By Lauren Fenthum<---- To view/save infographic
CLICK HEREWe all hate them and they probably all land up in our Junk box anyway. But as a marketer this can be a crucial way of engaging with your customers. The opening of marketing-related emails is plummeting to less than 10% on average, even when the message is highly targeted, the result of a bombardment of irrelevant emails over the years. But how can we fix this? Stop being lazy with your cold mail. Try creating curiosity within your subject matter and follow it up with a clear and engaging body.
Below are a few steps to help you construct your next cold email: Research Your Prospect - Understand their business, interests and the individual's personality both professionally and personally. You can do this by checking up on various social media platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn, which will give you a good idea when it comes to getting to know your prospect.
Match Individual KPI’s with Business Objectives - You can start to make logical assumptions about your prospect after you have found out more about them and their business, and incorporate this into your message.
Learn About The Person, Not The Persona - Generally social media platforms contain personal information, this can be used to find out interests and give you an idea on how to connect with them on a personal level.
Add Some Humour - None of this research would matter if the prospect didn’t even open the email. There’s no better way to grab someone’s attention by adding a bit of humour. Try adding some humour into the subject line that creates a sense of curiosity.
Empathize - Emotion is so important when it comes to connecting to consumers. Instead of emphasizing why your product or brand is superior, try to create the appeal of what the product can offer, how the client can benefit and the potential opportunities could await. Allow your brand to be credible, and thus more desirable, by adding on recognizable and well-established companies that use your brand or product. This creates reassurance in the customer's mind and lets them know that your business can be valuable to him.
By refining your practices in cold emailing, you are more likely to improve your open rates and increase customer engagement with your brand. Because you are making the customer feel valued that you have taken the time to learn about them and send them a personal email rather than the old generic “copy and pasted” version that has made its rounds many times before. Granted, this process takes up more time, but it is more likely to ensure an increase in click and response rates. Try incorporating this with your most loyal customers first to keep them interested as well as new customers, to create a good and lasting first impression of the brand.
