How to write a new business email that won’t get deleted

Marketing and brand directors get hundreds of emails every day – many which end up in the trash. Here are some tips to help make sure yours get read.

Keep your new business emails short
Longer is definitely not better. Everyone is busy and people get too many emails, your audience will need to be able to quickly scan read your email. If it looks too long or doesn’t get to the point straight away then it will get deleted. Think about the first few lines of your email – this is usually what people can see in their email viewing pane. Once you have written your email, go back through and remove any extra words, look at each sentence and see whether you can make it shorter. Evaluate each sentence to check it’s really needed and that it adds value.

Think about your subject header
Your subject header will be the deciding factor as to whether your email gets opened or deleted straight away. Be creative and thought to provoke, you want to make it intriguing but also relevant to your content. This is a great article from Hunter.io on how to craft a perfect email subject line. 

Make it about them
The reason why you are getting in touch must be about them. How will they benefit, what are their pain points and what can you do to help them? Don’t make the same mistake as everyone else and have the content of your email all about your agency. A sentence I often use is:

“We have done some thinking around [insert challenge/brand]. [Talk about the challenge]. 

We don’t have all the answers; however we have been working with [xxx] helping them [xxx] and we do have some ideas that could make a difference.”

Use humour
Use humor but don’t be offensive. Great copywriters use humor in their opening line as a pattern interrupt – so a way to change people’s thoughts or behavior. When people open emails from someone they don’t know, most of the time they will be expecting to be sold to. If you say something they aren’t expecting in your opening line then it will get their attention. Test your approach and you will learn what works.

Be natural
Read your email out loud, if it doesn’t sound like something you would say verbally then rewrite it. One tip is to voice record your emails and then transcribe them – it will make you sound much more natural.

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Avoid spam words
There are certain words that will get picked up by spam filters that you must avoid. Here’s a list of key words to avoid in your Subject box.

Don’t forget your call to action
Finally, don’t forget your call to action – what action do you want them to take after having read your email. Don’t be afraid to ask for this. One sentence I often use to put people at ease and make them feel less pressured after my call to action is:

“If the timing isn’t right or you just don’t feel it’s good use of your time, feel free to say no.”

If you are struggling to find email addresses, there's a great tool called Voila Norbert that's simple to use and can find just about anyone's email address.

And finally…

Don’t just rely on email for your new business approaches

How about something we rarely see these days like a handwritten letter or postcard? With so many spam filters, at least something in the post is almost guaranteed to get delivered. If you don’t have time or have rubbish handwriting? Then use this service to get beautifully handwritten letters done for you - https://inkpact.com/.

Grab your free copy to my New Business Campaign Plan for Agencies: https://www.lucysnellonline.com/p/free-plan