Use Your Voice To Get Your Email Messages Read
My email inbox is out of control. Some days i can barely skim the list before another deluge arrives. It makes me wonder if my email messages are getting lost in someone else's flood.
Whether you're sending out a marketing message or simply corresponding with a client, your email has to rise to the top of the inbox in order to get read. But how?
It's your voice.
Most of the email (and web copy) I read is full of jargon and devoid of warmth. It doesn't pull me in or engage me, so I don't read very far. In fact, text that is meant to describe a person's services often leaves the person out completely.
The messages I take time to read have a different tone to them. That difference is the clarity of the person's voice. What moves me, what makes me stop and listen, no matter what the subject, is a genuine voice talking.
Here are a couple ideas for bringing your voice through your email:
1. Use your own voice to speak to your prospect. Speak casually and don't try to impress anyone. Use simple words, rather than fancy ones. Use the words you would use if you had nothing at stake in the conversation.
2. Speak directly to your recipient. Imagine you're sitting next to this person and they've just asked you a question. Tell them, don't sell them. Frame everything from their perspective. (Hint: Use the word you.)
3. Say something unexpected or in an unexpected way. Instead of using clichés or saying the same thing you always say, take a moment to be creative with your words.
4. Talk about something you care about. When a graphic designer recently sent a message to her email list about how the movie, Frida, has inspired her, she got lots of enthusiastic response, and an opportunity to expand her ideas for a trade association newsletter that will go to her target market.
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Ilise Benun, author of Self Promotion Online and Designing Websites for Every Audience, writes, consults and gives workshops about online and offline self promotion.
