There’s Finally a Right Answer for How Long a Sales Email Should Be
Hubspot
looked at 40 million sales emails and the resulting analytics, all so you don’t
have to.
And
the results may surprise you.
When
building an email blast, many integrated marketers feel like they need to tell
the whole story and provide as many features, benefits, and stats as possible.
But put yourself in the seat of your audience – the average office worker
receives 120 emails a day, and that number balloons the higher you go up the
food chain. (It’s reported that Apple CEO Tim Cook gets more than 700 emails a
day.)
So,
how do you avoid TL;DR (too long; didn’t
read) syndrome?
Aim
for 200 words.
Which,
admittedly, isn’t a lot. But here’s how you can pack more power into each
email.
Create for Mobile First
Even
if you have data that shows your prospects are opening emails on a desktop,
creating an email that looks good and works well on a smartphone will help you
make an impact. Think brief headlines of 5 – 8 words, shorter words that won’t
break in weird places, and sentences and paragraphs that won’t make your
audience scroll endlessly.
Think of Where Your Email Fits in the
Larger campaign
Remember,
your email isn’t working alone – it should just be greasing the wheels to get
your audience to a website, a download, a brochure. Think about how to sell that
transaction, as opposed to selling a year-supply of your product. It takes much
less persuasion (and fewer words) to convince a prospect to visit a page on
your website than it would to convince that same prospect to buy something.
Write according to the Fleisch-Kincaid
Even
if you have an audience of literal brain surgeons, they will appreciate not
having to parse complicated sentences with multiple clauses and dense
paragraphs. Eighth to ninth grade reading comprehension is standard faire among
insurance and automobile industries, and is a safe bet for many business
writers as well
Show, Don’t Tell
When
it comes to short, pithy emails, bold visuals are integrated marketers’ best
friends. Besides the “picture is worth a thousand words” thing, a well-placed
photo or infographic
creates interest and moves a reader down the page. Another potent email
addition is video. Adding video to email can yield impressive
results such as a 55% increase in click-through rates and a 24% increase in
conversions.
If
you find yourself with a 400 or 500-word email, with some careful editing, you
can break it into two separate emails and get double the bang for your buck.