How to get subscribers reading (and responding to) your emails

Reader Yurii writes:

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I’m only starting with email marketing and the most frustrating question for me at the moment is “Why people don’t answer my emails?” I’ve got only about 30 people on my mailing list, but all of them seem absolutely unresponsive and not even willing to respond with a simple yes or no. Maybe I’m doing something wrong?

For example, this is one of the emails I’ve sent out today:

Hello Arthur,

How are you? I hope all is well!

Recently you’ve downloaded a trial version of our platform.

Just wanted to let you know that we also have a new Video Tutorials section on our site to help people learn the product. Here’s a link, in case you haven’t seen it: https://fosslook.com/video-tutorials

Or, if you want, we can schedule a time to talk on skype.
I’ll be glad to answer your questions.

Cheers,
Yurii

If you notice, I’m using friendly tone here, as if I’m writing to my friend, The main points are highlighted in bold, everything seems pretty clean and to the point.

I’m sure with your experience you can point out to some of the stupid mistakes I’m making here.

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I hear Yurii loud and clear—sometimes online marketing makes you want to yell, “What’s WRONG with you people? I’m trying to help!”

Here are a couple of thoughts for you…

First of all, anything you do when it comes to marketing is a bit of a numbers game. When you put something out there (whether it’s an email, a sales page, a Facebook ad, or anything else) the majority of people will NOT respond.

You could send an email tomorrow with the subject line “Free gold” and I guarantee that half your list wouldn’t even open it.

Right now you only have 30 people on your list, which is a very small number. If you could get even 1 or 2 to reply, you’d be doing well.

So be patient with yourself and your list.

Now looking at the email you sent out, there are definitely some things you can change to get your subscribers to engage with you.

Here are three that jump out:

  • Don’t start out with chit-chat. People are busy, so they appreciate it when you get right to the point. The first 3 sentences should go.

  • If you really want the subscriber to do something, include just ONE call to action. Here you have two: check out the video tutorials, and schedule a Skype call.

  • When you want to get a response, ask a specific, open-ended question. Case in point: I did this in the welcome email you just responded to! The question I asked was, “What’s your #1 question or frustration with your marketing?”

The thing to keep in mind is this:

We’re all busy and distracted. Your mission as a marketer is to guide your prospects to success by simplifying and clarifying ever way you can.

It makes a big difference in your response (and your sales).

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