With written communication playing an essential role in how you create and progress opportunities, mastering the art of persuasive emails could give you a powerful advantage.
Before hitting the “send” button, it is always worth considering your attention to the following areas that each have a compounding positive or negative effect on the success of the communication.
Sender
Who you are and your relationship to the other person determines how much equity you have someone’s inbox. For example, an email to you from Jack Murphy is already seen as high importance without any further exploration, whereas others have to fight harder for that attention. The more you add value to your relationships in all areas, the more equity you earn in their inbox.
Subject Line
The job of the subject line is to sell the opening and consuming of the contents of an email, not to tell the reader what’s inside. Use curiosity and intrigue, as well as empathy for the reader. Lazy subject lines get lazy results.
Sizzle
Throughout your body text understand that you need to hold their attention throughout. This means writing in their interests and not yours. Every reader is permanently listening for WiiFM (What’s in it for me?) and making this your focus ensures they stay engaged.
Steps
Make it clear what the reader is expected to do as a result of this communication. If you want a reply then ask for one or ask a question that requires one. If it’s important that they watch or read something then make that clear and confirm the next step of your next communication point (meeting, call etc)
Overall, treat your written communication as a conversation and allow it to flow with replies and responses. You are progressing an opportunity and engaging the other person, not delivering a monologue.
