To:" box, they feel more like this is a personal conversation between you and them.
They see that you took the time out of your day to "check in" with them.
This factor mixed in with your conversational approach will not just give you that upper-hand in the sale, but it may even help you to form a relationship with the customer, making you their go-to person/company for their needs in the future.
Wouldn't you rather have your customers come to you than have to go to them? Feel free to leave your input in "Comments".
What other factors have you experienced that forge the difference between a read email and a deleted email? http://www.
SMDO.
org
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