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5 Email Opening Tips to Conquer Shorter Attention Spans [VIDEO]

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Attention spans are getting shorter.
One study claims it’s shorter than a goldfish’s.

But this doesn’t mean people now have fishlike intelligence.
We simply got smarter at spending our attention.

That’s the key to getting your emails opened and read.
You have to show they’re worth people’s attention
… and you only have 8 seconds to do this.

Follow these proven tips to make each crucial second count.

 

#1 Figure out the best sending schedule

Send times affect email engagement rates.

Research shows mid-morning on weekdays work best.

Tweak your send times based on your own campaign and audience.

Related: Sending Emails on Sunday? Are you Kidding me?!

#2 Spend extra effort crafting your subject line

47% of recipients open emails based on subject lines alone.

Good subject lines use recipients’ curiosity and self-interest.

Come up with 2 to 3 subject line ideas and test each one.

Related: The Pick-up Lines of Email Marketing: How to Increase Open Rates In Just a Few Words

#3 Avoid starting with “Hi, my name is…”

Opening lines affect whether your emails get read.

Your email won’t be worth reading if it starts off by talking about you.

Hook your prospects by making the opening about them.

Related: Dissecting the World’s First Spam Email: 5 Timeless Lessons We Learned

#4 Show that you really did your homework

Personalized emails fetch 29% more opens and 41% higher CTRs than generic emails.

But deeper personalization improves conversion by up to 360%.

Open by mentioning a recent trigger event or a shared background.

Related: Email Marketing Series: How to Make your Emails Impossible to Ignore [Video]

#5 Pay attention to layout and formatting

Recipients spend only 5 seconds scanning an email.

In one glance, your prospect should know what the message is about.

Break the body into smaller chunks and make key items stand out.

 

But as attention spans continue to dwindle,
this is the best way to email prospects:

 

Seek respect, not attention.
It lasts longer.

–Z. Abdelnour

Related: The Only Guide to Email Marketing Analytics You’ll Ever Need

 

 

Read the latest updates on The Savvy Marketer’s Blog

Get a targeted list or Learn more about Callbox Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy

Contact us or Dial 888.810.7464

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Grab a FREE copy of 40 B2B Sales Email Templates for Every Situation! These 40 examples have all been hand-picked from a variety of sources that tested these templates in terms of opens, click-throughs, and replies

40 B2B Sales Email Templates for Every-Situation

How to Make Sure Your Cold Emails Make it to the Inbox [VIDEO]

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1 in 5 commercial emails sent never reaches the inbox.

  • 6% end up in the spam folder
  • 14% are blocked by ISPs entirely.

For cold emails, inbox placement becomes even more challenging.

That’s because…

  • You don’t have a relationship with your recipient yet.
  • You’re sending unsolicited messages.

 

But this doesn’t mean cold emails are spam.

That’s why they belong to the inbox, not the junk folder.

Follow these steps to make sure things stay that way…

 

8 Ways 2017 Will Shape Your 2018 Email Marketing Campaigns

Step 1: Scrub your list thoroughly

Your cold outreach’s success depends on the quality of your list.

  • Use list cleaning tools and services to remove bad addresses
  • Run a double opt-in campaign, especially when using a third-party list

Related: Declare Your Independence from Bad Data: A 5-Step Plan

Step 2: Check your copy for spam triggers

Your email’s content and design can set off spam alerts in dozens of ways.

  • Limit your use of known spam words
  • Maintain a 60-40 text-to-image ratio
  • Link exclusively to reputable domains

Related: Dissecting the World’s First Spam Email: 5 Timeless Lessons We Learned

Step 3: Segment and personalize your campaign

In the eyes of ISPs, there’s a fine line between non-personalized bulk emails and spam.

  • Add some prospect-specific snippets to your email templates
  • Segment your list and customize the message for each group

Related: Say no to Spam! Ways to Avoid Putting your Email Marketing Campaign to the Dumpsite

Step 4: Let ISPs know you’re someone they can trust

Sender authentication tools and services can help you improve deliverability.

  • Setup SPF, DKIM, and DMARC anti-spoofing
  • Sign up for sender and email certification audits

Step 5: Watch how you use your sending IP

Once your sending IP and domain get blacklisted, your emails no longer reach recipients.

  • Send emails in small batches each day and gradually increase the volume
  • Use a dedicated IP for your sending server
  • Keep hard bounces below 5% and spam reports below 0.1%

 

Remember, cold emails are not spam unless you make them that way.

Related: The Only Guide to Email Marketing Analytics You’ll Ever Need

 

 

Read the latest updates on The Savvy Marketer’s Blog

Get a targeted list or Learn more about Callbox Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy

Contact us or Dial 888.810.7464

 

 

Grab a FREE copy of 40 B2B Sales Email Templates for Every Situation! These 40 examples have all been hand-picked from a variety of sources that tested these templates in terms of opens, click-throughs, and replies

40 B2B Sales Email Templates for Every-Situation

 

8 Ways 2017 Will Shape Your 2018 Email Marketing Campaigns

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8 Ways 2017 Will Shape Your 2018 Email Marketing Campaigns

Email turns 47 next year. Despite countless obituaries declaring the death of email, email remains the most important tool in a B2B marketer’s arsenal. Research after research proves this, and the numbers all suggest a future where emails continue to drive marketing results.

Related: The Power of Email Marketing in 2016 and Beyond [INFOGRAPHIC]

But beneath the headline figures, a handful of trends have emerged in 2017 that hint at the shape of things to come in email marketing. Return Path’s “Email Marketing Performance in 2017” shares some pretty interesting findings that are bound to impact your email campaigns next year.

Let’s dive into the Return Path report and find out how this year’s email marketing trends will influence your email results in 2018. We’ll also consider insights from other 2017 email studies to get a fuller picture of what’s in store for your upcoming campaigns.

#1 Email performance is improving.

 

According to Return Path’s survey, a full 85% of respondents say email is getting better, with nearly two-thirds claiming the increase as significant. Only around 15% think email performance is getting worse.

Vertical Response points to the top five key drivers of email marketing improvement:

  1. Better personalization and segmentation (more than 80% of marketers now use segmentation)
  2. Interactivity (53% of marketers now include interactive content, such as embedded surveys and quizzes
  3. More compelling copy (creative  typography and branding-focused design)
  4. Increased automation (automation boosts CTRs by as much as 119%)
  5. Deeper integration with email triggers (transactional and nurture emails)

Related: 7 Stats That Prove Email Marketing Is Still The MOST Reliable Channel [INFOGRAPHIC]

#2 Emails keep marketing goals within reach.

 

More than 90 percent of Return Path’s respondents think their email marketing strategy helps them reach key marketing objectives, while another 60% consider emails as a best-in-class tactic for hitting their targets. That leaves just 1 in 10 decision-makers unable to credit emails in achieving their goals.

According to several marketing research published in 2017, email plays a leading role in the following:

    • 73% of marketers  rank email as the top digital channel for lead generation (Marketingprofs)
    • Email marketing contributes to at least 22% of sales (Adestra)
    • 54% of marketers use emails to improve engagement and nurture leads (Ascend)
    • Email remains the most effective channel for brand awareness, customer acquisition, and customer retention (Skyword)

Related: Curated: 13 Business Goals You Can Achieve Through Email Marketing

#3 Marketers maximize ROI with email, but…

 

Return Path found that 51% of respondents named increasing ROI as their top email marketing objective. The survey also uncovered that accelerating list growth and increasing conversions were both the top goal for 44% of executives.

While email marketing continues to deliver exceptional ROI, measuring returns on email investment remains a key challenge.

  • Email is the fastest-growing channel for ROI, with 73% of marketers rating the channel’s returns as “excellent” or “good” (Econsultancy and Adestra).
  • The median email marketing ROI is 122%, which is four times than those of other channels (eMarketer).
  • Only a small minority of marketers measure email performance beyond clicks, opens, and conversions (Adestra).

#4 Conversion is king.

 

According to Return Path, 67% of decision-makers believe conversions are the most useful KPI for measuring email marketing performance. Another 44% of respondents rate ROI as the top metric to keep an eye on, and 41% say it’s CTRs that matter the most.

Here’s how other 2017 studies break down email marketers’ metric usage:

  • CTRs (91%), open rates (80%), conversion rates (62%), bounce rate (41%), delivery rate (37%), and list growth rate (20%) (Adestra).
  • Customer acquisition (53%) and sales attributed to marketing campaigns (43%), (IEEE GlobalSpec).
  • Customer satisfaction (45%), customer retention (39%), leads (34%), upselling/cross-selling (33%) (IEEE GlobalSpec).

Related: 4 Email Closing Lines That Close Deals (Backed by Concrete Results)

#5 Email shortens lengthy sales cycles.

 

The Return Path study confirms what most marketers know: sales cycles are lengthening. But the more important finding is that emails accelerate the sales process. Around 51% of decision-makers surveyed follow a complex sales cycle with multiple touches before closing a deal. Email improves conversions which, in turn, helps leads move through the sales funnel more quickly.

Related: 5 Actionable Email Marketing Templates you can Use to Follow Up

Earlier in the year, HubSpot ran an article that cited stats showing email’s impact on the sales/prospecting process:

  • On average, reps need to place 18 calls to connect with a prospect.
  • Only 24% of sales emails are opened.
  • 90% of companies use at least two lead enrichment tools to know more about prospects.
  • Emails that contain 1 to 3 questions are 50% more likely to get a reply

#6 Outsourced + In-house = Effective Email Marketing

 

The formula for an effective email marketing campaign starts with the right combination of outsourced and in-house resources. Eighty-five percent of respondents in the Return Path study outsource all or part of their email marketing, while almost half think a collaboration of in-house resources and third-party expertise produces the best results.

Adestra’s “Email Marketing Census 2017” delves deeper into the responsibilities and activities involved in most organizations’ email campaigns. The report points out the following:

  • 45% of organizations assign email responsibilities to a non-specialist in-house team, while only 8% of companies delegate email responsibilities to an internal individual email specialist.
  • As email marketing platforms improve, companies no longer need internal teams or individuals exclusively handling email activities.
  • 61% of organizations spend at least 2 hours on email content and design, while only 39% of companies devote the same amount of time on strategy.
  • This can mean that companies will benefit from outsourcing content/design in order to focus more on strategy.

#7 Marketers love personalization and social sharing.

 

When it comes to email tactics, two best practices stand out. As much as 44% of Return Path’s respondents consider message personalization as the most effective email tactic, while another 41% think it’s social sharing.

Here’s what other email marketing studies have uncovered about email best practices:

  • 80% of marketers use personalization, 73% optimize emails for mobile, and 57% clean their lists regularly (Adestra).
  • 51% of marketers think list segmentation is the best tactic for lead nurturing (Ascend2).
  • Emails that contain social sharing buttons have 2.5 times higher CTRs (Nonprofit Hub).
  • Only 22% of marketers who use personalization describe their tactics as advanced (Adestra).

Related: The 5 Parts of the Best Lead Converting Email [INFOGRAPHIC]

#8 Nothing good ever comes easily.

 

Another key finding from the Return Path study is that the most effective email marketing tactics also tend to be the most difficult to carry out. When asked to name the most challenging email practice, 41% of respondents cite list segmentation, 38% name testing and optimization, and 35% answer personalization.

The survey participants also point to three tactics whose effectiveness outweighs the difficulties of implementation. These are message personalization, social sharing, and CTA optimization.

Adestra reports the following obstacles to email marketing performance:

  • 26% of companies say not having enough budget makes it difficult to optimize emails for different devices.
  • Other barriers to optimization include lack of company understanding (9%), difficulty measuring ROI (8%), and a lack of expertise (8%).
  • 50% of organizations blame poor data integration for personalization difficulties, while others point to inadequate technology (32%) and skills gaps (16%).

Related: Your Email New Year’s Resolution: Sound Positive

 

The Takeaway

The biggest lesson to glean from Return Path’s findings (and other 2017 email marketing studies) is that email continues to bring both opportunities and challenges.  Each year, email keeps getting better and better at driving results. But email marketing also becomes marginally harder to manage year after year.

We’ve seen that the most effective tactics are also the most difficult to carry out. That’s on top of hard-to-resolve deliverability issues, increased inbox overcrowding, and changing audience preferences.

There’s simply no magic formula for email marketing success. What we’ve learned from all the research done into email marketing this year is to test and iterate. That’s what every email marketer’s mindset should be for 2018 and beyond.

 

 

Read the latest updates on The Savvy Marketer’s Blog

Get a targeted list or Learn more about Callbox Multi-Channel Marketing Strategy

Contact us or Dial 888.810.7464

 

 

Grab a FREE copy of 40 B2B Sales Email Templates for Every Situation! These 40 examples have all been hand-picked from a variety of sources that tested these templates in terms of opens, click-throughs, and replies

40 B2B Sales Email Templates for Every Situation {Free PDF}

7 Types of Emails Your Business Should Send

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7 Types of Emails Your Business Should Send

So, you’ve been collecting email addresses through your various campaigns. You’ve dished out free e-books, sign-up bonuses, discounts to your store and just told your readers and followers why it’s so important they give you their email addresses, so they don’t miss out on what you’ve got.

But, have you considered what you have got? If you have a full email subscriber list, but nothing to send then your list isn’t worth anything! So, you’ve got to send something, but what?

Today, we’ll explore seven of the key types of email that you should be sending to your subscribers, giving you the ability to turn them into profitable leads that will help to make your business a success!

1) The ‘Hello’ Email

The Hello Email

This should be the first email that your subscribers ever receive from you. In a welcome email, you’re basically saying hello to them and welcoming them to your community. To create this kind of email, think about how you’d welcome a new friend to your house or treat someone in a new relationship.

You want them to feel happy, comfortable and invited into your community. You want them to read your email and think ‘Awesome; I’m happy I signed up!’ That doesn’t mean that you should start bombarding them with promotional, advertising content telling them to part with your money.

Hello Email

Instead, tell them a little bit about yourself, introduce yourself and your business and let them get to know you and what they can expect in the future. Always remember that the fact you’ve already got their email address is a good sign, you don’t want to push your luck.

Related: Lead Generation Tip: Make your Email Newsletter more ‘Fetching’

 

2) The ‘Newsletter’ Email

The Newsletter

You can create a newsletter just for your email subscribers to make them feel so special! This is completely up to you what you choose to do with it. You could email it daily (although this isn’t recommended), or much more likely, on a weekly or monthly basis.

You can interact with your readers, tell them what’s going on in your business, what products and services have been popular and any offers or competitions that you’re running. It’s really up to you!

newsletter

Don’t forget that your newsletter is probably going to have a lot of content in it, so you need to make sure that it’s high-quality before you press send.

Always proofread and edit it several times to make sure there are no silly spelling mistakes or grammatical errors that could damage your business’s reputation. You can use services such as Via Writing or State of Writing to help you carry out this process effectively. Customers trust is correlated with website’s grammar.

Related: How To Utilize A High-quality Blog As A Springboard To Success

 

3) The ‘Gift’ Email

The Gift Email

This is always a favorite among subscribers, but it’s the email where you give something away. This could be a discount to your e-commerce store. It could be a free e-book or even an entry into a prize draw. It’s up to you but this always the email that the majority of subscribers are waiting for.

After all, these readers are your loyal customers, and they deserve a little treat from you every now and then. This gives your readers a nice little surprise when they open their inbox, and you’re sure to benefit in countless ways.

Shopping List

Related: 12 Tools to Hack Your Content Creation Workflow [Plus Free Content Calendar]

 

4) The ‘Getting to Know You’ Email

The-Getting-to-Know-You-Email

Like we said before, you don’t want to jump straight in and seem to forward, remember this is like nurturing a new friendship or relationship with your subscribers. You might even want to wait until this second email to start telling your readers a bit about yourself.

In this email, there’s a couple of things you should mention, but obviously, it depends on what you want to say. For example, you should tell your readers how often you’re going to email them. Again, you don’t want to be pushy and say we’re going to email you every day, it’s simply too much.

You could tell them some of the content they can expect from your emails, such as trending posts and topics that have happened throughout the week or any competitions you’ve got coming up and any other relevant information that your users may want to know.

For a guide on how to craft the ideal Getting to Know You email, you can use online writing guides, such as Academadvisor or Paper Fellows, who can guide you through the process.

 

5) The ‘Commanding’ Email

The Commanding Email

This doesn’t mean that you need to bark orders at your subscribers but, using emails, you can easily ask your subscribers for favors using calls to action.

For example, maybe you’re mailing the people that have bought products from you. Maybe you’d like to ask them to leave a review?

Maybe you’re looking for new ways to boost your social media follower counts? If you don’t ask, you don’t get.

favor

What’s more, people are much more likely to respond and take action because they’re reading your emails and it feels like a lot more of a personal experience than if they’re reading from your social media page where you’re addressing everybody.

Related: The Great Email vs. Social Media Bakeoff (2018 Edition)

 

6) The ‘Only for Email’ Email

The Only Email Email

Sometimes, it’s nice to reward people for signing up to your mailing lists. There’s no better way to do this than giving your email readers exclusive content that only they can read.

Of course, this means you can’t post your content all over your website, it actually has to be for your email subscribers, but, there’s a lot of ways you can make this special.

Firstly, you have the names of your subscribers; this means you can talk to them directly. If they’ve been to your website and purchased something or used your services, you can create custom content because you know exactly what they are looking for and what kind of people they are.

If you’ve got some prize-winning content on your website, remember that not all users will be checking your website all the time. This means you’re going to need to keep them in the loop. So, why not provide them with an exclusive summary of everything that’s going on?

question

 

7) The ‘Hype’ Email

The Hype Email

This one is one of my personal favourites since it is one of the most effective. If you’ve got something big coming up in the near-future, let your email subscribers know about it. But, you don’t have to tell them so bluntly. Instead, tease them with little bits of information and let them get excited.

It could be a new product launch, a new service launch, an upcoming competition or feature; it could be anything you can think of!

The aim of this kind of email is to get people excited about your business. If they’re excited, they’re thinking about you, and if they’re thinking about you, they’re more likely to act, and your campaign has been successful!

 

Author Bio:

Brenda Berg is a professional with over 15 years of experience in business management, marketing and entrepreneurship. Consultant and tutor for college students and entrepreneurs at Oxessays. She believes that constant learning is the only way to success. You can visit her personal blog at Letsgoandlearn.com

 

 

Learn more content marketing and lead generation tips at The Savvy Marketer’s Blog!

Love to know how we generate qualified leads?

Get in touch with our Marketing Consultant or Dial +1 888.810.7464  or 310.439.5814

 

 

Grab a copy of our FREE EBOOK, Why You Should Bet Your Money on Digital Marketing (And Win)! We brainstormed ideas, analyzed data, and interpreted recent developments vis-à-vis previous trends before coming up with a realistic view of this year’s marketing trends.

Why You Should Bet Your Money on Digital Marketing (And Win)

Sending Emails on Sunday? Are you Kidding me?!

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Sending E-Mails on Sunday? Are you Kidding Me?!

 

Email marketing has to be one of the best lead generation strategies out there. Because, for one, it is reliable. CampaignMonitor has noted that “Email is 40 times more effective at acquiring new customers than Facebook or Twitter.” (Combining email with other channels maximizes its turnout as well)

Marketing Sherpa on the other hand has found out that 72% of people prefer engaging promotional content via email.

We can actually make a compilation the size of a phone book for all the praise email marketing has been getting through the years. Still, there is a need for businesses (especially those in the B2B industry) to apply the right methods in managing and implementing an email campaign.

Now, we can ramble on about writing effective copy, offering something new each day, and featuring content with a seasonal vibe (think cliche Christmas cards).

 

But, as marketers, we should always look at our campaigns through different perspectives. Instead of focusing solely on content, let us look at how we send our emails.

It is very likely that your campaign follows a schedule for sending emails. And it is very likely you follow the same old rule: “Tuesdays to Thursdays. 8 AM to 11 PM.”

There are reasons why marketers follow this. One of them is that decision-makers are at their most active during these days and these timeslots. Besides, it doesn’t make any sense to send during the weekends. As if some blog would tell us otherwise.

“…Even though the weekend was not the most popular time to send emails, those who opened were much more likely to engage with it and click through or purchase.” – VerticalResponse.com

Hold on one second. You’re telling me that it actually works to send emails on Saturdays and Sundays? Sundays?!

Well, there has been numerous studies pointing out the benefits of weekend email campaigns. And while it may look like an outrageous idea, marketers who do implement this kind of approach have noted tremendous increases in conversions.

weekendreplyrate-1024x504

According to Yesware’s analysis of over 500,000 sales emails, email open and reply rates are higher on the weekends. 

 

It may have something to do with the fact that managers and decision-makers are more relaxed during the weekends. The stressful conditions provided by regular workdays impel them to ignore promotional material and focus on the tasks they set out to do during these days. The weekend gives them respite from all this hassle and eventually, make them more responsive.

Related: 5 Actionable Email Marketing Templates you can Use to Follow Up [GUEST POST]

In fact, managers are more likely to read through their mail since they have a lot of free time in their hands, especially on Sundays. This would explain why conversion rates are so high on these days.

However, just like any other marketing theory, you will need to test the waters first before deciding on taking your email campaign out on a weekend. Experimentation and A/B testing are crucial. And if it does work, then consider taking the road less traveled.

 

 

Here are more mind blowing email marketing stats from Salesforce:

Here’s How to Have a Successful Email Marketing Campaign with Callbox

Learn more tips on generating leads

Check out The Savvy Marketer’s Blog or  watch more Callbox videos now

 

Email Marketing Series: How to Make your Emails Impossible to Ignore [Video]

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Whether you admit it or not, email marketing is still one of the most reliable marketing channels in terms of lead generation. That speaks volumes, because the fact that it is permission-based should make it more of a challenge getting them opened, the same way that it is a challenge for marketing minds to craft emails that get opened or get leads to convert. The point is, email marketing works. You just have to know how to make it work for you.

I’m sure there was a time when, upon opening and reading an email, you said to yourself, “What kind of trash is this?” or “I could have made a better email myself.” or something along those lines.

 Believe me, I know how you feel.

I’ve been in this industry long enough to have used all sorts of marketing channels — email marketing included — yet, there’s never a day that I don’t learn something new. Take email marketing for instance. New concepts crop up literally daily, but the fundamentals remain almost the same.

In this video series, you’ll learn not only the fundamentals, but also some valuable tips and tricks that would improve the chances of your emails getting opened – from ensuring they’re mobile-friendly to making sure they’re as personal as possible. This video series is not a panacea for your email marketing ills, but if you use them, I’m pretty sure you’ll see some positive changes.

Really, I am one with you in your quest to never having an unopened email again.

 Episode 1: It’s All about Mobile

Mobile Marketing isn’t the future — it’s the present. And if you’re not exerting a significant effort in your mobile marketing, you’re already lagging behind the competition. This also applies in email marketing. In this episode, you’ll understand why it’s important to optimize your emails for mobile usage, and learn some tricks that’d come in handy along the way.

 

 

Episode 2: It Pays to Personalize your Message

Unless it’s from the state lottery department and it begins with “Congratulations!”, rare is the email that leaves an indelible mark in our busy daily lives. That’s because emails are not exactly the most personal means of communication. But it also doesn’t mean you should just be contented in sending run-of- the-mill messages that convey zero emotion or sincerity or both.

Pro tip: The more personal your emails are, the better the chances of them getting opened, and ultimately, getting a positive response. Here’s how to craft emails that would make the guys at Hallmark blush.

Episode 3: Use a Catchy Subject Line

Books have synopses, movies have trailers, even sporting events have game previews where the protagonists tell the viewers what to expect come game time. Some, like boxing and MMA, make it even more interesting by making the fighters talk trash to each other, get into each other’s nerves and exchange blows even before the bell. That’s creating hype, that’s how tickets are sold, and that’s partly how fighters earn eight digits in less than a hour.

Similarly, that’s what should be done when writing an email. If you can sell it — meaning, make it interesting enough for the reader to open it and read the contents — just by the subject line alone, you should be inducted in the marketing gods hall of fame. See your ticket below.

 

 

 

Episode 4: Cut the Chase

Everybody is so busy these days we all need to be direct and straightforward. Most, if not all would agree if I said getting straight to the point works for most situations — in courtship, firing an inefficient staff, and even when doctors tell their patient their prognoses. I mean, I like details but unless it’s a really nice book or a series, I prefer knowing the meat of the matter ASAP.

Same is true with emails. Save the preamble for your novel. Just cut to the chase and tell the prospect what’s it about. Here’s why.

 

 

Here’s How to Have a Successful Email Marketing Campaign with Callbox

Learn more tips on generating leads

Check out The Savvy Marketer’s Blog or  watch more Callbox videos now

6 Scary (but Useful) Lessons Lurking in your Spam Folder (Blog image)

6 Scary (but Useful) Lessons Lurking in your Spam Folder

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Keep your emails away from the spam folder with these six lessons uncovered from the realm of junk mail, compiled right in time for Halloween.
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Have You Thought Of Optimizing Your Emails For Search Engines?

Have You Thought Of Optimizing Your Emails For Search Engines? [GUEST POST]

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Learn how to leverage SEO for your email marketing campaign and get a competitive edge over your competition using tips we've outlined in this post.
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Choosing The Right Email Marketing Platform (Things to Consider)

Choosing The Right Email Marketing Platform (Things to Consider)

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Run and manage effective email marketing campaigns by leveraging the right tool(s) using our pointers on choosing the right email marketing platform.
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5 Actionable Email Marketing Templates you can Use to Follow Up [GUEST POST]

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Email Marketing. The friendly tool for all who know how to use it. Whether you are a marketer, business owner, or just a professional, chances are:  you use email quite often in your work. Email marketing has consistently proven itself to be the most effective marketing tool around; and we’re talking about a huge list of tools.

That being said, the next question is: how can you make email marketing work for you? Rule no. 1: Always have handy templates around.

In your line of work, there are many times where you are bound to come across certain standard settings, where almost the same thing occurs over and over again.

For example:

  • Meeting someone at a networking event
  • Cold emailing someone on LinkedIn
  • When someone subscribes
  • Pitching for a guest-blogging opportunity
  • Approaching someone for a potential collaboration

For these types of events most common to every marketer and business owner, having to retype every time you face these scenarios can be hand numbing, to say the least. Therefore, to save you the trouble of having to keep retyping everything, you can now just bookmark this page and come back to it every time you need an email template.

Let’s begin.

 

Email Template #1: Meeting someone at a networking Event

Scenario:  You meet a prospect for the first time, and you just got his/her business card.  You shake hands after the event, promising each other that you will keep in touch. It’s best in this case to be the first one to act.

When you get the business card, make sure to put a mental note or write down the topic that you talked about. It will help your prospect to remember you later on.

Email Template:

Title: {Topic} at {insert place of networking event}

Hi  {insert first name},

It was such a pleasure meeting you at {insert place of networking event}.

I enjoyed myself tremendously talking to you about {insert topic of }! I’ve made sure to take note of it  from now on, and send you any insights if I find them.

By the way, I wonder if you have ever considered using {name of product or service} for your {business function} efforts?

If so, I would love to hear your take on it.

P.S. I’m free next {insert day} at {insert time}. I’ll be dropping by somewhere near your office. Let’s meet?

John

Email Template #2: Cold emailing someone on LinkedIn

LinkedIn is already the dominant player in the professional arena.

LinkedIn can be a great place to market your products and services, spanning 450 million members (including the random Nigerian princes and dubious people with random business proposals here and there).

You might already know that LinkedIn has this great feature called InMail, which basically allows you to send emails to people you are not connected to. In this post, I shall show a template that I use myself to approach people to read my blog. Here’s the template.

Email Template:

Title: How To Avoid Becoming the 90% of failed businesses.

Dear {insert first name},

Hope everything is going well.

I wonder if you might be interested in keeping away from failure in your startup?

275 million startups fail every year, and I was a part of it 5 times.

That’s why I’ve dedicated Mentored Growth to you.

It’s a blog with no B/S, actionable advice for you to not screw up in your business. It’s also a community of startups that I hope to build to help one another with their dream.

I’m asking around for some feedback now, and I would appreciate if you could spare me 5 minutes of your time to tell me what you think.

Cheers!

John Chen

 

Email Template #3: When someone subscribes

While an increase in subscriber count is every marketer’s dream, the problem often lies in keeping them there.

To do this, make sure you build a solid relationship from day one, and show your subscribers why you deserve the sub, and why they should stay. Make sure you deliver the content that interest them and will be useful to their business.

Email Template:

Title:  Welcome onboard {insert Site Name}!

Dear {insert first name},

Thank you for subscribing to the Mentored Growth community!

I’m excited that you are with me to grow this hub of entrepreneurs and startups, where we aim to help give no B/S,  actionable advice, to get one another away from the 90% of startup failure!

Everyone counts, and that includes you.

To show you my gratitude for joining Mentored Growth, I have included 2 FREE guidebooks to help you get started building your business right.

Our blog gets updated every Wednesday, so do keep an eye out for it!

Lastly, thank you once again for joining the Mentored Growth community!

 

Email Template #4: Pitching for a guest-blogging opportunity

If you are a business owner or marketer, then you will know the importance of guest blogging, and the positive impact it has on your site. Indeed, guest blogging remains as one of the most important elements of Google’s algorithm when they are trying to determine PageRank, and this trend seems unlikely to continue, in my opinion.

Email Template:

Title: Guest Blogging Opportunity For [insert blog name]

Dear [insert name of blog author],

I was browsing on the Internet about the topic of {insert name of topic}, when I chanced upon {author’s} post.

That got me thinking: I would love to be your next guest author.

I took the initiative to search for your most popular topics on Buzzsumo, and I have identified the following topics that you might be interested in having on your blog:

  • Topic 1
  • Topic 2
  • Topic 3

Do let me know what you think of these topics, and if you would like to feature any of them on your site.

if you need any adjustments or any tweaking, don’t hesitate to let me know!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Cheers!

John

 

Email Template #5: Approaching someone for a potential collaboration

Finally, if you are a marketer or a business owner, chances are you will always find potential partners at events to collaborate on for marketing events, or co-launches, and so on. The following email template gives you a nifty edge to convince your prospect why they should collaborate with you.

Email Template:

Title: Potential Opportunity: {your business name} X {prospect’s business name}

Dear {insert first name},

I would like to just start off by saying how much I enjoyed our conversation the other day at {insert place}.

Our exchange got me thinking about your business and mine, and the potential that we can both bring to the table.

I might be wrong, but what are your thoughts on a potential collaboration of {insert your business name} and {insert prospect’s business name}?

Here are a few quick ideas that I can think of where we can both contribute to this partnership.

  • Point number 1
  • Point number 2
  • Point number 3

I think the potential for something great to happen is really there, now that I’ve put it down in email!

What do you think about this? Let me know!

Cheers!

John Chen

 

Conclusion

The most important thing in business is time. But if you want to make an impact in your business, than you have to have a few nifty email templates on your side at all times, so that you can maintain the quality of your conversations, but not sacrifice too much time.

  • After all, time is money, isn’t it?
  • What other email templates can you think of?
  • What scenarios often require you to send emails?

Let me know in the comments section below, and I will answer your questions.

 

About the Author
John Chen is the Founder and Chief editor of Mentored Growth, a platform that provides no B/S and Actionable Advice for the Entrepreneur, to help them grow their business the right way and avoid failure like the other 90% of all businesses.

 

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Watch our latest video on Email Marketing and increase your email open rates:

Email Marketing Series: How to Make Emails your Impossible to Ignore [Video]

How to Improve Your Business Emails [GUEST POST]

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How to Improve Your Business Emails

Email correspondence is one of the main forms of communication with colleagues and clients. Unlimited possibilities of technological progress make it possible to instantly send and receive business messages from anywhere, including social networks, both widely known and narrowly-focused like here.

If you conduct business correspondence via one of the instant messengers or social networks, you may deviate from some rules. But this does not give the right to ignore the cornerstones of email etiquette, as sometimes familiarity and written mistakes lead to disastrous consequences, up to the noncooperation.

In the paper, I’m going to share with you a few tips on how to improve your business email communication.

#1 Write a Relevant, Informative and Concise Subject

Before you start writing a business letter, determine the main idea that you will convey to the recipient. Think about the subject line. Include keywords – words by which the letter can be found easily – to the subject line.

The subject should be clear and relevant as it’s the first thing the recipient pays attention to. Within a few seconds, he/she decides on whether it’s worth to continue reading.

At least, you have to stick to the next three following principles:

  • Relevance.
  • Informativeness.
  • Pithiness.

Also, you should have a clear understanding of the features of the recipient, namely his social status, position within the structure of the company, etc.

#2 Brevity is the Soul of Wit

In my opinion, one of the key factors of successful business dialogue via email is the ease of perception of information provided within the letter. Therefore, try to exclude words that do not convey the meaning of the letter. Even if you need to describe the situation in details, re-read each sentence and edit the piece so that to make is as simple as possible. Keep it simple, stupid☺.

Don’t overuse exclamation marks. A single exclamation mark is enough to express emotions and mood.  This also applies to emoticons and abbreviations. Joking aside if you write to a person for the first time! Besides, what’s funny to you isn’t always funny to others.

Today, people have very little time and a lot of possibilities how to use it. Therefore, most recipients have just about a few seconds to navigate through the letter and decide on if it’s worth their further time. If a reader sees a letter with a large amount of text, it’s a great chance he will close it or postpone until better times.

Please write on the merits.

Related: Subject Lines that Gets Event Emails Deleted

#3 Be Tactful

If the email requires a response, end the question with a question mark. If the answer is required urgently, hint about it carefully. Don’t force the recipient to answer, thereby putting him under the pressure.

As for the tone of the email, choose it in accordance with the frequency of communication with a recipient or a corporate culture of a particular company.

#4 Prioritize the Letter

Well, begin every first email of the day with a greeting. Personal treating is a must; let the recipient feels you’re really interested in his person rather than just sending template emails. Personal treatment is far beyond the politeness.

If you address the message to an organization or a few recipients, use a treatment like “Colleagues” or “Gentlemen.” In an official letter, feel free to follow the greeting with an exclamation mark.

#5 End the Letter with Signature and Contacts

If you want to be treated as a professional, be sure to end emails with your personal signature and contact information. The signature reasonable length is up to 6 lines (name, title, company name, phone number, email and website addresses).

Related: The Power of Email Marketing in 2016 and Beyond [INFOGRAPHIC]

#6 Delayed Response is Better than no Response

Ideally, you should reply to emails right after you get it. If you have no time to answer immediately, show your good manners by notifying the recipient that you have just received the letter and will respond soon.

#7 End the Dialogue Only if You Started it

One of the cornerstones of business emailing is that the right to end the conversation belongs to the one who started it. Polite farewell or words of gratitude are the best ways to make pleasant post-impression.

Related: 5 Parts of a Best Lead Converting Email [INFOGRAPHIC]

#8 Don’t Send Emails on Weekends

Well, there’s not a bad tone but rather the decline in efficiency of emailing. Imagine you’ve been waiting for a vacation during the whole week and, finally, you’ve got it. Will you have the motivation to answer incoming correspondence? Obviously, you won’t.

Thus, don’t expect your email to be read on weekends. The second half of Friday is a bad time as well. Of course, if it’s not something urgent.

Undoubtedly, people are trying to minimize and standardize the conversation. This contributes to the growing number of communications and devices that help us respond quickly and stay in touch without looking up from other daily routines. Well, that’s quite efficient, although it has some disadvantages like grammar and spelling mistakes.

In the end, if you are not sure about your email, take the time and read it once more.

 

Lucy Adams is an essay writer from buzzessay.com. Most of all, she loves blogging and research. Lucy is open to each and every your suggestion, so feel free to supply her with your very best ideas. Don’t miss the chance to get a high-quality paper for free.

 

Don’t miss out!  Grab a copy of our FREE EBOOK, The Ultimate Lead Generation Kit! Updated with links to the best and latest techniques that will help generate quality sales leads for your business. 

 

 

The 5 Parts of the Best Lead Converting Email [INFOGRAPHIC]

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Any lead generation discussion is definitely conjoined by email marketing. Despite innovations on tools and prospecting strategies, email marketing indestructibly remained on top of the list of campaign activities like sharing information and communicating with target decision makers.

If your email marketing tactic is not gaining good lead conversions, get some help from the notes below and learn to create the best lead converting email. We incorporated an infographic for better visualization. Enjoy!

 

5 Parts of a Best Lead Converting Email

 

Transcription:

The Subject Line

A strong, eye-catching subject line is what makes a user interested to read an email. When it’s composed of keywords that would cause curiosity to the recipient, it’ll likely get opened in less than 5 seconds.

Here are important factors to consider when drafting an appealing Subject Line:

  • Length

Keep an appropriate length, enough to be fully visible in the user’s inbox. Although there’s no standard number of characters or words for an effective subject line, a 61-70-character subject line shows to gain the most average read rate.

  • Word Choice

Use fitting words that are familiar to the user. Terminologies that likely summarize the email copy itself. The choices of words on the subject line used must stimulate urgency upon the user.

  • Revision

Consider revising the subject line if you don’t get any reply from any send out activities made. Double check the length as it might be too long, and the words used may be unfamiliar.

It’s best to have a list of versions for subject lines to be used at the same time and compare which ones are working best.

Related: 13 Business Goals You Can Achieve Through Email Marketing

Sender Name

Most businesses use company name, a person’s name, product or brand name, or just email address for a sender name. A generic-like sender name is most likely to be ignored so use a sender name that exhibits a clearer identity to make your email more credible.

Take some tips from instantshift.com:

  • Personal Name

If your audience knows you by name, put your name in the “from” line.

  • Company Name

If email recipients identify with your company’s name and not yours, or even recognize it before they recognize yours, then include your company’s name in the “from” line—especially if your business is a big name.

  • Both Personal and Business Name

You can include both your personal name and your company’s name in the “from” line. This works when you are part of a big business and you are the personal representative of the business. People will likely identify with your company’s name and also acknowledge you as the representative of the business. You could also use your first name followed by the company’s name.

  • Department Name

When you work for a particular department in a business and your audience knows that, mention it. If your email address doesn’t already include your department, put it in (as in “Steve, HR, Peoples’ Magazine”). You’ll give your audience the most specific information possible.

  • Representative’s Name

If there are many representatives in your business, divide the email addresses into shorter lists and use the most familiar representatives’ names for each list in the “from” line along with the company’s name.

  • Place Name

Many companies have branches in many locations around a city, state, country or world. In such cases, the company name alone might confuse your audience, so mention your specific geographical location.

  • DomainName

If your audience is most familiar with your company’s website, then include the domain name or URL. Include your business name as well to promote your business as a brand.

Email Body

No matter how appealing your subject line and credible your sender name maybe, but the actual content ineffective and unsound, your email will likely be sent to trash.  As much as possible, limit your email content to three parts.

Here are some tips in drafting a first-rate email content:

  • In the intro paragraph, state a benefit as this will hold the reader’s attention.
  • Bullet the products and services.
  • And do a short elaboration of the benefits that convey profitable results – a statistical data may appear to be more persuasive.
  • Do away with spammy words and phrases like Free offer, Trial, Subscribe, Save up to, etc.

Related: Use the Psychology of Free Stuff to Generate Leads

Images on Email

Images on emails may heighten the recipient’s interest but should follow some rules:

  • Three or less images would generate more clickthroughs
  • Use HTML Alt Tags; utilize CSS to stylize
  • Suggested file formats are jpeg and png

Call to Action

Relevant, visible and more actionable CTAs have higher conversion rates. Remember to limit your CTAs to just 1 or 2 buttons to achieve more clickthroughs, having more  could steal the user’s attention from taking quick action.

Marketing automation tools are now capable of sending hundreds to thousands of emails per day. Still, such capability will not warrant a good lead conversion to your email marketing efforts.

So before sending those emails out, make sure to double check on the details as noted above, to optimize your marketing emails and boost conversions.

Do you want more leads?

Incorporate email marketing with other marketing channels! Yes I want more leads.

Dial +1 888.810.7464

 

What have you missed! Social Influencers: Powers-That-Be

Social Influencers The powers that be

 

 

 

 

Email Lead Generation: How Most Marketers are Getting it Wrong

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Email Lead Generation- How Most Marketers are Getting it Wrong

When it comes to genuine CRM experiences, email is perhaps the best channel to consider in terms of securing an effective B2B appointment setting and lead generation program.

Recent studies indicate why email should always remain as top priority among players within the B2B industry. For instance, Circle Research reveals that at least 42% of B2B marketers find lead generation email marketing as the most effective means of audience communication. Convenience and Convert on the other hand points out that people receiving marketing messages via email spend 138% more than those who don’t.

But despite such positive statistics, email lead generation is still being subjected to scrutiny. First off, spamming continues to be an issue that businesses should try to resolve. There is apparently a need for effective ways to prevent marketing messages from being flagged as spam.

But spam is not the only problem out there. Businesses should also focus on how to shape their content, optimize their landing pages, improve their email send-outs and organize their mailing lists.

Email lead generation seems like it entails a lot of hard work. But much to one’s chagrin, a great deal of effort is needed to create an effective email marketing program that does not fall short of expectations.

Also, it is imperative to avoid usual mistakes marketers make, such as:

Creating ineffective subject lines

According to Convenience and Convert, about 35% of email recipients read their messages based on the subject line alone. Call that a small number, but it might contain high profile decision-makers that focus more on how you present your services. In this sense, compelling subject lines make your messages relevant, inviting potential clients to consider your offers.

Assuming marketing automation lessens personalization

Tailored-email drives impact. But in recent years, with marketing automation becoming the rage in the B2B world, businesses are having second thoughts about setting up effective marketing automation software due to speculations that it negatively impacts email personalization. Actually, automation improves personalization through effective and simple means. Multi-channel marketing services now offer sophisticated software systems that streamlines basic lead nurturing activities like market research, lead scoring and tracking.

Being a little too “prolific”

In this sense, focusing on quantity over quality. Nothing irritates decision makers more than to receive the same marketing messages over and over again. Not only is it likely for them to flag such messages as spam, it can also entail a waste of effort and expenses on the organization that sent those messages. Using marketing automation software, message send-outs can be regulated to minimize spam. Better results are also possible through a B2B lead generation company with expertise in multi-channel marketing.

 

Download the Ultimate Lead Generation Kit eBook

 

15 Best-Kept B2B Email Secrets to Win Prospects’ Hearts [INFOGRAPHIC]

It's 2018; Your Email Subject Lines are Subject to Change

We're Halfway 2018; Your Email Subject Lines are Subject to Change

How to annoy your Prospects through your B2B Email Campaign

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Email marketing has been a well-beloved lead generation tool, perhaps too beloved, as marketers would sometimes push it to the limit and increase the chances of displeasure from the prospects’ side. While emailing is an established go-to method, it still deserves a systematic process.

Today, the problem isn’t really much about how to reach prospects; technology and current online marketing trends have provided means to penetrate the right people using the right tools. Rather, the problem lies in the “approach” that marketers employ in sending emails.

These are some of the things you might be doing while ignorant to the fact that your email subscribers hate you for doing them:

    1. Sending from donotreply@yourdomainname.com. First of all, if you want your prospect to be engaged with your content, allow them to give feedback, or at least an opportunity to communicate. A one-way email campaign is a relationship-breaker.

 

    1. Not being clear on how often you’ll be sending emails to them. Normal behavior dictates that an email a day should already be the maximum, and even that still borders into annoying. Veterans would tell you that a 2-3 –times-a-week scheme is perfectly harmless. In any case, be upfront: if you say it’s gonna be x number of emails a week, keep your promise.

 

    1. Over-selling everything. Sales-y subject lines and pitches can easily evoke a strong urge to click the delete button early on. Instead, go for thought-provoking messages or questions that focus on the need, not on the product or service.

 

    1. Not thinking of mobile email users. A whopping 40% of all emails today are viewed from a mobile device. If that doesn’t compel you to make your email content mobile-friendly, who knows what could. Or at least do it for the sake of letting your prospects know that your company is willing to ride the waves of evolution.

 

    1. Confusing them with vague calls-to-action. Make sure that your primary call to action is clear to your readers. Don’t bury it at the bottom of a lengthy email; place it front and center, and visibly explain why reader should take that action.

 

  1. Not segmenting the email list. Email marketing is no longer a one-size-fits-all strategy. Experts have constantly emphasized the importance of targeted content and adding a little personalization to emails. Sending a totally irrelevant piece to a prospect could make him think of reconsidering his subscription.