Have you been sending out messages to prospects but not getting the response you expected? Maybe you’re not even receiving any responses at all. It could be that the messages you’re sending are being considered "spammy."
When we say "spammy," we don’t necessarily mean that your messages are being seen as malicious or fraudulent. Rather, the person receiving them may recognise that they are part of a bulk send-out.
It’s fair to say that these messages often won’t get a response. Think about it—when was the last time you responded to one of these messages?
Although we’re inbound marketing specialists here at Podymos, we fully believe in the power of multichannel marketing, which means sending out your marketing messages across different channels for maximum effect.
After all, there’s no point in creating great content and then not sharing it!
Direct messages, such as emails, can be included in those channels to create a well-rounded, integrated campaign.
So, we’re going to share a few of our tips for creating outreach messages that convert, whether they’re emails or direct messages on social media.
Give, don’t just take
One of the worst things you can do when sending someone a sales messages (other than getting their name wrong!) is ask for something straight away, without building any rapport or offering anything of value to them.
We think that a great way around this is to send your prospect 3-4 pieces of really valuable content to them. This might be a video or an article that will be helpful for them in some way.
This is what we mean when we talk about an integrated campaign. The content you create can be used across all your marketing channels, and even as part of your sales process.
So, wait to ask for an action from your prospect until you have shown that you have something to offer first.
Answer their questions
Consumers are more likely to buy from a brand they trust. This can become even more important when dealing directly with a person who is representative of a brand.
One of the best ways to win over the trust of your audience is to create content that openly and honestly answers their questions. Answering their questions before they even ask them and showing that you understand their concerns is what will ultimately persuade them to trust you.
The content you send over in your messages should always address a question that your audience has asked.
Want to learn more about answering your audience’s questions? Check out our article on How to come up with great content ideas
Struggling to engage your customers? We can help you resonate in seconds
Go through the buyer’s journey
When you’re writing your messages and deciding what content to share, you should consider how it guides the reader through their buyer’s journey.
Initially, you need to make the prospect aware of who you are and what you do. Hopefully, using our tips, you’ll have done this in a way that sparks their desire.
It’s then your job to nurture that desire and lead them through the consideration phase—this is where your content should answer any questions they may have before deciding to proceed with you.
Finally, you can guide them to the decision phase. This is where you should suggest an action, such as setting up a meeting, which is usually considered a conversion.
When creating your stream of messages, ensure that you’re thinking about their buyer’s journey and which content will most effectively lead them through the consideration phase.
Segment your audience
The key to avoiding the appearance of your messages as part of a pre-prepared bulk send-out is to ensure you’re sending the right messages to the right people.
When creating your messages, consider your audience carefully. Segmenting your audience and adjusting your messages so they’re entirely relevant to each segment can help avoid appearing spammy.
For example, if you send information relevant only to those based in the UK to people outside of the UK, you’re probably not going to get the response you were hoping for. It can seem lazy and even careless.
Instead, you can segment your audience by geography, role, seniority, and many other factors. From there, you can decide what information will be important to them. What questions are they likely to have? Can you answer them? This will help you craft messages that are appropriate and likely more successful.
Personalisation
A little personalisation goes a long way in building trust. 80-90% of consumers are more likely to engage with brands that offer personalised interaction. It shows that you’ve taken time to do your research and you’re not just sending out another copy and pasted message.
Personalisation can take many forms. Obviously, you should include the prospect’s name (spelled correctly!), but you can also mention mutual connections, your thoughts on a recent post of theirs or something that you can see what they are interested in.
It doesn’t have to be anything too in-depth, but it will help you to cut through the noise and earn responses from the people who receive dozens of sales messages a week.
Make it about them
Our final tip is to make your outreach entirely about them.
Like giving instead of trying to take, you want to avoid talking too much about what you can offer and more about how they will benefit. Instead of “my device is amazing, it can do this”, you could try something more like “you’ll receive better patient outcomes and fewer bed days”. This is all about being benefit-driven, rather than feature-driven.
As a general rule of thumb, try to keep discussion of yourself to only what is necessary to raise awareness. After that, you should have a ratio of 1 we/our for every 5 you/yours.