Skyrocket Your Email Engagement

Any type of marketing that you do is all about your outreach it's about providing enough value to people to Earn their response it's about building relationships that last . 

Hi I’m Melissa at rodgerandmelissa.com and today we are going to talk about the 5 things you need to do for your emails to get read, get responded to and produce the outcome you are looking for.

When we talk about outreach there are several different avenues - there's all types of social media platforms (facebook, linked in, pintrist, Instagram, youtube, twitter, on and on) as well as your email marketing and your media HUB – most likely your website.

Here it is laid out-  no matter what all the online gurus tell you about funnels and social media marketing and pay per click ads - here is the bottom line - you don't own those platforms and you are hostage to the algorithms and them continuing to be able to provide a platform for you to be on.  If they go away you own nothing.

If you have paid close attention several platforms, including youtube and Instagram, have put such strict parameters on content, advertising and sponsorship that all your content can be suspect and removed at their whim.

Everything that you do with your outreach marketing should ultimately lead back to you and the media that you have control over, which is your website and your email list.

Today we're not gonna talk about push marketing on all those platforms and how you get prospects to see the value that you provide in order to opt into your email list. We will leave that for another day – check out our video on why you need a lead magnet to get started.

Today we're going to actually talk about high converting emails that warrant not only your prospects attention but also an immediate reply.

First lets take a look at what might be happening.  If people aren't responding to your emails it could be that replying to you seems a bit too risky or there isn't sufficient enough reward or return for them taking this action.  What's in it for them?  Why should they take that risk?  What is compelling them to respond?

These questions are answered solely on content that you are providing, and promising to provide, once they respond. So what makes up good content?

In 2 words – THEM FOCUSED.

The first and most important thing you have to do in EVERY email you send is to make it focused and centered on them and not you.  Are you providing valuable information that they are interested in - not just what you want to tell them?  If you are using the words I and Me a bunch you will most likely bore them to death and they won’t make the connection that what you provide can help THEM.

Stay focused on their issues, the outcomes they desire.  What they need to know.  NOT showing your brilliance, your history and your story.  Some of that is OK – but make the connection back to them – quickly.

We live in an attention vs distraction culture and 9 times out of 10 distraction wins.  So you need to hold their attention long enough to build the relationship, trust and excite them to respond.  They should feel compelled.  They should think to themselves – WOW I think she could really help.

Which brings us to Number 2 - Keep it short.  Not only the entire email but also the sentence structure and paragraphs . Most people scan emails 1st and then go back to read the entire thing IF they feel it warrants their attention. 

Highlight or bold or center key sentences.  Use one sentence paragraphs for itemized structures.  Most important, don’t have rambling paragraphs of 4, 5 10 sentences – break it up into bite-sized chunks.

#3 talk like a human. Consider speaking your emails 1st and then going back and editing them so they sound more like a conversation than a written marketing campaign.  Use more common language – not industry jargon  if possible.  Avoid words like Join, buy, call, schedule.  The English language is rich in action words – be creative and take the extra few minutes to be more inviting and accessible.

Which leads to #4 - is it clear what you're asking them to do?  Are you overwhelming them with choices or is it a clear one step action.  If you say either do this, this or this.  Or even worse, if you say do these 3 things!  UGH – one at a time please!  Maybe you want them to schedule a call, or visit your website, or become a part of your membership group.  Ask for that ONE thing. 

The other actions you want them to take can come after that first initial step has been taken.   This is where you have to have a well defined prospect journey.  If you don’t have this experience defined do that first – it will not only give you a clearer picture of what action to ask for but will also increase your conversion rate and let you stop all the crazy marketing by accident and the hope pipeline many business owners operate under.   We work with our clients in SCALE Mentoring on this piece first – before we start any email campaigns. 

And number 5 – the call to action should be low risk – high reward.  Asking them to receive your monthly newsletter is low risk – showing them the value that the newsletter will provide them each month proves the high reward.  Asking them to follow your blog (or video blog) is low risk – again, providing the proof of the high reward is necessary.  Asking them to spend 30 minutes on a chat with you is higher risk – but as long as you prove the high reward they will receive for that then go for it!  However, I still believe that smaller ASKS are a good way to warm them up to the bigger step

See - At the heart of it email outreach is about them, it's about building a relationship without asking for anything right off the bat.  Consider a complete picture of your prospect experience – the journey you can take them on and the value you can provide before the ask.  It is not life or death to you if you take an extra day or 2, or even a week or month, to develop the relationship first, then ask, so you don’t scare them off. 

Think of it this way – if it takes a few weeks to develop the relationship – then you ask for the bigger action – they respond positively – you receive the outcome you desire and they receive the product or service that you offer.  OR you ask for the big step too soon – they unsubscribe or trash your emails – they don’t respond, get annoyed at you – and never do business with you.  Or worse yet – they tell others about their negative experience!  You can’t afford that!

Bottom line – outreach emails are a vital piece of your overall marketing strategy.  You own the list, you control the content, you define the pace.  No, your can’t control the outcome but with a well laid out plan you can predict the outcome with more certainty then any other form of outreach. 

Coming up soon we will have a video talking all about the structure to take the guesswork out of how to write high converted emails be sure to stay connected through  the Rodger and Melissa facebook community – and As always – how can we help?

Here’s to you and here’s to you business