Do you think you know how to create a follow-up email campaign that will get a response from your subscribers? How many times have you what according to you was the perfect follow-up email campaign, only to be treated with silence from your subscribers?
If the idea of creating a follow-up email campaign makes you uncomfortable, you’re not alone. If any of your subscribers hasn’t replied to our first email, they’re simply not interested, and that they’re not going to like it if we bother them again.
In the world filled with texts, emails, and instant messages, there are three phrases you probably find yourself regularly reading and writing:
- Thought I would just check-in and find out …
- Just checking in to see …
- Just wanted to check in to hear about …
These three phrases signal a follow-up message. They’re a popular expression for people to use, specifically in email, when trying to close deals, convert leads, or simply get the information they need. Although, these repetitive phrases are usually ineffective as they rarely catch a recipient’s attention and usually don’t appear to give them any immediate value.
But, you or the person sending the email isn’t just checking-in anyway- you are trying to achieve something. You’re sending your follow-up email campaign for a reason- to make a sale, generate business, or clarify or learn something. So, you need to make sure that it doesn’t catch your subscriber’s attention and give them some kind of value. This way, they would want to open your email and respond as well.
It never feels good to be ignored. After all, you wouldn’t be sending email in the first place if didn’t think that you had something to offer.
So, if you are trying to close the next big sales deal for your company, you need to learn how to create a follow-up email that will get a response from your subscribers and convert.
Why do you need a strong email follow-up strategy?
As a savvy marketer, you have to be resourceful. Companies now demand dynamic results and personalized marketing, all on a tight budget. In simple words, you need to make the most of the key characteristics of email.
- Popular– Emails are not just the most tested communication channel, but also the most powerful marketing channel available as well. Currently, there are more than 4.3 billion email addresses in the entire world, and the majority of the demographics groups prefer communicating via emails.
- Visible– Emails provides unparalleled reach, and it’s also quite visible: 90% of emails get delivered. These statistics easily trumps any alternative channels like Facebook, where only 2% of your followers will see your content organically.
- Effective– Compared to the alternative channels, the click-through rates (CTR) can also be much higher. Of course, the CTR is contingent on the best follow-up emails possible and a strong strategy.
How to write a follow-up email
Now, that you understand how important it is to follow-up, and for how long you should wait before sending each follow-up email campaign, let’s go through how to write the follow-up email itself.
It’s critical to test different email subject lines when creating an email follow-up strategy as they can easily make or break your strategy. More than 47% of people open an email and about 69% of people report it as spam based on just the email subject line.
The messaging, subject line, and structure of your follow-up email campaign will also play a critical role in determining how successful you are in your approach. Following are the key steps to creating an excellent follow-up email campaign.
1. Define the purpose
First of all, you want to determine exactly why you’re creating your follow-up email campaign. And if you have detailed sale funnel, this step will be much simpler.
Example, let’s consider that a member of your team met face-to-face with a prospect at an industry event last month. The lead has gone cold since, but you want to move this prospect along the sales funnel. This strategy may mean that your objective is to reinvigorate the relationship with your subscribers.
Now that you have this objective to achieve, you can think about how to achieve it through a follow-up email campaign.
Example, you might choose to send a piece of educational content about your offerings that requires a follow-up conversation.
2. Write a spectacular subject line
You have a very small window of opportunity to grab the attention of your subscribers with your subject line. So, you have to focus on it as much as possible.
Following are the features of the best performing subject lines;
- Short– Research from Marketo suggests that the best length of the subject line is 41 character currently spread across 7 words. While the specifics will vary based on your data, it provides you with a good benchmark to aim for: Keep it short, and find a creative way to get to your point.
- Catered– The best performing subject lines are generated by using quantifiable data. You should ensure that your subject lines are catered to your target audience, based on key demographic information, the email client they prefer, and the device they use.
- Detailed– everyone has a limited amount of time and so does your target audience, and they want emails that respect these terms. You should ensure that your subject lines are as clear as possible and that it helps your subscribers decide whether they want to read it or not.
- Engaging– You should try to find a way to make the subject line more engaging without being spammy. Our minds are hardwired to invest extra attention and time on wordplay. In simple words, you can grab the attention of your subscribers with the help of innovative techniques.
3. Be direct and clear
Majority of the email subscribers receive an average of 121 emails a day. In simple words, you must be harsh about determining whether an email is worthy of the recipient’s attention and time.
If an email wastes your subscriber’s time, it can have a negative impact on your relationship with your subscribers. In simple words, you should ensure that every email you send to your subscribers is clear and direct. You defined a clear objective for your email in the first step, so use it to get right to the point.
Your subscribers will appreciate that you respect their time, so you will be much more likely you get a response from your subscribers. And it also helps you to build positive feelings.
4. Get professional help
Every company delegates responsibilities in different ways. In some organization, sales representatives are responsible for creating their own follow-up email campaigns. In simple words, the marketing team may be responsible for creating drafts and templates.
Whichever method you decide to follow, it’s important that your emails maintain top quality. To ensure everything is right, you’ll want to enlist the help of a copywriter, so by writing an amazing email you can put your best foot forward.
5. Think about the next follow-up email
Perseverance is the key when it comes to email marketing. A recent study from Iko System demonstrates that the sixth sequence in email marketing can receive a big boost, in terms of response rates.
You should structure your follow-up email campaign with your sales funnel in mind. If your subscriber doesn’t reply to this email, then what will the next course of action be, and how can you organically line it up?
When to send a follow-up email
Timing is a huge factor in email marketing that will determine whether you are successful or not. A 15-minute small window could mean the difference between your emails getting read and clicked, and being deleted without any hesitation.
There’s a lot of information out there about the best time to send a follow-up email campaign, but it’s critical to remember that nothing will be as effective as testing your own data using A/B testing.
So it’s necessary that you use a standard sales management tools to track email open rate and other statistics to build effective strategies.
But in terms of general advice, the following are some of the best tips about the best time to send emails;
- Midweek at 02:00 pm– Based on a research by MailChimp, your best bet for achieving success with your email marketing is to send emails on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, or Thursdays at around 02:00 pm.
- Avoid the Monday purge– Most of the professionals begin their week by organizing their tasks and sorting through the emails they received while they were away. So, they’ll usually delete anything that seems to be not important or unsolicited, and you should refrain yourself from sending them emails on Saturdays, Sundays, or Monday mornings.
- Also avoid Fridays– Most professional at the end of the week spend their time finalizing tasks and thinking about their weekend plans. As these professionals aren’t correct mindset to start thinking about new prospects or products, so, it’s better to not send follow-up email campaigns on Fridays.
- Break the mold– Given that you run the risk of sending your email at the same time as everybody else, following the best practices can also be challenging. In simple words, you can decrease the amount of attention that your emails normally receive and also reduce your CTR. Hence, you should regularly experiment and depend on your data to find the best time to send your emails.
Explain why you’re emailing
Explain the reason for sending your subscribers a follow-up email in a way that’s both concise and direct. Just explain your subscribers about what you want. And if this hasn’t changed since your last email, then remind them.
- [Your product name] could really help you and I wondered if you’d like to try it out for a month or so (completely free, of course).
- [Your product name] could really help you [element of prospect’s role] more effectively. I’d love to have a brief chat to find out if I’m right.
- We’ve just released [your product name], and it could make a huge difference to [element of prospect’s role]. There’s a link to a resource just below that will tell you more, but it’d be amazing if we could discuss your existing needs so I can figure out more about how [your product name]might help you.
Remove ‘I’ statements from your text. Focus on them here. Your subscribers honestly don’t care much about you or what you think or believe.
Include a Call-to-Action
Make it simple for your subscribers to respond to your emails.
Example, if you’re trying to arrange a 30-minute meeting, suggest a specific date and time, and place also, if you’re arranging an in-person meeting.
- Are you the right person to talk to about this? If I’m not in the right place, could you point me to the right person?
- Does 03:15 p.m. on Thursday work for you?
- Just reply ‘yes’ if you’d be interested in getting more information and I’ll send a couple of short docs over to you.
Many marketers and sales professional make the mistake of leaving it ambiguous and vague. Make your CTA hard to resist and crystal clear. What do you want them to do? Just tell them.
Close Your Email
Wrap up in a way that is sympathetic to your interactions with the subscribers so far and also feels natural.
While we have a few small suggestions below, this part is very personal- as above wrap up however you feel comfortable.
- Let me know if you have any questions. [Your name]
- Let me know what you think! [Your name]
- I look forward to hearing from you! [Your name]
- Speak soon? [Your name]
Conclusion:
Follow-up email campaigns have the power to bring in new business, convert leads, build strong relationships with prospects & customers, and close more deals. The toughest part is making your email subscribers want to open your emails and respond to it.
Just think about the critical aspect of your follow-up email campaign to ensure its relevant, eye-catching, and of value for your subscribers- provide them a reason to respond to your email and get in touch with you. Work through the above steps to write a follow-up email that provides context, has an objective, a strong subject line, and has a purpose. Then determine the best point in time send emails so your subscribers are more likely to open your emails. Then, just sit back and watch your inbox filled with responses from your subscribers.
