I get a lot of solicitation emails. As a person who believes that good things CAN come out of the blue and fall into your inbox, I want people to send me great ideas or things I want to say yes to. I really do. Yet, if I had to put a number to it, I would say 90% of these emails I delete immediately, because I know for sure they are not right for me the instant I open them. Let me tell you about 6 things that make me delete a solicitation email right away.
First, let me set the stage here on why I am writing this Marketing Tip of the Week. I am a proponent of collaboration. I know it can work, and I often do outreach of my own to make pitches to people. I have thought carefully about how to craft my own emails, often thinking about what doesn’t work in the emails I receive and trying to course correct. In my own pitch emails, I am always thinking, “How do I come across as a real person, asking a real question, and show you why it will be relevant and even helpful to you?”
6 Things That Make Me Delete a Solicitation Email
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I often hear clients talk about cold emailing in general or the more specific strategy of marketing to influencers. If I get as many emails as I do, I can only imagine how many solicitation emails someone who is an “Influencer” by profession would get.
So, when I share with you the types of things that make me disregard an email solicitation, I do this because I personally want to receive emails that make me excited…and perhaps by bearing some of this in mind you can get more of your cold pitches across the line.
Here we go. Six things that are red flags for me:
- “Hello, melissaforziatevents.com!” Clearly the sender scraped my information from somewhere. That information landed directly in a spreadsheet. They didn’t screen the data. The data was uploaded into emails and probably sent in an automated way. It wouldn’t take more than a few seconds of research to know that “Hello, Melissa!” is a drastic improvement. So, I know this sender didn’t spend those few seconds getting to know me.
- “I noticed this blog on your website about [TOPIC]. Well, I wrote a blog about [SAME TOPIC….maybe…..]. Wouldn’t it be great if you added my link to your blog?” I haven’t vetted this resource. I don’t even know if it isn’t a virus in that link, because frankly every email I’ve seen written this way looks exactly the same to me. So, I don’t want to make effort to vet this resource and endanger my device, especially if the sender has offered me absolutely nothing.
- Fields that are highlighted. Now I know I’m on a mass list, I know this sender is doing a ton of outreach, and I even see where they have fields that autopopulate from that list. Because it is in yellow.
- “Buy these services from me that you offer yourself!” I get a LOT of outreach from marketers offering me the marketing services I offer. I understand that they probably have me on a mass list and that they didn’t take a minute to 1) remove the marketers from the list or 2) create a second version of the email that acknowledges the fact that they know I am a marketer too. Either one of those options would be more appropriate than selling my own services back to me without recognizing that I do that work, as well. Segmenting is your friend. If you are sending a pitch, and there could be people in your industry on the cold list you have, tweak your copy for them at the very least.
- “I’d like to tell you what you can do for me.” I don’t know who this person is. I’m not inclined to do anything for someone who is completely self-interested and unapologetic about it. All of these emails make it clear that they have no intention of doing anything at all to help me. They are unabashedly proposing to use me. So, why is it this should be on my to do list? I love collaboration and finding ways to help each other, but I am only looking for equal partners in that process.
I’m not inclined to do anything for someone who is completely self-interested and unapologetic about it. #partnerships #collaboration #pitchemails #smallbusiness #biztips #entrepreneur #sendingbetterpitches
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- Using a generic email address. This is not an immediate deletion, because I absolutely know that many legitimate business owners with legitimate pitches have a gmail, outlook, or other similar email address. However, if nothing else in the email looks like it is specific to me, and it comes from a gmail address, that is just too many strikes against it. If you are using a generic email address, at least have an email signature that looks professional.
At the end of the day, the serious emails come through with a bright light shining on them. If you were intentional in your email to me, I can tell.
I am looking for you to come to me and signal specifically why you thought of me for that inquiry. I am looking for a pitch that shows you know that I am also looking for how this arrangement will make my life better. I want to see that you are prepared to think creatively about what would work for both of us. I want to know that you respect the value of what I put out there and that there is alignment somewhere in our businesses. As someone receiving an email pitch, I need to see you not just in “take” mode, but also in “give” mode.
I can only speak to my own personal preferences. However, it is worthwhile to remember that most people come from a standpoint of “what’s in it for me?” It’s helpful for both sides to recognize that for progress to be made.
Most people come from a standpoint of “what’s in it for me?” #truth #smallbusiness #mutualbenefit #biztips #partnerships #entrepreneur
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It is also worth remembering that business owners – service and product providers alike – are often being asked for free stuff, which can be demeaning and frustrating. Pitches to them often suggest that they provide their offerings for free in exchange for “exposure.” Although there is a place for that sometimes, requests like this should come from a humble place.
I wanted to share this with you because my sincere hope is that the percentage of intriguing, yes-worthy solicitations being put out into the universe will climb. Let’s find ways to be more collaborative in our businesses. To grow together. To make each other offers that are hard to refuse!
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