Here’s A Simple and Powerful Email Marketing Tip You Never Considered (You Probably Shouldn’t Use It, Either)
February 16th, 2012
I get all kinds of stuff in my email. Lots of it I just delete because it has no direct bearing on anything I do, did or want to do.
Like voice acting.
Nevertheless, when I received an email this morning from someone pitching a voice acting class, I did a double-take and paid some attention. Why? Well, it wasn’t because of the font (yecch) — it was the first line of the email.
“Sure,” I thought, “I have 50 seconds to spare.” Even though I have no interest in voice acting (though I’ve often been mocked for my tendency to sound like a radio announcer on my voicemail messages), I opened the email and took a look.
The brilliance of this tactic is that it works on a level that goes beyond whether or not I’m interested in voice coaching: It respects my time. Few email marketers do that, and certainly no one does that to this degree. Before Warren Garlin is trying to sell me anything, he’s effectively saying: “Look, I know you’re busy and you get a ton of email, but this one will take less than a minute to read, so hopefully you have those 50 seconds and you’re willing to share them with me. If not, I understand; no harm no foul.”
Of course, if everyone started doing this, the unique nature of the message would be lost and it would become just another aspect of our daily email annoyance. But it’s a great object lesson in how something so simple — like respecting your recipient’s inbox — can be so powerful.
Takeaway for marketers: When everyone’s zigging, a zag can stand out from the crowd. Oh, and remember to respect your recipient’s inbox … and schedule.