6 Steps to Gigantically Increase Your Email Response Rate

If I receive a message starting with: 'Hi Jorg, I'm from XX and we help companies with improving XX', then I'm immediately checked out. There's no form of 'what's in it for me' in it. Why should I invest my precious time to hear your story? How do you ensure that people DO pay attention to your emails?

Step 1: Personalization

Personalizing starts with the subject line. Just putting the prospect's name in the email increases the open rate by 20%. But go further than that. Research shows that only 5% of companies use truly personalized emails.

Step 2: The ideal length

People are busy. HubSpot studied 40 million emails and the ideal length is between 50 and 125 words. A maximum of 200 words is the absolute limit. Make sure you trigger in the subject line (max 3-4 words) and the first two sentences.

Step 3: Relevance and Niche

Your email must be about something that occupies the reader. Focus on a specific niche and name the 2-3 biggest pain points that play there. If you are relevant, you will be read.

Step 4: Social proof (References)

Nobody wants to be a guinea pig. Confirm with appropriate references that similar companies have achieved success with your solution. This immediately creates trust.

Step 5: A clear Call to Action (CTA)

Ensure your email has one clear goal. Ask to exchange ideas or inquire about the prospect's availability. Make the threshold for a response as low as possible.

Step 6: Persevere (Follow-up)

Most people don't respond because they are too busy, not because they are not interested. Don't give up after one or two attempts, but make sure there is enough time between the contact moments to not become annoying.

Conclusion

Email is an indispensable channel if you use it well. Stop sending disguised brochures and start adding value. With these principles you immediately increase your conversion on outbound outreach.