Why Follow-Ups are More Important Than Your Initial Email

You are currently viewing Why Follow-Ups are More Important Than Your Initial Email

Email marketing is one of the core foundations of online campaigns as it has proven itself to be an incredibly viable strategy. Email marketing is where businesses send emails to potential clients to promote products and offer services, hoping to convert those people into sales or partners.

However, although this is technically correct, a better definition of this strategy is the process of encouraging relationship growth between businesses and potential clients or customers. The distinction between both definitions is “promoting products” and “building relationships.”

While the former is indeed the goal, the latter should be the approach. After all, subtlety has become one of the main tools of marketers to get their foot in the door. And email marketing is one of the strategies used to introduce a brand to a new client.

However, most marketers fail to recognize that email marketing is divided into multiple parts. The first phase of this type of online campaign is the initial email. This where a business sends a potential customer an email, hoping the other end will respond.

But most often than not, customers don’t reply to an initial offer right away. It’s been revealed that 80% of the time, marketers need to send at least five follow-up emails to get a response from a potential client. According to Marketing Donut, 80% of prospects say no to offer four times before eventually engaging.

Moreover, most businesses – a staggering 92% of them – don’t send out follow-up emails after getting rejected four times, opening a huge potential for others to take advantage of this open strategy.

The problem here is that follow-up emails – if done incorrectly – can damage your brand in the long term. There are a few factors that contribute to this. So here are a few tips to optimize your follow-up email strategy and ensure that you’re following the best practices that top marketers are using.

1. Space your follow-ups

This means that you shouldn’t send a follow-up email just days after you launched a campaign. Generally speaking, you should send your second email four or five days after sending the first one.

This will provide the recipient some time to process the information inside the message while simultaneously ensuring you’re not there to spam their inbox. Your subsequent emails should be space out further from each other from then on. However, it’s also important to remember that every industry has its own rules to follow.

As such, the best approach is to do some research on your niche and base your strategy on the gathered data. Although this may take some time, it’s better than losing a potential client before you even have time to offer your value.

2. Personalize your emails  

One of the strategies that top marketers have always advocated is to personalize emails. Conduct extensive research on the subject you’re sending the email to.

For instance, if you’re reaching out to the CEO of a company, you should gather as much information about the person before sending the email. Try to look up the individual’s LinkedIn account, Twitter, and Facebook.

Include their recent achievements. Reiterate the reason why you’re reaching out. Insert current projects of their company. Personalize the email as much as you can so that the recipient feels you took the time to gather information about them. This is a great way to say that you care and that you have a deep interest in a potential partnership between both of you.

3. Be direct

Always remember that follow-up emails are there so that the potential client will respond. As such, you should keep the message as clear and concise as possible, limiting your sentences to four or five at the most.

Once you get a reply, that’s where you’ll expand on what you have in mind. But until then, keep it brief.

4. Improve your subject line

Recipients would often ignore emails – initial or follow-up – if the subject line isn’t compelling. To remedy this, ensure that you’re piquing the curiosity of your readers. Add a bit of mystery to your subject line, but not so much that it sounds like click-bait.

Another tip for creating a riveting subject line is to add urgency to it. For instance, if you’re offering a free eBook, eCourse, or discounts to an upcoming Webinar, you should always highlight that in your subject line. Those may look a bit like:

“Free eBook for Marketing Strategy in 2020” or “Limited 50% Discount for Webinar Courses About Marketing Campaigns.” Both these subject lines are eye-catching due to the words “free” and “limited.”

Put, you want prospects to know that you’re offering them value in exchange for their time. Place that value in front of them and specify what they are getting once they open their email.

5. The Breakup

Although persistence can provide positive results, it’s also essential to know when to give up. However, your final follow-up email is still your last card to play.

According to HubSpot Senior Sales Manager, her team found that their breakup emails to potential clients have a 33% response rate. In this final message, emphasize the value you offer while also saying goodbye to the prospect. This creates a sense of urgency of its own and may spur the client to reach back finally.

Moreover, this maneuver can also be used in crafting your subject line, playing yet again on the curiosity and sense of urgency of the prospect.

Why Follow-Ups are More Important Than Your Initial Email

Digital Marketing Consultant San Francisco

eCommerce FAQs

Passionate advocate for digital inclusivity, leading the charge at Understanding eCommerce to provide web accessibility solutions for businesses and organizations. Committed to making the online world accessible to all.