320 billion emails are expected to be sent and received every day by 2021.
Crafting the perfect outreach email can be tricky. Especially, when you're pressured to write the perfect subject line, have the right amount of words, make sure your email doesn't sound too pitchy, and stand out in someones inbox.
The most important thing to remember when writing an outreach email is that the goal is to build meaningful relationships with the person you are trying to contact.
Not send them email after email trying to get them to buy your product or speak at your mastermind. Once you build a relationship it will be easier to get your emails opened and responded to.
It doesn't matter if you want to get booked on someone else's podcast, contribute a guest blog, or get your next client. These tips will help you get the response you need.
Now, let's start with how your outreach email can help them.
How Will It Help Them?
With almost any email you send someone, you want to make them email about them, not you. Sometimes a little flattery goes a long way. You may think that people want to hear all about every one of your successes, but they don't.
A great way to get them to write a response would be to offer an incentive they might be interested in. You could do some research about them and learn what they are interested in or what their next big goal might be.
You don't want to seem desperate to get a response or make the email all about you.
Here's an example of something you could offer.
If you are looking to get booked on a persons podcast, you could offer to promote their podcast on your social media and even promote it in your weekly newsletter.
Or if you know someone they are dying to meet, you could also offer to make an introduction.
Make It Personalized
Personalization goes a long want in an outreach email. This shows the person you are reaching out to that you took the time to learn about them.
Many people will copy and paste a template and blast that one email to a hundred people. You can usually tell if someone is blasting the same email to everyone.
Here are some ways to personalize your email:
- Address them by first name.
- Talk about one of their most recent successes.
- If they have a podcast, mention your favorite episode.
- Talk about something you love about their business.
Here's an example of an intro:
When looking for ways to personalize your email, don't just grab the first thing you see on their website. That is not personal. They will know it only took 3 seconds to copy and paste that from their website.
You want to make sure you are genuine and make it known that you are looking forward to building a relationship with them.
Get Straight To The Point
This is important when the person you are reaching out to is extremely busy. Most people do not want to waste their time reading a long email about a pitch they probably aren't interested in. To figure out if someone is busy you could look at their social media, website, blog and podcast content.
When someone has a full inbox of unopened emails the first thing they read is the headline. They will read you email headline and if it grabs their attention they will probably read the first couple of sentences to see if they're interested.
This is one of the reasons why the headline and first few words of the email should be interesting and straight to the point.
Don't feel like you have to waste time writing a long drawn out email.
Format Your Email
This is the easiest part. If you aren't sure how to correctly format an email, do a quick Google search.
For every outreach email you send, make sure you have these key points:
- Subject Line
- Salutation or Introduction
- Body Text
- Signature
- Proper Spacing
Your subject line can potentially be the most important factor of your email. You want it to be catchy, but not cheesy. This can take some practice and trial and error.
One of my favorite subject lines that I use for podcast outreach is "Former Super Bowl Champion of the New England Patriots." That email typically gets opened instantly.
Spacing is one thing people usually get wrong. Don't write make your email one entire paragraph of words with no spacing. This is unappealing to the eye and looks overwhelming.
Write a sentence or two and make a line break.
Follow Up
If you don't get a response, follow up with them and gently remind them about you. They may have been interested, but forgot to respond.
You want to be quick and brief.
Here's a cool trick you can do. If you haven't gotten a response, reply to your first email. This makes it look like you have already engaged in conversation.
