5
Ways to ensure that people read (and enjoy) your e-mails
How often
do you receive real e-mails that stand out... that compel you to compose a
carefully crafted response?
Real e-mails are those where the sender carefully selects words, keeping in mind the recipient's likes and dislikes, while embedding a touch of their own personality . Remember the handwritten letters that we used before e-mails took over?
With the evolution of internet spam, we've developed a certain disregard of e-mails in general. Tired of automated e-mail blasts and a congested inbox, we have become more mechanical and have started writing like machines. Terse messages, cold and utilitarian.
E-mails
can be as beautiful as lovingly handwritten letters used to be. All we need to
do is take few cues from the history of writing letters!
1 A MESSAGE THAT STICKS
Personalise
your e-mails with precious little details in the form of real images, quotes
and anecdotes. Emails like that tend to hang around longer in the recipient's
inbox and are most probably saved to be read later as well, just like oldschool
handwritten letters. It makes no difference if the email is written formally or
informally -all that really matters is a real person's touch.
2 GIVE PEOPLE WHAT THEY EXPECT
Whether
it contains a sales pitch or an invite to a certain meeting, just be clear and
precise about the focal message in an e-mail. Nobody likes a vague message, but
honesty is always appreciated.
“According
to the Adestra July 2012 report, as many as 22.2% of e-mails are more likely to
be opened if they carry a personalised subject line.“
3 MAKE IT A BIT FUNKY!
No, I
didn't mean you should add garish graphics and gifs. But imagine a simple thing
that'll bring back the nostalgia of typewritten letters. There are many web and
mobile apps that give typewriter effects to the written text of an e-mail.
Play with
fonts and graphics in your e-mail to make them extra special. Just a little
attention is all that is needed.
4 KEEP IT NATURAL
Marketers
must pay special attention to this. E-mail blasts are a practical way of
sharing information, but when they are to one person or even a group, please
don't use those e-mail marketing pointers.
Don't use
automated email templates unless or until they are necessary .Keep the message
tone spontaneous, but avoid less robotic greetings and use real human
expressions that express your personality. Remember -if our forefathers could
do it, then so can we!
5 PERSONALISED SUBJECT LINES
Imagine
finding 100+ e-mails in your mailbox after a vacation trip. Which e-mails are
you most likely to open first those with a bland subject line like `Team Lead
Followup' or something more personal like a `Hey Seema, here's last week's
round-up in your absence'?
Mail subjects are crucial from a marketing perspective as well. Digital marketers are well aware of the fact that subject lines may be their biggest asset after content. But don't overdo it! Nobody appreciates an overflowing inbox.
In the
movie You've Got Mail!, Tom Hanks hides his true identity from Meg Ryan over
e-mail when he realises that he isn't talking to a complete stranger anymore. Instead
of confronting her face-to-face he tries winning Meg's heart with his words and
e-mails. Now that might be too romantic for our generation, but Hanks'
character had a point and he got the girl!
Source | Times of India | 3 June 2015
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Khaitan
& Co
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