4 Ways To Improve Your LinkedIn Email Response

Every single month we receive a ton of emails from people all over the world sharing their frustration about the fact that they have all these connections within their network but haven’t managed to convert them into leads and opportunities. And it doesn’t matter which industry, location or size of the company, this challenge seems to be universal.

So if you have ever spent time crafting e-mail messages to your LinkedIn connections, only to have received limited to no response, you are not alone. The first shift is realizing that marketing is never about you.

Have a look at the last 10 emails you’ve received on LinkedIn. We would be surprised if 8 out of 10 were not blatant sales messages where the main focus of the copy was focused on them and how they can help you.

This is what we call: Shout Marketing

And it’s the equivalent of walking up to someone at a networking function who you have never met before, handing them your business card and telling them all about your business without even first saying hello. It is very natural to revert to immediately talking about what you know, but remember; prospects are ONLY interested about their own goals and needs. Once you have established a good relationship with them, only then will they start caring about what you have to say and offer.

When our founder Alex Pirouz was 16 years old, his basketball coach gave him one of the most profound pieces of advice, which to this day he practices in almost everything he does both personally and professionally. He said to him: “Alex, people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”

This concept is even truer today, especially when you’re marketing your business in the 21^st century. This is why it is essential to fully understand your target market and craft a message that specifically applies to them. That way, you will only reach out to individuals you can help.

When you craft a message that resonates with your audience, they will tune into the fact that you understand their situation. When this occurs, trust is built, and your e-mail message will more likely gain a response.

We’ve tried this across 60 different industries ranging from automotive, marketing, sales, accounting and the concept is the same across the board. Now we’re sure you have already noticed more spam/generic emails hit your inbox over the past few months compared to 12-18 months ago.

This is because business owners like you are starting to realize the full power of LinkedIn and in doing so the number of emails that hit each user’s inbox has dramatically increased. Unfortunately, they are still applying very old and outdated sales techniques so their success rate is little to none.

Now, it is very likely that you receive the same canned message from at least three different people each day. What do you typically do with those messages? Delete them of course.

That is why your message needs to come across differently; otherwise, you simply won’t be heard. To help you achieve this, below we’ve listed 4 tips that you can apply to all your LinkedIn emails going forward.

1. Compelling Subject Line

There are two different types of subject lines that really work on LinkedIn. One is the friendly option. This is where you need to think of your subject line as the introduction to your conversation, or at least give the person a heads up on what you are reaching out to them for.

The other option is the curious approach where you aim to raise enough curiosity within your subject line to entice your contact to open up your email and to find out what it’s all about. When deciding which option to choose it will really depend on your industry, so split test both of these methods across some of your campaigns and measure which one gives you the best response.

2. Make it as personal as possible

Show that you have at least taken 3 seconds to scan their profile before you reach out. Insert the name of their company, the market they serve, a pain point they may have. You may also want to find an interesting article about their particular industry and share that with them as well. (Make sure the publication is reputable.)

In one campaign targeting accountant firms here in Australia, we included a link to an article called, “The Evolution of the Accountant” within one of our LinkedIn emails. We sent this message out to over 500 accountants and as a result, 324 responded to the email.

3. Right timing

LinkedIn is no different to any email broadcast you’ve sent to your subscriber list and database. As you send out more and more emails, start observing which days or times get the most responses.

Record these figures somewhere and then proceed by testing out other days and times, before you know it you will soon realize that there are a few time slots that get the most amounts of responses. Write this down, keep it in a safe place and make sure to only send out emails within those times.

4. Discuss your value proposition

How can you help? Plain and simple. Discuss briefly how working with you can make their life easier.

At the end of the message, ask if they would like to set up an offline conversation via phone or Skype to discuss further. Remember, you do not have to expose your entire offering in one message.

Think of this as a sales process. Your one goal at this point is an e-mail response. You can move your prospect along later to a phone call, face to face meeting etc. But the number one goal here is to get a response.

When doing something like for the first time it can obviously be a little daunting, wondering whether what you’ve done is correct or going to get the result you’re aiming for. To take the guess work out of it, you’re best off outsourcing it to people who have years of experience to ensure you maximise your efforts and also don’t burn opportunities. Remember your first impression can often be your last.