In our short-attention-span world, a well-crafted email can make the difference between “open” or “ignore.”
In Part 1 of “How to Write an E-mail That Gets Opened and Responded To,” I covered key strategies for writing an effective subject line, plus stressed the importance of ONLY using a permission-based list. Here, I’ll walk you through how to write your opening and a call to action (CTA), and provide some examples of successful email campaigns.
The “Lead” or Opening – Get to the Point
The “opening” is the sentence or paragraph that “opens” the message. As a copywriter, I was taught that the purpose of the first line of copy is to make someone read the second line of copy. And the purpose of the second line of copy is to get someone to read the third line of copy, and so on. The mistake most make is doing what copywriters call “clearing your throat,” which means you open with some drivel to warm yourself up to what you’re writing about. Here’s my advice:
GET RIGHT TO THE POINT and MAKE IT INTERESTING!
Throat Clearing
Here’s an example of a BAD opener:
The threat landscape is constantly evolving and increasing in impact. Globally, cyberthreats are up on all vectors. That’s why you need to be up-to-date on regulatory compliance laws to stay ahead of the curve.
Here’s another:
The market for purchasing properties is always shifting. Right now, interest rates have some people concerned about making the next move. But no matter what the market is doing, we’ll help you go from dreaming to owning your own home.
These are statements and the equivalent of the sender “clearing their throat,” losing the reader in an instant.
Attention Grabbing
Here are some GREAT leads to emails where I have the link embedded in the opening. This isn’t required, but you DO want to make sure the link is ABOVE THE FOLD:
Story: You won’t believe this MSP’s story when you read it, but I swear EVERY word of this is true…
Content: Here’s a step-by-step blueprint for how to overcome the “We’re fine” sales objection. I just posted it to YouTube so you can watch it today.
Curiosity: May I send you what may be the most shocking (as well as the most eye-opening) MSP industry report we’ve published this year?
Scarcity: I’m hosting a free workshop for a small group of 30 people about how to generate a mini-surge of sales fast and dirt cheap. Here’s all the info.
Offer: Since it’s my birthday, I’ve decided to drop the price of the Toolkit in HALF (with $75,954 in bonuses)…AND offer an easy payment plan. Just know this offer expires in 24 hours.
The CTA (Offer)
Tied VERY closely to the lead is the offer. When I say “offer,” I don’t necessarily mean a SALES offer or a direct promotion to buy something (although that is a legitimate email campaign you should use from time to time). An offer could be any of the following:
- Blog post
- Video
- Webinar or longer livecast
- eBook or physical book
- Information kit
- Facebook Live video (announcement)
- Checklist, SOP
- Industry research (special report)
- Dark web scan
- Risk assessment
Typically, we are going to put the call to action (CTA) in the opening with a link. However, the offer itself needs to be INTERESTING as well. In general, the less the audience knows you, the more your CTA needs to be free information that is easy to access, not an actual offer like the example provided above with the Toolkit discount.
All offers have a “friction factor,” which is resistance to responding. All things being equal, the lower the friction, the higher the response. For example, downloading free information by going to a web page is very low friction because it requires only a click, with no effort or commitment, vs. scheduling an appointment with a sales rep, which is much higher friction.
Here are offers, with the lowest lead friction to the highest:
- Lowest Friction: Free information, NO FORM to complete to access
The user can go directly to the content and instantly consume it. This is best used when you simply want to keep responsiveness and engagement high, so your email deliverability stays high and your list remains engaged. Sending an email about a new blog post or YouTube video would be examples of this. - Low Friction: Free information, gated
This is where you require a person to complete some type of form or questionnaire before gaining access to the information you are providing. You would definitely do this with a landing page where you are sending traffic you want to convert to a lead (opt in). When you’re emailing your list, you already HAVE their email and permission, so you would only do this if you wanted to get them to take a survey or to lead-generate from your own list a “hot” list ready to meet or buy. - Medium Friction: A webinar or livecast
This is higher on the “friction” list because a webinar has to be scheduled and attended, requiring more effort for the user to consume it. You could lower the friction factor by making it an “on-demand” webinar or by having the start time ready every 15 minutes using an on-demand webinar technology. The LIVE webinar is higher in friction factor because the person has to look at their calendar and make sure it’s clear. There’s also the risk that someone registers, then has a conflict, gets busy and/or loses interest between the time they register and when it starts. That’s why a 50% no-show rate is common for live webinars. - High Friction: Sales consultation
This is “high” friction because for someone to accept it, they need to be high on the “want” scale for your services. This is a perfectly appropriate offer for NEW inbound leads and for the occasional bump in between content for older unconverted leads on your list. - Very High Friction: In-person seminar
Getting people to an event is by far one of the most difficult offers to sell. Even if it’s free, the time and cost commitment of getting there is HIGH, so only your most interested prospects will attend.
The Full Monty
The “Full Monty” IS one of my all-time favorite movies, but I digress. To provide you an example of what a good email is, here are a few examples. Keep in mind that YOUR audience may be more responsive to a different topic or offer, so I’m not suggesting this is THE email to send. More to the point, the email examples below follow the rules I’ve outlined above so you can see the full picture. (Note: Underlined text indicates where you would place a link.)
Subject: URGENT – please read this ASAP
Robin – I can’t stress enough how big a deal this is.
Hackers have your personal information and WILL use it to rob you blind. I wrote about what’s going on here on our blog.
This is not fearmongering. This is a legitimate threat we’ve seen that you, your employees, and your family need to be on high alert about.
Click here to read what’s happened and what you need to do now.
Robin
Subject: This is going to make you very, very angry…
Robin, this week’s cyber alert is going to have you boiling.
Imagine getting an e-mail from a total stranger that says the following AND contains a picture of your home:
“I suggest you read this message carefully. Take a moment to chill, breathe and analyze it thoroughly. ’Cause we’re about to discuss a deal between you and me and I ain’t playing games.”
Then it gets worse. It continues, “Is visiting <<your street address>> a more convenient way to contact you if you don’t take action? Nice location, btw.”
This example is NOT FAKE.
This is a very real threat happening, which is why I wrote up an important special report on what’s going on and how to respond if you get one of these e-mails.
Click here to read it now. Also, please share with your friends and family.
Many people are losing thousands of dollars over this, and it’s highly disturbing.
Robin
Subject: AI will kill Google search
Robin, if you spend time and money trying to get your website ranked in the search engines, this video is going to shock you.
We believe AI will bring the Google search empire (and HIGH pay-per-click costs) to its knees.
I created this video to explain what’s going on and what to do now so you’re not caught off guard when your SEO and PPC efforts crash suddenly in the next couple of months.
And you can start doing one of the items today for a HUGE boost to qualified traffic.
Robin
This Only Works If You Hit “Send”
Bottom line: None of this matters if you read it, nod your head, and then do absolutely nothing with it. The MSPs who get responses, book appointments, and close deals aren’t “better writers”—they simply follow the rules and send the email. Craft a strong opening, pair it with a low-friction offer, and put a clear CTA above the fold. Do that consistently and you’ll see more replies, more appointments, and more sales conversations.
Stop overthinking. Start sending.
