Email is perhaps the only relic of old-school internet marketing that still has legs.
The numbers dont lie: billions of people still opt-in to mailing lists as businesses rake in approximately $44 for every $1 spent on email marketing. For many, especially those whove never seen a dime from email marketing, these stats seem baffling.
While its natural to associate email marketing with spammers and scammers, there are still ample opportunities to prospect and engage clients via email.
If you know how to make your cold messages stand out from the crowd.
The email marketing sphere has changed as much as its stayed the same: while emails may be archaic in nature, modern tools and strategies for email marketing have emerged to keep recipients hungry for more. This rings especially true in an era where our inboxes are quite literally in our pockets. Indeed, getting a response is harder than ever, which is why so many experts assert that nowadays, cold pitches are worthless. But reaching out to people cold does still work if you do it right.
Making your emails stand out requires some subtle changes rather than a single silver bullet approach. Regardless of what your marketing or sales message might be, the following six strategies to sprucing up your emails are fair game if you want to see more inbox engagement.
One of the best tactics for ensuring that your emails catch the attention of your cold contacts is to verify that it actually makes to their inbox.
Considering the fact that roughly 205 billion emails are sent every day it is not at all uncommon for people to have multiple email addresses. They might have a work email, a personal inbox, and one that is dedicated purely to junk they have no intention of reading; you dont want to be sending your important messages to your prospects junk address.
Moreover, since folks typically have more than one digital address, they might try to obscure their most important ones from online listings like Facebook and other platforms to help keep down on the number of emails received here.
This means that tools like Norbert are indispensable. Through this software, users simply enter their desired contacts name and digital domain and Norbert will vet out he correct corporate email address. Users can also send customized emails directly from the platform, making outreach all the more quick and simple.
Again, sometimes the most important elements of your emails are the most easy to overlook.
Most of us probably dont think twice about fonts when it comes to marketing; however, therein lies the problem. We have grown so accustomed to default fonts (Calibiri for Outlook and Arial for Gmail, for example) that anything out of the ordinary has the potential to catch the eyes of your recipients.
While switching up your font is a solid idea, bear in mind that not all fonts are created equal in regard to readability. Likewise, keep the following in the back of your mind:
Theres no need to lose sleep over your email font: simply dont be afraid to try something different.
Your emails dont mean much at all if nobodys actually opening them.
Thankfully, tools have emerged which provide read receipts for your emails, essentially allowing you to understand whether or not your recipients are engaging with your content.
YesWare, for instance, is a powerful email platform that touts robust tracking systems to help users understand the effectiveness of their digital communications by supplying email engagement information around sent emails, along with a variety of other prosperous features.
If youre unsure whether or not your messages are even making it to the inboxes of your recipients or want to understand whats causing your prospects to drop, such tools are a must-have.
Having a list of opt-ins is incredibly valuable for marketing purposes and ensuring that your company keeps in touch with its audience.
Yet you cant build your list until you actually ask your prospects to opt-in.
From education and tidbits of wisdom to company updates, regular engagement doesnt have to be rocket science. Consider that perhaps the reason why your email efforts have so far stagnated is because of a lack of consistency. Producing a newsletter holds you accountable for content creation and keeps your audience on their toes, ultimately a win-win situation in your quest for more consistent marketing.
Heres the thing: Just about everyone these days has brimming inboxes; remember how many emails are sent per day? Because of that, it is not at all uncommon for communications that would actually interest someone to fall through the cracks, never to be seen again.
For this reason, it is vital that you follow up your initial email with subsequent messages to ensure you are getting your prospects attention.
This is why using services like Mailshake, which was designed for cold emailing, is so beneficial for this type of activity.
Through this platform, users can send cold emails and schedule follow up communications at custom intervals to help verify that the first message doesnt go unnoticed. Additionally, this tool provides its users with campaign calendars for monitoring when emails will be sent so that you always know where you are in the chain.
This type of software will help to make sure you are maximizing the number of replies you receive from your outreach efforts.
Chances are you do have the chops to write emails that get a reaction out of your readers: again, there is no right way to craft your messages.
But even if the hard and fast rules of email marketing dont apply across all industries and messages vary from company to company, you should be careful with your words.
How so? For starters, keep the following in mind as you craft your messages:
Think about the cold emails that you receive. Are you more likely to respond to someone whos all over the place or succinct? Would you rather read three sentences or three paragraphs? With these answers in mind, you can craft messages relevant to your audience that you feel they would realistically respond to themselves.
In short, improving your email strategy often involves small tweaks rather than a massive overhaul.
If you find yourself struggling for responses or clicks, consider any of the aforementioned tools and strategies as a solid starting point. Although these details may seem subtle, theyll ultimately serve to set you apart from competitors and better connect your messages with your prospects.
Inbox Photo via Shutterstock
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6 Cold Email Secrets Revealed - Small Business Trends