Let’s do a little Q&A action today.
Ok, first question…
QUESTION: Hey Conor, what’s the ideal length for an email?
CONOR: Short answer…as long as it needs to be. Personally, I aim to keep them around 300 words or less – most days. Look, folks are busy. And a lot of them are reading your emails on their phone. By keeping things short and tantalizingly sweet, you train them to open your emails because they’re not expecting some big commitment.
That said I’m not against using 500-600 words if the message is good and it serves to do so.
I just wouldn’t do it very often.
I also want to make a distinction between articles vs. emails. I find many business owners are confused about this. Articles are content. The idea of email is to ask your customer to engage with you in some way, whether it’s to reply, book an appointment, or click through to a longer piece of content that serves your marketing strategy.
Alright, next question…
QUESTION: Conor, any tips on using cold emails for B2B prospects?
CONOR: A few years ago I booked close to sixty talks at various companies by cold messaging HR people on LinkedIN. I was offering a free talk on health (which I’d then use to promote my services). HR people have a mandate to do a certain number of those, which I knew. And ‘free’… well, the price was right.
That’s the simplest way I know to do it: straight benefit.
Still, you have to play the numbers.
Most people won’t respond.
I recently rebooted this practice for my business – and again, it worked. My revised 2.0 strategy for attracting cold prospects is twofold: (1) be utterly transparent, and (2) if you can, be funny.
Both of those things defy expectations. And you want to stand out. A smile is a good reaction! Many people are too formal, especially when talking to high-level business execs, like they somehow lost their sense of humor when they became successful.
Your potential customers are human. Don’t be afraid to be human with them.
Final question…
QUESTION: I don’t have an email list, any tips for getting started?
CONOR: When I started, I told everyone I knew I’m doing a free newsletter with fitness tips and did they want to be on the list.
Start with people you know.
Then, I collected emails at each of my talks, usually 20-30 at a time. That, together with leads coming through my website helped me build my list to 2,500 in less than three years.
NOTE: If you’re a local business that sees customers every day, the fastest way is to get them to join your list. We provide you the exact scripts you give your employees to get people to say ‘yes’. Plus, we handle the tech involved in setting up your Aweber account and entering the data. See the P.S.
Well, that does it for today.
Stay tuned for next time when I break down the power of subject lines and pull back the curtains to reveal what works to get your emails opened!
It’ll be a fun time in the Olde Towne, indeed.
Happy Prospecting,
Conor Kelly
a.k.a The Muscle @Marketing Muscle
P.S. I have great news for those who have been asking. I recently freed up time in my schedule to take on one more local business. If you’d be interested, book your stress-free brainstorm call here: