Remember when email was cool? I used to receive a few emails everyday from people I knew. Now I delete more emails than I actually read. The average professional receives 121  emails per day. Emails are like commercials on television and junk mail at home. For professionals to increase client engagement and sales they need to convince people their email is “cool” and worthy of being opened. How do you get people to open your email?

The first criteria in maximizing email views, clicks and reads is to have a great subject line. The I love virus spread through millions of computers because people wondered why the CEO was saying “I LOVE YOU.” Here are five ways to increase client engagement with your subject line:

• Short and Sweet – You have a lot you want to say in your emails, right? Data show the response rate for emails is highest between 50 and 125 words. Don’t try to explain too much. Give the reader a reason to read, a link and a call to action. Save the rest of the words for the subsequent phone call or meeting, Our best emails are never more than 6 sentences.
• Subject Line – Email subject lines should not be a sentence. As a rule, I never have subject lines more than 5 words. Everyone is busy, and many people don’t like to read long titles. The title should be eye catching like the title of a book, and it should express brevity (e.g. – LinkedIn for Financial Success, How Technology Got Me Dates, etc).
• Timing – What is the best time to send emails? It depends. I used to send emails in the middle of the day, but I soon realized my intended readers were busy (Imagine that!). The best time for me to send emails is Sunday and Thursday night. My readers open the emails Monday and Friday morning, and my open rate (and sales) sky sky rocketed.

LinkedIn Secret Tips and Tricks

• Pick Up Lines – Don’t start emails with “How are you doing?” or other generic statements / greetings. The first line in the email is like a pick up line and should hook their interest. Begin the first sentence with something that makes them want to read further:
  • “75% of all financial professionals are wasting time on LinkedIn.”
  • “As a follow up to our last phone call…”
  • “Jessica Jones asked me to contact you regarding…”

• Ask for Something – The call to action is one of the most important parts of the email. No one has time for an “FYI” or informative email. Include a call to action (CTA) at the end. The CTA is a request to meet, resource offering or link to website landing page. Effective emails have a defined and clear next step.

I automatically delete any emails more than 200 words. I don’t have time to read them, and my clients don’t send me emails that long. Think what you want in an email and design your emails around that criteria. It’s the golden rule of emails: “Write unto other as you would have them write unto you.”

Scientifically Speaking, of course…