3 Simple Steps to Writing Emails that Actually Engage

We have all been there - open inbox, flip through emails, select select select, delete.  

According to an ongoing study from The Radicati Group, LLC, in 2015, the average number of business emails received per user totals 88 per day.  That means if you send someone one email a week you make up 2/10ths of a percent of their weekly mailbox.

Email is the one of the best marketing tools available today, but you have to be remarkable to distinguish yourself.

Luckily for you, you can do that in three easy steps.

Step 1:  Do your research.

Would you send your boss an email without knowing what you were talking about?

The same applies to your prospects. You need to know what they are struggling with before you provide that cunning solution that keeps them reading.

So, what kind of research should you be doing? You want to gain both an understanding of you are talking to and what they care about.  The internet doesn’t allow us to see and read people like we would in person, so it’s your responsibility to make the best assumption you can before hand.

Some great questions to ask yourself:

• What does this person do? What are some of the challenges associated with that?

• Who is this person? How do they present themselves?

• How can I help this person? How can my product help them?

Research is the crucial first step to this process.

Step 2:  Provide value.

If you learn one thing from this article, it’s this: 

People are busy, super busy.  Don’t ask them to help you do your job.

No one has the time to read your email about your email telling them what you do and why they should want your product.  We see emails like this far too often.  Why? The email sender already knows the value their product and because of that thinks it’s obvious the recipient. Make the value of the email clear in the subject and the first few sentences.   

I firmly believe your first email shouldn’t even be about what your product can do for the recipient, but what you can do for them.  Is there a helpful tip you can offer them?  Is there a way you can help them achieve an objective?

Help your prospects.

Step 3:  Be human.

There’s a good chance you don’t like talking to computerized attendants when you call companies.  Don’t make your prospects feel that way with monotonous emails.  My coworker, Tom Discipio, always says, “Write like you are having a face to face conversation.”  He couldn’t be more right.

Stop writing emails like you are writing international trade agreements.  People read stuffy documents every day. You have the opportunity to set yourself apart and the easiest way to do that is to just be yourself.  I can almost assure you that you will stick out from the “robots.”

This technique varies from industry to industry and recipient to recipient, but I tend to air on the side of casual.  Yes, you have to tailor your conversation to your audience, but everyone likes when you send them pictures of cute dogs…  Right, guys?

Achieve Email Awesomeness

If you are sending an email, the key to success is understanding this: Emails are conversations (or at least they can be). 

Realize that you are sending an email to another person and engage them.