Author Kurt Schauer
Are you annoyed that your customers, readers and loyal fans of your company only really respond to a few emails? Perhaps this is not due to the content, but to the format. In this article, we will show you six tips that you should not ignore when writing emails. They increase the likelihood that you will receive honest, quick replies to your emails - without any extra effort.
Six Steps to Success
If you follow the following tips, you should notice a much higher responsiveness among recipients in the long term:
1. Brevity and conciseness
Simple, clear language increases the likelihood of a response. This is the conclusion reached by the developers of the well-known email app Boomerang. The simpler you write, the easier it is for the recipient to understand your message. Emails with a level of complexity at primary school level have a response rate of 53%, while more complex messages at university level are only answered by 39%. Rows of commas, endless subordinate clauses, nested structures: what delights the literature professor at university usually only puts off your customers. Clean up your emails permanently and concentrate on the really relevant message in your message.
2. Questions are followed by answers
Another effective way to get more feedback is to ask questions. The reader feels actively addressed, which in most cases leads to a higher response rate. Emails without questions therefore have a response rate of 40%. With three questions in the text, this figure rises to 50%. At the same time, however, you should be able to walk a tightrope: if you increase the volume to eight questions, for example, the rate drops to just 30%. Focus on the important, highly relevant questions that are most likely to push the customer to respond.
3. The subject is half the battle
Your customers want to feel like they are being addressed directly. The first contact is always via the subject line: if this is empty, the probability of a response drops to just 14%. Only one in seven emails is therefore answered. With one to three words per subject, the rate rises to 37 to 48%. This means you have hit the happy medium, because even more terms in the subject are confusing. The response rate drops again as the subject becomes longer. The lone leader, however, is the email without a subject, which is why you should not consider this option under any circumstances.
4. Emotions appeal to readers
Just like in retail, you sell products and services (and therefore your company) not through data and facts, but through emotions. Wake up your readers by using strong adjectives. These can be both positive (amazing, limitless, breathtaking) and negative (ugly, deceitful, terrible). The main thing is that the customer feels: "I should read this." And the best way to convey this feeling is to arouse emotions. Stick to the principle of not overdoing it. Emotionally charged emails increase response rates by up to 15%, but praise about the "best, most loyal, most fantastic customer" will quickly be recognized by your readers as such.
5. Expert opinions are in demand
You may be giving your email recipients mostly facts. Objectively, that's true, but subjectively, people love personal opinions. So let these influence your emails and bring a touch of subjectivity into play. Obviously, however, you should be careful to express opinions on less heated topics if possible. If your opinion is too strong in the "wrong direction" from your readers' point of view, they will drop out. If you rely on sales and use emails as a marketing tool, you are directly influencing your sales. So caution and tact are absolutely necessary.
6. Brevity and conciseness
Brevity is the dominant factor, not only in the format of the sentences, but also in the length of the email. Emails between 50 and 125 words have proven to be the most suitable. You can expect a response rate of 50%. Emails that are 500 words long only get 44% of responses, and emails that are 2.500 words or more only get 35%. This top spot is shared by very long emails and very short emails: if a document only contains ten words, only 36% of recipients respond. Overall, it is therefore advisable not to exceed the limit of 50 to 200 words.
Any questions?
Kurt Schauer
Managing Director
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