How long should your prospecting email be?

1 Know your purpose

The first thing you need to consider when writing a prospecting email is your purpose. What do you want the recipient to do after reading your email? Do you want them to reply, book a meeting, download a resource, or visit your website? Your purpose should guide your email length and structure. For example, if you want them to reply, you should keep your email short and ask a relevant question. If you want them to book a meeting, you should include a clear call to action and a link to your calendar. If you want them to download a resource, you should highlight the value and the benefit of the resource and provide a direct link.

2 Know your audience

The second thing you need to consider when writing a prospecting email is your audience. Who are you writing to? What are their pain points, goals, and challenges? What are their preferences, interests, and behaviors? Your audience should influence your email tone, style, and language. For example, if you're writing to a busy executive, you should use a professional and respectful tone, avoid jargon and slang, and get to the point quickly. If you're writing to a creative entrepreneur, you should use a casual and friendly tone, use humor and storytelling, and show some personality.

3 Know your offer

The third thing you need to consider when writing a prospecting email is your offer. What are you offering to the recipient? How does it solve their problem, help them achieve their goal, or improve their situation? Your offer should determine your email value proposition and benefit statement. For example, if you're offering a free consultation, you should explain how it will help them identify their gaps, opportunities, and solutions. If you're offering a discount, you should explain how it will save them money, time, or hassle.

4 Follow the BRIEF formula

When writing a prospecting email, you should consider your email formula. The BRIEF formula is an effective structure for this purpose. BRIEF stands for Break the ice, Reveal the reason, Indicate the evidence, Encourage the action, and Finish with a flourish. To break the ice, start with a personalized and relevant opening line that shows you've done your research or use a common connection or referral. Then explain why you're emailing them and what's in it for them; include a clear and compelling value proposition and benefit statement. Offer proof or credibility that supports your offer with a testimonial, case study, or statistic. Ask for the desired action and make it easy to take it with a clear and specific call to action and link or button. Finally, end with a polite and positive closing line that reinforces your value and builds rapport. The BRIEF formula can help you write prospecting emails that are concise, clear, and compelling, avoiding common mistakes like being too vague, too long, too pushy, or too boring.

5 Test and optimize

The fifth thing you need to consider when writing a prospecting email is your email performance. How do you measure and improve your email effectiveness? The best way to do that is to test and optimize your email variables, such as your subject line, your opening line, your value proposition, your call to action, and your email length. You can use tools like Mailchimp , HubSpot , or Outreach to run A/B tests and track your email metrics, such as open rate, click rate, reply rate, and conversion rate. You can also use tools like Hemingway , Grammarly , or CoSchedule to check your email readability, grammar, and headline score.

By testing and optimizing your email variables, you can find the optimal email length and format for your audience, your offer, and your goal. You can also learn what works and what doesn't, and apply those insights to your future emails.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?