Read Between The Subject Lines

It is not always possible to reach people by phone. Sometimes it is because they work in a profession that does not give them much free time for a chat. Or sometimes it just that the person does not want to chat on the phone at all and the gatekeeper at the company tells you “they are in a meeting”, every time you call.

On these occasions, we then rely on our trusty old friend, no not Susie in accounts; I am talking about emails and InMails. One of the real downsides of email is that on average a person will receive up to 120 emails per day, and depending on the season, even more. So, how do you make sure your email or InMail stands out from all of the noise?

It all starts with what is known as a Mini Sale. Before the customer gets to hear about the great product or service that you have to offer, or before they get to hear the reason you want to connect, you need to make them open the message first. That is the Mini Sale, simply getting them to open the mail. An incredible 47% of emails are opened depending on the subject line, so if you do not get this bit right the content of your email will be like the tree falling in the forest with nobody there to hear it, did it ever actually make any noise?

So, to avoid you wasting time typing out emails and not getting them read, here are my top tips to getting more success with your emails and more open rates with your InMails here on LinkedIn. There is also a video at the bottom feel free to share it far and wide.

 Clear and Transparent

Make sure your subject line is clear to what the recipient can expect when they open it. Now is not the time to be vague and mysterious, be clear and transparent on what is going to follow.

Personalized

No Body likes opening spam emails or bulk sent messages. In fact, the majority of emails that are identified as such are deleted without ever being read. From the outset make sure the email subject line is personalized to the recipient and that they know that this email is 1 of 1, not 1 of 200 sent to everyone and anyone. Make them feel that this is the case, even if it is not.

Convey Value

Make sure your subject line lets the customer know exactly why they are going to open this email and why it should not be deleted without delay. You need to let them know the value of what the email contains.

Don’t Over Sell

As important as it is to convey value, it is equally important that it is not over sold. There is nothing worse than seeing an email that sounds really exciting and then clicking in and it is not what you thought it would be. You feel let down, trust is lost, and when trust is lost, the only thing left to do is delete. You may have made your mini sale from the opening of the mail, but that is about as far as it will likely go.

 Stand Out

As said earlier, there are on average 120 Mails in this persons mailbox already. You need to make sure your subject lines screams Read Me, without actually typing the words read me. Make it stand out by using a hook, personalize it and a call to action.

Record Good Ones

Finally, make sure you record all the best Subject lines that work. When you use a particular format and start to see results make sure you record them so you do not have to start from scratch every time. If it aint broke, don’t fix it. So when you do come across subject lines that yield the best results, be sure to add them to a list and keep it somewhere safe.

For More tips, watch my video below and follow my Hashtag on LinkedIn #Money2Byrne and also follow my podcast also called Money2Byrne now available on Spotify and iTunes.