Increase click through rates by avoiding common mistakes in lead generation e-mails

It’s painfully evident when technology companies fail to use an experienced copywriter or marketer to write and create lead generation e-mails. You’re spending good money on an e-mail list. Why shortchange yourself by having an inexperienced intern or overworked secretary/office manager/etc. compose your e-mail blasts? Here are a few giveaways that your business to business e-mail marketing campaigns are in the hands of an amateur — and are likely suffering low click through rates as a result.

Gimmicky language is commonly used by amateur writers when they don’t understand what they’re writing about. But technology folks are savvy. They can see right through gimmicky language, and if they don’t have an inherent interest in what you’re selling, they’ll hit delete.

Bad grammar, misspellings and excessive punctuation. Don’t insult potential leads by yelling at them (!) or making them edit your e-mail blast. If they can’t read about what you’re selling, they won’t buy it.

Selling a product vs. a solution. Speak to your reader’s information and/or technical needs. What problem does your product/service address? Give readers a personal reason to want your solution.

Bad design. Many freelance copywriters will leave the layout of your e-mail campaigns to you, so here’s the deal: It’s better to send a well-formatted text e-mail than it is to send a poorly designed HTML e-mail that looks unprofessional.

A poorly written subject line. I’ll go into more detail on subject lines in a couple weeks. For now, apply the same rules to your subject lines that we’re introducing here: avoid gimmicky language and excessive punctuation, and give readers a reason to open your e-mail.

Your e-mail blast is scheduled to go out before a holiday weekend, on a Monday morning, or the middle of the night.  Think about when YOU are most likely to read seemingly unsolicited business e-mail that might or might not be of interest. Chances are your lead generation e-mail will be deleted if it’s buried in an inbox on a busy Monday morning or arrives just as your readers are signing off. Experiment with different days/times to see what generates the best click through rate.

The bottom line is that e-mail blasts should be handled by someone who is familiar with your product/service and b2b marketing best practices. If you don’t have anyone inside your organization who can handle the job, consider hiring a freelance technology copwriter. — Crystal Bedell, Freelance Technology Writer and Content Developer