10 Email Outreach Tips to Get More Replies

Do you know why online marketers spend countless hours on outreach emails? The answer is simple: because outreach emails help them connect with other influencers in their industry, spread awareness about content, and ask for quick and easy free backlinks (free promotion).

You can increase email open rates and get more replies from your prospects from email outreach tactics for backlinks.

Email Outreach Tips

The SECRET lies in knowing how to create great emails vs. good emails. Put it simply, your email has to STAND OUT from the crowd, motivating recipients to respond the way you want them to.

Related: 6 Modern And Designer Website Templates for 2018

So, if you’ve been reading and implementing over 100 different outreach email tactics, but getting no positive response from influencers in your industry, ask yourself:

• Are your emails written poorly?
• Does your email look like a template (often viewed as “spam”)?

Let’s look at this way.

You probably have implemented one or several tips from online marketing “gurus” like Brian Dean, Lesley Vos, and Tim Soulo and plenty other bloggers. You probably have emulated their style by using their email templates for your outreach email campaign.

I know, plenty of you guys reading this article has done it one or many times.

But what kind of results did that get you?

Not so impressive, I suppose.

Your influencers often get the same-looking outreach emails from you and other marketers like you. And guess what happens? They do not respond to those outreach emails.

Rather than reaching out to influencers using the same-looking outreach emails, why not consider using different email outreach strategies to get more response? That’s why I wrote this helpful article for you that will help BOOST your email response rate, almost overnight!

Here are top 10 email outreach tips to get more replies:

1. Set up a professional email address

Pretty obvious, yeah.

What do most marketers do? They use regular emails addresses like tomhanks1981@gmail.com and sarahparker321@hotmail.com, but it’s NOT appropriate for email outreach campaign. Why? There are several reasons for this.

The first reason is emails from these standard emails often tend to end up in the “spam” or “promotion” folders of the recipient.

And secondly, it will give them an impression that you’re not a professional.

You see, influencers in your industry get tons of emails on a regular basis, so do yourself a favor: make it extremely clear “who you are.” That means putting your name, company name, and job position in your email signature.

Related: Top 6 Reasons Why Businesses Should Adopt A Social Media Strategy

Also, put your phone number and website URL (if you have), to make it super more comfortable for your recipients to browse your site and quickly decide whether you are a good fit.

2. Summarize your subject line

Are you fretting about how to summarize a long pitch email in just one line? Well, let me ask you one question: wouldn’t you summarize your 1,600-word long blog post into a 140-character when posting on Twitter? You do it often, right?

You do it because you know it’s the rule you don’t want to skip.

The word limit for a tweet (and for your email subject lines) forces you to become creative by writing catchy subject lines that grab readers’ interest.

So, what kind of subject lines will get your influencers to click? The answer is simple: be honest. Just look at these simple yet straightforward subject lines for inspiration:

• Asking an influencer for a guest post opportunity: “Hey Tom, I just need your 15 minutes of your time on this :)”
• Pitching a guest post idea: “He Brad, I would like to suggest an incredible guest post idea that your readers will LOVE to read!”
• Requesting an advice: “Hey Sarah, I just wanted to ask few questions about “50 Ways to Double Your Website Traffic.”

Did you see these subject lines were plain simple yet extremely honest?

Simple and clear subject lines like the ones in the example above will instantly tell your recipients (industry influencers) what you’re proposing, even before they open your email. When they get excited, they are more likely to respond to your email as opposed to vague and generic subject lines that never gets clicked or opened.

Likewise, trying to trick your recipients into responding to your email by suing baity subject line will only risk your email being ended in the “spam” folder.

3. Use casual, clear call to action

Many marketers think way too much when it comes to writing a call to action copy, and end up making way too long and complicated. No, your call to action doesn’t have to be long and complicated. Just a simple request – a thumbs up or thumbs down – can do the trick.

A call to action that requires a lot of thought or a lengthy response back to you does NOT get you more response.

Let’s look at an example to illustrate this point:

Hey John,

How are you doing? Hope you are doing great.

Can you give me a thumbs up or a thumbs down on whether you are interested or not?

All the best,
Your name.

The above email example only has two sentences, yet it works better than a long and complicated email. Why? Simply because it asks for a simple request. No additional thought is required, nor the recipient doesn’t have to write a lengthy note back to you, which makes your recipient respond back to you.

4. Make it a win-win situation for both

When sending an email, make sure to provide value for your recipients to get more response. You won’t get a response by expecting something for nothing. If you want to encourage your people to work with you, you have to provide some value to them.

So, when composing your email, make sure to list out all the benefits your recipients will get. Maybe, they’ll be able to join your seminar as an advisor. Perhaps, they’ll get to post their guest blog idea back on your site. Maybe, they’ll get a discount on your products or services, etc.

Every recipient, when they skim through the emails, are always thinking about “What’s in it for me?” So make sure to include them in your email.

But you say, “I don’t have anything to offer!”

To be honest, you do have plenty to offer. It’s just your negative self-talk talking. Whenever I found myself in doubting myself, I always mentioned that I could provide my free support and advice whenever my influencers wanted it.

5. Always follow up

This is by far the best tip I can give you regarding email outreach tactics to double your response rate.

Let’s face it: Most first emails do not get a better response. The second email, however, gets better response rate, almost 60% better.

What’s the message here? Make sure to follow up on your first email.

Most influencers are “busy,” and no response doesn’t always mean “no.” It just means they got busy. Follow up emails simply acts as a reminder for those who wanted to respond, but got lost because of their commitments, other incoming emails, and appointments.

Related: Best ways to do keywords research for your online business in order to increase ROI

Here’s a tip you can follow today: wait at least three days (72 hours) before sending your second email as a follow-up, which will give your recipients plenty of change to respond back to your first email. Following up too frequently, on the other hand, can be seen as “spammy.”

6. Personalize your message

If possible, avoid using email templates. You see, your influencers are already getting them by the hundreds on a daily basis. Their inbox is already flooded with emails that look almost exactly the same. Why should they care about opening them?

Instead of sending look-alike emails, make your emails personal.

How? First of all, take some time learning about your recipient and mention about it in your email, which goes a long way to build quick rapport for better response rate. But avoid using generic statements such as “I like blog post. It was helpful!” and “I’ve always been a great fan of yours!” when, in fact, you just knew them yesterday.

Secondly, don’t talk about you. Keep the focus on your recipient. Think about their most favorite question “what in it for me?” when crafting your outreach email. Be specific. For example, write “Your website traffic will double within 30 days!”

Thirdly, use their name, whenever possible.

Fourthly, use more “you” and less “I.”

Lastly, think your email as a conversation you’re having with your friend. In other words, write the way you normally talk. Avoid using “jargons” that people outside your industry don’t have a clue about.

7. Write concisely

Keep your emails short and sweet, especially if you’re reaching out to someone new. Why? Because before exchanging value, you have to grab their interest first.

A lot of marketers (newbie especially) do make one rookie mistake: they write everything in their first email, probably because they’re scared their first email is going to be their first (and last) opportunity to engage with their influencer.

But, a long-winded email creates so-called “information overload.” Then your email will most likely be filed under “Read later” section.

So, to avoid that dreaded “spam” or “Read later” folder, make your pitch concise by asking the recipient for their response in exchange for a benefit they’ll receive.

Here’s an example how to achieve this:

Hi Sam, I just got an incredible idea for a blog post, and I think it will do great on your website. Are you looking for more contributors to write for your site? If so, I can send you some original content right away.

Here are some of my recent articles:

• 7 Ways To Triple Website Traffic Without Lifting a Finger
• If You Can Type, You Can Make $4000 per Month!
• 15 Secrets of Generating More than 10,000 Subscribers within 90 Days!

Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll send you the topic right away!

Thanks,
Your Name

Here’s my blog:
http://www.yourname.com/blog

8. Treat your influencers them as equals

You are as smart as your influencers, no matter how inexperienced you may be in your industry – meaning you don’t have to start your emails with “Mr. Sam” or “Sir/Madam”. Instead, you can use their first names, which help you create a right balance between being professional and keeping things personal.

Your influencers already know that you’re trying to build a rapport with outreach emails. But they’ll still appreciate your effort, especially if you took time to conduct some background research and mention them in personal remarks.

9. Send emails in right time

   According to a study, the best day to send an email is Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Likewise, the best time to send emails is 6 am, 10 am, and 2 pm. However, data like these are available all over the internet, and most of them contradict with others, leaving you mystified and confused.

So, what should you do? The best thing you can do is experiment yourself.

To grow your mailing list, for example, send your email at different time and day of the week and see what works best for you. What works best for you may not work for others. So, you’ll have to do some experiments.

10. Use right (powerful) words

Words can either make or break your business and relationships. When used correctly, it can become your SECRET WEAPON of crafting “killer” outreach emails that get responses. Also, your words can trigger your recipients to take ACTION or particular kind of emotions they can relate to.

How to do this?

The answer is simple: use powerful words in your email. Since your influencers are already getting hundreds, if not thousands, emails a week, think about reasons why they should respond to your email over others? In other words, think about “what is really in it for them” to care?

Related: The online Reputation Management (ORM)

Making your recipients “smell” your email so they can discover tasty “meat” while scanning your email is worth all the hassle.

How do you do this? It’s simple!

Just:

• Use short sentences.
• Use action verbs.
• Use short paragraphs.
• Write as you are having a conversation with your friend (avoid using jargons).
• Avoid cliches!

Do you find this email outreach tips helpful or you have a few ideas to contribute? let me know in the comments below. Cheers