How to Break Ice and Elicit Response from Headstrong People to Professional Emails

Persistence and creativity are the most important attributes of email marketing professionals. They need to be consistent in their efforts to elicit responses from the recipients of the emails in the hope that their emails are opened and the reader clicks the Call to Action button.

One has to devise a unique strategy for people who are hard nuts to crack. These individuals do not respond in spite of constant persuasion. There has to be a way to make these people sit up and pay attention to email marketing effort.

Yes, fortunately there are some smart strategies that can be implemented to make these people listen to what you want to communicate and most importantly, take action.

Subject line- making a lasting impression

They say, ‘first impression is the last impression’ and this applies to the first impression of your mail as well. We should create a compelling subject line that will inspire the reader to open the mail. If the subject line is mediocre and spam, the reader will never take pains to open it.

In order to make the reader open an email from an unknown sender, the subject line of the email must be able to arouse immediate interest. This can be done by adding news value or lacing it with emotions. The subject line needs to be short and focused with a bit of personal touch to it.

Use first name while addressing recipients

You must appreciate the importance of individual name. Using recipients’ name in the email can certainly make it more personal than professional. Individual name should appear in the beginning of the mail. Use of generic Respected Sir or Respected Madam has become obsolete. Moreover these words do not influence the reader either.

Use of first name should be restricted and one can use it at least twice in the entire mail. It can be used in the beginning while you are addressing the recipient and at the very end to summarize the crux of the mail and thank the reader for spending his precious time to read the mail.

It is always a game of give and take in the world of communication. If you expect your recipient to develop interest in you, then you must also exhibit your interest in his or her work.

Express genuine interest and respect reader’s time

In the introductory stage of your email you can express appreciation about some of the achievements of reader or any other detail or event related with the reader that you think deserves compliment. This is the best way to make the reader feel that you are sincerely interested in their work and it will also make them feel special.

The rapid pace of life demands that your email communications are brief and focused. You should respect the reader’s time and make your communication crisp and succinct. Any reader will first look at the entire body of the mail and if it is found to be lengthy, then the reader might click back without taking pains to go through the lengthy mail. Long emails will result in the wastage of all your efforts.

Being empathetic- improving probability of response

It is a good idea to read your email before hitting the ‘send’ button. Imagine yourself to be the reader and judge your own email with empathy. Remember, the first 15 seconds are crucial and it is the litmus test of your email. If your mail is successful in grabbing the reader’s attention within this period, then you can rest assured that you have won the battle.

There are situations that demand you to seek the reader’s commitment in terms of scheduling a meeting. According to the conventional etiquettes, you may be tempted to ask readers about his or her convenient time.

It has been observed that such requests are usually ignored because nobody wants to go through the schedules of appointments and commit a particular time. Here you need to change your paradigm and offer two or three different time slots for the reader to choose one among these.

Email marketing involves repeated attempts till one succeeds to arouse interest in the recipients’ minds. There is no need to dampen the spirits, if you are not able to receive any response to your initial mailers. There could be many reasons as to why your emails have not been responded.

Usually, high-net-worth individuals such as CEO, directors, and senior managers, suffer from paucity of time and may take two to three days to go through your emails. Secondly your emails might go unnoticed. Hence you need to resend the mail after waiting for three to four days for response.

The most ideal time to send emails is preferably in the morning. This helps your mail get better attention and improves chances of getting opened. You can also choose to send the mail in after-noon. Lunch time is the time when most of the busy professionals can find time to check their inbox.

Email management tools provided by state-of-the-art software such as Business Class Email by Microsoft Office 365. There are many high-end tools that help you efficiently handle your email marketing tasks such as calendar and Outlook.

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About Abhay Singh (65 Posts)