Marina Hoffmeier says, ““People don’t always remember what you say or even what you do, but they always remember how you made them feel.” – Maya Angelou What you say is powerful, but how you say it leaves lasting impact. Imagine how the verbiage would be noticeably different in an email about financial investments compared to an email about a doggy daycare. No matter what kind of business you have, tone of voice helps you connect with your audience. Tone as a way of personification Tone and voice are two entirely different things but when you put them together effectively, they can... [...]

Aja Frost says, “I’ve been a member of the five-sentence club for about a year now. Anyone can become a member, but staying in? Well, that’s much harder. To remain eligible, you can’t send an email longer than five sentences. As you can imagine, being in the club requires a lot of work. But it’s worth it: The first month I joined, my response rate tripled. Plus, my recipients’ average response time plunged by an entire day. I like how straightforward the five-sentence rule is, but you can reap the same benefits simply by writing less. These three strategies will turn you into a... [...]

Pete Caputa says, “Connecting with prospects is harder now than ever before. In today’s technology-driven world, fewer and fewer prospects answer their phone and even less respond to voicemails. Not even 1% of phone calls are returned! Although I’ve resisted telling my salespeople for years that the phone is less important than email when it comes to prospecting, it’s hard to ignore the stats anymore. Today, effective email writing skills are more essential than mastering the unscheduled call. (There, I said it.) Unfortunately, most sales emails don’t get a response either. In... [...]

Nate Kristy says, “It’s nearly summertime, which means it should be time to kick back and enjoy the warmer weather, but many small business owners could be missing out on fun in the sun with their family and friends. Why? 56 percent say they feel they can’t ever step away from their businesses. Luckily, the ability to automate sales and marketing workflow gives many small business owners time back in their day. With automation, they can go to bed earlier at night or even spend a weekend at the beach knowing that revenue opportunities aren’t slipping through the cracks. Marketing automation... [...]

Aja Frost says, “Whether you’re at a networking event, a party, a conference, or an office function, walking up to a stranger and introducing yourself can be terrifying. I don’t know about you, but I never stroll over without a detailed plan of what I’ll say and how I’ll say it. After all, people form a first impression of you in a tenth of second — so as crazy as it sounds, a lame opening line could sabotage the entire relationship. But even though I’ve always been strategic about my in-person opening lines, I only recently began applying the same level of thought to my email... [...]

Liz Willits says, “In a perfect world, all email services would display emails the same way. There would be no default setting to block images, or funky changes to the color of your text. Nor would you have to worry about your email content getting clipped (we’re looking at you, Hotmail and Gmail). And you wouldn’t have to worry about your subscribers seeing a different (ugly) version of the email you originally designed and sent. But email services don’t display all emails the same way. ☹️ As a result, we must find ways to make sure that our emails will display correctly for all... [...]

Razvan Gavrilas says, “Knowing how to make people read your emails is, partially, science. However unpredictable and unique we are, there are some common traits of our business personas that will most likely answer positively or negatively to different types of stimuli. What you’re about to read is nothing but the math behind our open rates. You’re going to read a few critical mistakes that can be made when creating an outreach campaign and a bonus advanced lesson, in the end, to start spinning your wheel of engaging networks. 1. Failing to Be Personal Enough Which takes me directly to... [...]

Jeff Swanik says, “The best part of a vacation is taking time off from work. The worst part is returning to an overflowing inbox. The same happens when I attend a conference or spend a day in meetings. Looking at my own schedule reminds me that if I email someone and they don’t get back to me in a couple days … that could mean one of many things. As each day goes by, a tiny bit of guilt grows on the person for not getting back to me. When this happens in sales, many sales reps will address the failed attempt and type a detailed email hammering on why that prospect is a fit for... [...]

Mike Sands says, “I don’t know a marketer today who doesn’t marvel at the pace the industry is moving. But ask any CMO what his or her priorities are, and chances are good that a key focus today was also on the priority list five, 10, even 20 years ago — and will continue to remain so for years into the future. What marketing goal could possibly stand this test of time? The answer: connecting with customers. Consumer behavior has evolved, and the technologies available to marketers seem to multiply by the day. But the true purpose of marketing is and has always been to help brands get... [...]

Ben Davis says, “I reviewed the mobile UX of the Wish ecommerce app last week. It’s a platform for bargain hunters and uses lots of tactics to create a sense of urgency. In the week since signing up, I have received seven automated emails (as well as a number of app notifications). Let’s have a look at Wish’s approach. Day three: basket abandonment Below is the second email I received (the first on day one was a welcome email and chiefly for email address verification). It points me towards an item I left in my basket. One slight problem with Wish’s time sensitive... [...]