7 Tips for Writing Emails That Attract Customers

There’s no excuse for losing out on sales because of poorly written emails and poor communication practices. According to Sue Hershkowitz-Coore, author of Power Sales Writing andHow to Say It to Sell It, the three elements that make a great email are respect, relevance, and friendliness. Here are her seven tips for writing emails that win positive attention from customers.

1. Use a greeting.
“Hi,” “Hello,” or any variation of “Good morning/day/afternoon” show respect and friendliness. Use the customer’s name, as well.

2. Align subject lines and message content.
Don’t use a subject line that has nothing to do with the content of your message; always be transparent and relevant. If your subject line sounds like your offer is too good to be true, your email will end up in the trash.

3. Showcase your phone number.
If you want buyers to call you back, don’t make them scroll to the bottom of your email to search for your number. Include it right after the words “Please call me.”

4. Be clear about what you want.
Avoid such open-ended questions as, “What do you think?” Customers shouldn’t have to do any extra work. Say something like, “As soon as I receive your confirmation, I’ll…,” or “I’ll follow up with you as you suggest.”

5. Maintain control of action steps.
Whenever possible, don’t ask customers to get back to you. If you ask which date is best for them, you’ve lost control. Instead, say, “I’ll call you Tuesday morning to discuss.”

6. Watch punctuation.
Keep it simple. Use exclamation points sparingly. Never use multiple question marks: “????” Be careful of ellipsis points, too: “…” . Use them too much…and your email…begins to look like…an S.O.S. message. (See?)

7. Forget urgency flags.
Only flag an email as high priority if your buyer has asked you to do that (so, basically never).

Take time to write respectful, friendly, and relevant emails, and you’ll get the best responses possible from customers and prospects.