If there’s one thing I reaaaaally don’t lovelovelove, it’s jerks. Jerks, and bad emails.
Sometimes the two go hand-in-hand. Usually, jerks send bad emails. But often, good people send bad emails. Bad emails typically won’t get responses. Or, at least, they won’t get favorable ones!
Part of what I teach in my online course for bloggers, BossPitch (which is re-launching SOON – get on that waitlist if you’re not already to find out when! 😉 ), is how to reach out to folks (specifically, the folks that work for your favorite brands) to actually elicit a response. I mean, you can pitch your little heart out all day long for brand opportunities + collaborations, but if those pitches stink…no bueno. 😉
But beyond pitching brands, in GENERAL, there’s an art to learning how to write a good email.
Actually, it’s more science than art. Psychology, to be exact. And while we dive more into that in BossPitch, today I was inspired by the hoards of cringe-worthy emails that I’ve seen in the past few weeks (+ the emails my girlfriends have gotten – oy!) to chitchat with y’all about how to write a good email that actually gets a RESPONSE from the people you want/need a response from in the first place.
{ PIN ME }
-
Use their name.
This SHOULD be obvious. But…apparently it’s not. And I know it’s not, cos the amount of emails that come through my inbox that read “Dear ma’am,” “Dear cominguprosestheblog.com,” “Hello,” or “To whom it may concern” is actually absurd. If I see an email not addressing me by name, quite frankly…I delete it right then + there. I don’t even open it. It’s right to the trash bin. People are selfish by nature – science has proven that your brain literally activates more when hearing your own name compared to others. We light up at being personally addressed. It’s psychologically the best way to get someone’s attention, but it’s also just the most basic rule of courtesy. The golden one.
Treat others as you wish to be treated.
My name is EVERYWHERE. It’s on the blog, multiple times on multiple pages. It’s on every. single. one of my social media accounts – which are all linked right smacktab at the top of my homepage (and on other pages, too).
Not being able to get a name right shows a TOTAL lack of research. As in, do you even go here?
If I get an email telling me how much someone loveloveloves CUR, and they didn’t even address me by name…quite frankly, I think they’re completely bullsh*tting. Chances are, if you’re emailing someone your praises and you’re not even addressing them by name, they also very well might assume you’re just full of you-know-what. If you lovelovelove someone and/or something enough, the absolute bare minimum you can do it address someone by name. Common courtesy, yo.
RELATED POST: 7 Ways to Stand Out to Brands as a Blogger
-
Make it personal AND relevant.
Show that you’ve done your research!!! The key to growing a business is growing relationships. Business = relationships. Make + take any/every opportunity possible to connect on more than surface level.
This doesn’t mean get personal on the first email – obviously the ice needs to be broken first!
But it does mean show that you’ve done your research and mean business. If you’re emailing someone with an online presence, show that you’re paying attention by commenting on something they recently posted in the midst of your email, and speaking to what it meant to you. If you’re emailing someone at a biz, mention something recent the company did to show that you’re on top of their news specifically and not just emailing anyone you can access.
People don’t automatically owe you anything – pointblankperiod.
I obvi can’t speak to how everyone and their mom handles this, but if someone emails me and just shows that they’ve actually done some research, and made a true effort to personally connect without just asking for something from me…I will ALWAYS respond. Always. (Unless it’s something inappropriate, of course – ha!). The only time I’m not answering someone is if it’s pretttttty darn clear that it would take me more time on my end than you spent on yours. Meaning, you just copy + pasted some BS to a list of a million, it’s not actually relevant to me at ALL, and my own response would require time + research that you didn’t even bother putting in before emailing me.
-
Be short n’ sweet (but enough).
Everyone and their mom on the internet swears your emails should be shortshortshort. For someone like me who likes to talk (a lot) – that can be hard.
But I think the key here isn’t necessarily length of email alone.
It’s really quality over quantity. Sidenote: Who coined that – “quality over quantity”? Beyonce? Abe Lincoln? Jesus? It’s a goody.
Anyhoo, you’ve gotta give ENOUGH info in your email for the recipient to make a easy, educated response. The key when it comes to length is not going overboard with unnecessary information. Does the recipient really need to know your entire childhood story? Nope, not right now.
But if info is necessary for someone to be able to adequately + accurately respond to you without having to do more work on their end to make it happen, it should be included right then + there for them.
Think of it like a first date.
Would you tell your date everything under the sun about you right then + there, upon meeting for the first time?
…Probably (hopefully) not. It would be overwhelming and just too much.
But if you were super vague and unclear, there wouldn’t be any real interest on their end to have a second date – it would be too much work for unknown results. And while I’m sure you’re fabulous (cos, you are!), they don’t know that yet, and they’ve got stuff to do.
Give enough to get the bases covered + leave people wanting to respond by making it EASY to respond.
-
Bold the important stuff.
People are busy – I 100% respect that. People are also skimmers when it comes to email sometimes. Don’t be afraid to bold the important stuff! Namely, if you’ve got something in there that you’re asking of them, that triggers their response.
The reason why you’re emailing them should be clear (remember point numero dos?), so bold that relevant tidbit so that the recipient immediately knows why you’re emailing them in the first place.
Would you be interested in working with Maybelline for this exciting holiday campaign, launching December 1st?
What’s your one best piece of advice for someone looking to start a blog?
Do you have any recommendations for books, courses, or other learning materials on how to create your own organic garden?
The juicy stuff that elicits a response is right there. The extra stuff is good + (hopefully) relevant, but the key thing that someone needs to be able to come back to and answer when they’re catching up on emails from bed at 11 pm after a long day at work and a long night with their own kids…that’s the part that needs to catch someone’s attention!
RELATED POST: Why you’re (still) not getting paid your worth as a blogger
-
Make a point.
Going right off of that above point…MAKE a point. If someone spends a hot sec of their time reading a book of an email and it’s not even clear by the end why the heck you’re emailing them in the first place (or, more importantly, what you want/expect in return)…they’re probably not going to answer you.
Someone should never (ever ever) be left wondering “soooo what do they want from me?”
Chances are, if that’s how they feel after reading your message…they won’t be responding. And if they DO respond, it likely won’t be how you’d ideally like/hope!
-
Ask a question that requires a response.
This is THE KEY TEA, and it’s a bit different than your generic CTA (that’s call-to-action). How you end your email, or the thing that you end up bolding, really does make a huuuuuuge difference. Saying something like “Let me know if you’d like to work together!” puts + KEEPS the ball in their court. And it still isn’t specific + clear enough in what capacity you’d even LIKE to work together, to warrant a response. 😉 But really, no one would NEED to respond at all to this! They just don’t have to let you know, ever.
Instead, saying something like “Would you like to work together on (insert project here)?” requires an answer – yes or no. It encourages response, whether that response is positive or negative.
RELATED POST: 8 Mistakes you’re Making when working with Brands
-
Proofread errrr’thaaang.
Y’all. It’s almost 2018. In “Back to the Future,” the future was 2015. We’re BEYOND the future, yo! With every technology under the sun, it’s impossible to make an excuse as to why something would be spelled incorrectly. I’m with ya 100% – sometimes if I’m typing too slow for my own thoughts, I blatantly skip words and just start typing the monologue in my head instead! Ha! But it’s SO. DANG. IMPORTANT.
Proofread errrr’thaaang!
Make sure that your email speaks to your overall professionalism. Free of typos, spelling/grammatical/punctuation errors – the whole nine yards. It’s a seemingly small detail that makes a BIG difference. Really, the little things ARE the big things, in emails + just in LIFE.
People are more likely to respond to your emails if it feels like you truly care + truly paid attention and gave your email to THEM time. That’s more inspiring to get THEM to spend time on email back to you, too.
Sending truly good emails is an absolute essential when it comes to standing out to brands (and really, anyone). It’s just a must!
But of course, there are more essentials + keys to know to stand out. SO, something hella exciting is happening (again).
BrandOut – a FREE webinar on the 7 keys to standing out to brands as a blogger – is BACK. (BrandOut’s back alright!)
#BrandOutIsBack
#RaiseDaRoof
BrandOut is a JAM FRIGGIN’ PACKED webinar, yo. Seriously. Past viewers have dubbed it “the most helpful webinar ever” and “more helpful than actual courses I’ve taken,” so you know it’s gonna be a good time.
SO YES. BrandOut is back. For the *last* time as a live webinar, with a live Q&A to follow. In the past, nearly 1,000 folks have signed up to get the keys – which blows. my. mind. I cannot WAIT. Sign up in the handy dandy lil’ form right here, and you’ll be ready to watch!
In this *FREE* + LIVE class, you’ll learn:
- 7 keys to standing out to brands as a blogger
- How to generate creative, compelling content ideas that attract new readers AND brand partners
- What brands want MOST from bloggers
- 4 easy ways to uplevel your content NOW
- What constitutes “good” engagement (per platform!)
- The 4 non-negotiable, no-brainers that your blog might be missing right now
- What should *actually* be in your press kit
- How to make YOUR blog stand out from others and #BrandOut!
- + MORE, cos there’s a *live* Q&A at the end! ?
AND, even if you’re busy next Wednesday at 8 pm EST, you can still catch the webinar – there will be a replay available through Saturday night. If you want to really stand out to brands as a blogger + kick it up a notch, + find out about another HUGE announcement…you’ll want to block off some time between Thursday night, all day Friday, Friday night, all day Saturday, + Saturday night to get some knowledge. And if nothing in there works, then you’re probably not ready to make it happen to stand out to brands. 😉
Was this helpful in perfecting how to write a good email? Aaaaand will we see you at BrandOut?
Hope so, times two!
See you next hump day?
