You’re spending less on AdWords these days. Your organic rankings are taking a dip, too. And you’ve probably cut back on the number of paid ads you’re running late, and traffic to those pages has dropped accordingly. It seems like there’s nothing else you can do to generate more leads for your business, right? Wrong!
According to the data, email is still one of the most effective tools in your marketing arsenal…. but only if your emails stand out from the crowd. That means they need to be concise and compelling. And they need to be well-worded so that recipients know exactly how you can help them.
In this article, I share 13 tips for increasing the responsiveness of your prospecting email campaigns. Let’s start with a couple of quick facts about what makes an email campaign successful.
| Takeaways |
|---|
| 1. Craft attention-grabbing subject lines. |
| 2. Personalize emails to address recipient’s needs. |
| 3. Segment your email list for targeted outreach. |
| 4. Provide value in your email content. |
| 5. Keep emails concise and easy to read. |
| 6. Include a clear and compelling call to action. |
| 7. Test different sending times for optimal results. |
| 8. Use social proof to build credibility. |
| 9. Address pain points and offer solutions. |
| 10. A/B test various email elements for improvement. |
| 11. Use compelling visuals to enhance engagement. |
| 12. Avoid excessive use of jargon and technical terms. |
| 13. Follow up strategically to maximize responses. |
1. Build Your List
You should build your list in-house if possible. Data is money, and if you buy it, it will cost you. Make sure the company selling it is reputable, or you might end up buying data that is full of spam traps and complainers.
There are many ways to build your list in-house: Ask for contact details on your website or at the end of the sales process on your e-commerce site. Capture email addresses at trade shows by having iPads on hand so people can enter their email addresses right into them (make sure to talk to show organizers first).
Leverage other inbound marketing programs like webinars and whitepaper downloads to capture contact information from people who are interested in what you have to say.
Implementing effective strategies can significantly enhance the responsiveness of your email campaigns. Discover insightful techniques in our guide on increasing the responsiveness of your prospecting email campaigns and optimize your outreach efforts.
2. Segment And Target
The first thing you’ll want to do is segment and target your email campaign. This sounds like a lot of extra work, but it isn’t. And the rewards are huge.
Segmentation just means dividing up your list into smaller groups based on different criteria. You can segment your list by industry, gender, location – whatever you want! Just make sure that if someone were to change the parameters of one group (let us say they got a promotion), they would no longer be in that group (maybe they graduated from being an entry-level employee in their company).
Targeting is about picking the right group to send your email to. If you’re selling hair styling products, does it make sense to send your emails to men? Probably not, unless you’re selling shavers or lice medicine! So in this case, targeting would mean sending only emails with relevant content to women on your list who have shown interest in those types of products (maybe they signed up for a newsletter that had coupons for things like shampoo, conditioner, and hairspray).
3. To Use Or Not Use A Prospecting Email Template
Some are comfortable using templates, while others prefer to tailor each email to their prospect. There’s no right or wrong approach here, but there’s a handful of things you’ll want to keep in mind when deciding which strategy works best for you.
On the one hand, templates can be great because they allow you to save time and ensure consistency across emails. For instance, if your sales team is writing prospecting emails for a slew of different prospects at the same time, having everyone use the same template will help make sure that every prospect gets the same message from your company just with a few tweaks and personalizations.
That said, not all templates are created equal. You’ll want to make sure yours has enough room for customization so that it doesn’t feel like a copy-paste job when your prospects receive it the last thing you want to do is give someone the impression that they’re getting a mass email instead of something more personalized!
Elevating your email marketing campaign to new heights requires continuous improvement. Explore our article on 15 actionable ways to improve your email marketing campaign to maximize engagement and drive better results from your subscribers.
4. Timing
Timing is everything, as the saying goes. When you send an email can greatly affect its success rate. You’ve probably heard of the optimal times to send an email, but these are just averages. The truth is that timing varies from industry to industry and even from company to company, so finding out what works for your contacts will take some trial and error on your part.
In addition, considering the time zone differences of your contacts will be crucial for international campaigns, especially if you’re doing a lot at once. If you have the budget available, consider hiring a separate person specifically tasked with managing this part of the process so that you don’t have to worry about it taking up too much of your time or attention.
5. First Impressions Are Important
The first impression is always the most important. It always takes place in the first few seconds, and it’s based on what we see, hear and experience. In reality, the first impression is not always correct. However, a good first impression can often help you to convince your prospects.
6. Make Sure It Gets Seen And Opened
Here are four ways to make sure that your prospecting email is getting seen by your prospect.
Use your subject line to word-vomit everything you’ve been thinking about and hoping they’ll read. Write it as if you were trying to reach the inbox of someone who hates newsletters, sales pitches, and anything that isn’t personal. You can do this.
Don’t waste time guessing when they open emails use Boomerang or some other tool to figure out exactly when a specific prospect opens an email (and then send your next one at that time).
Send the most important part of the message above the fold. For example, if you write a newsletter, put the excerpt with a link there so people don’t have to scroll down or click “read more.”
Check before sending any mass emails: Every email should pass through a spam checker (like Mail Tester) before it goes out so you know it won’t end up in spam folders before even making it into inboxes!
Enhancing your email marketing without breaking the bank is possible with these valuable resources. Discover our collection of 9 free tools to boost your email marketing effectiveness and start optimizing your campaigns without any additional cost.
7. Subject Lines And From Lines Go Hand In Hand
Now that you’ve got your audience profile, let’s talk subject lines.
Subject lines are the teaser to your email a chance for you to grab the recipient’s attention and make them want to open the full message. It needs to be clear, concise, and engaging. Subject lines should also be part of a larger strategy whether that’s a multi-touch campaign or a one-off message.
Their effectiveness should be tested and improved upon over time as well. In general, though, subject lines should be limited to 50 characters or less for them to display properly on mobile devices (but don’t sacrifice clarity for length).
Also remember: From lines are important too! They can help ensure brand recognition through consistency across all correspondence with your prospect.
8. Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One Before Call To The Action!
It’s so easy to make a mistake with your call to action. Many have done it before you and many wills after, but this one simple step can dramatically improve your response rate. Your CTA should be straightforward, compelling, and obvious. What do you want the recipient to do? Should they contact you directly? Set up a meeting with you? The answer should not be complicated. It can be something as simple as “contact me!” noted in the signature of your email.
9. Do Your Homework, Or, Research Pays Off (As Does Research)
When you do your research, you’ll be able to:
- Craft more effective messages by revealing your prospects’ pain points and challenges.
- Personalize your emails by including information specific to the prospect.
- Create compelling subject lines that indicate how you can help the prospect’s company specifically.
- Create a powerful call-to-action (CTA) that touches on one of the prospect’s challenges or goals.
- Determine what time of day your prospects are most responsive to receiving emails, so they get top priority in their inboxes.)
10. Dial-Up The Personalization
“Dear Sir or Madam” may have worked in the past, but it won’t cut it today. Use the prospect’s name and title. If you don’t have a specific title, go with “Owner”, “Founder”, or “CEO”. You can also use specific detail about their business, such as “Local Wedding Photographer extra-extraordinaire.” Make sure to use the prospect’s name in both the subject line and opening line of your email.
Another little touch that goes a long way is to sign your emails with your name instead of generic titles like “Customer Success Manager” (if you’re not a customer success manager).
Uncover innovative techniques to stand out in the competitive landscape of email marketing. Dive into our post on 12 email marketing hacks for better engagement and leverage these strategies to make your emails truly shine.
11. No One Likes Unwanted Guests, So, Don’t Send Them To Your Landing Pages (Or Website) Without An Invitation
Landing pages are a critical part of your inbound and outbound marketing efforts. They’re the first place where your prospects land when you’re inviting them to do something be it register for a webinar or download a piece of content. But… please… don’t send someone to those landing pages without giving them some way to opt-in there.
Just like no one likes unexpected guests at their door, they won’t appreciate uninvited visits to your site either. Instead, make sure that every single email in your prospecting campaign includes a link to these super-helpful (and enticing) landing pages so that you can get all the information you need from each prospect who comes knocking on your door.
12. Keep It Simple Stupid… Keep It Simple… Stupid
You want your prospect to respond. But do not make the mistake of thinking that your prospect has nothing better to do than to read your emails and decide whether or not they are interested in your product or service.
The more complicated you make your email, the less likely your prospect will be to read it. Keep in mind that when you put words down on a page (or an email), they become part of a visual design that can either help or hurt whatever message you’re trying to convey. White space is an important component of this design because it makes the text legible and easy for readers to understand.
If something looks attractive, we are more likely to want to consume it. So if you follow these simple tips for creating a cleanly designed and well-written copy, then you’ll be on the right track towards making your email content look irresistible!
13. Asking For Feedback Is A Great Idea
Why am I asking for feedback? Because it’s a good idea that’s why. I know, I know it may not seem like it at first. You’re asking for your prospect to take time out of their busy day to help you improve your age-old prospecting email campaigns that have been tested and retested, but have you stopped to think about what the benefits of asking for feedback are?
I hadn’t either until someone asked me what I think about their new product. In the years that followed, we adapted and improved our product based on this feedback and are now serving over 100 clients worldwide. The moral of the story is twofold:
Don’t hesitate in asking for feedback; you will get some! And 2) always use the feedback you get to improve upon your email campaigns (or anything else in life). Your prospects will be more responsive to your emails when you build your list, segment, and target, use proper timing, and do your research
Once you’ve built your list using a prospecting tool, segment and target it as much as possible. You’re going to have the best luck reaching people who are most likely to be interested in what you have to offer.
Also important is timing. This doesn’t just mean “send at the right time of day,” although that does make difference studies have shown that the best time is between 11 am and 1 pm in the recipient’s local time zone. But timing also refers to when you send your campaign concerning its purpose: sending an invitation email for an event should go out three weeks before the event, while a follow-up email after a meeting should go out within two days of your meeting.
Finally, do your research into who each email address is tied to before hitting “send.” Don’t send emails with generic greetings like “Hello” or “To whom it may concern.” Your prospects will be more responsive if they feel like they’re communicating with another human being a human being who’s done their homework on them beforehand!
Crafting personalized content is essential for successful freelance email marketing. Explore our guide on 14 tips for creating personalized freelance email marketing and learn how to resonate with your audience for better results.
Final Thoughts
This article covered some great tips and tricks to help you write more effective prospecting emails. We learned that the subject line is one of the most important parts of an email because it’s the gateway to getting your message read. You can get creative with subject lines by using quotes, numbers, or questions.
Using an appropriate tone and style for each campaign will also help you increase your response rates. Check out this helpful guide from MailChimp if you need more information on copywriting for specific campaigns. We hope these tips will improve the performance of your next email campaign!
Further Reading
Tips to Write Cold Emails That Get Responses: Explore effective techniques for crafting cold emails that yield better response rates and engagement.
13 Tips for Email Prospecting Success: Learn valuable insights on successful email prospecting strategies to enhance your outreach efforts.
Mastering Sales Outreach Emails Today: Discover modern approaches to mastering sales outreach emails and building meaningful connections with prospects.
People Also Ask
Can I Send An Email To Multiple People?
Yes, you can. But don’t send the same general email to everyone. Research each recipient and tailor your message to them. What ROI would your solution provider for their business? And how does that fit with their priorities?
How Do You Write A Prospecting Email?
Keep it short and clear. What are you offering and why should they care? Make sure your subject line is relevant and persuasive (and different for each person). Remember to give them a call-to-action, like a link to book an online demo or introduce yourself, so they can get a sense of what it is you do before they decide whether to meet with you in person.
What Is The Best Way To Prospect?
It depends on what works for you! You could look up companies on LinkedIn who might be interested in your product/service, go through their contacts list and find someone who might be interested, then send them an email introducing yourself. Or download sales leads data from services such as Zoominfo or Owler and use that information as the basis for new outreach emails. It all depends on what feels right just make sure not to spam people.
How Can I Increase Email Open Rates?
The first step is to use a recognizable “From” name. If you don’t, the recipient won’t know who your email is from and will likely delete it before reading it. Your subject line should also be descriptive of what’s in the email and could even offer something of value to the recipient (e.g., “Search results for…”, “New home for sale in your neighborhood!”)
Why Are My Emails Not Being Delivered?
There are many reasons emails may not be delivered. However, some of the most common reasons include: using an incorrect email format or address, sending too many messages too quickly (causing your IP address to be blacklisted), or sending too many messages to invalid addresses that bounce back which prevents future delivery attempts from succeeding.
How Can I Increase Email Click-Through Rates?
An obvious way is to make sure that your subject line matches what you’re saying in your email content so people are more likely to click on it. You might also want to make sure there’s no spammy-looking language like “click here !” or “act now !”.
What Is The Best Time To Send A Prospecting Email?
Studies show that Tuesdays and Thursdays are often the best days of the week to send prospecting emails. In addition, Fridays between 5 pm and 7 pm are a surprisingly good time for email open rates.
What Is A Good Email Open Rate?
A good email open rate depends on your industry and audience. The average B2B open rate is 22%, but some marketing sectors report up to 30%.
What Should I Write In A Cold Email?
It’s important to keep your tone friendly and professional in any business communication, including cold emails! However, it can be difficult to know how much information you should include in an outbound message.
Costantine Edward is a digital marketing expert, freelance writer, and entrepreneur who helps people attain financial freedom. I’ve been working in marketing since I was 18 years old and have managed to build a successful career doing what I love.