The simplest way to get a response to your email

How do you get someone’s attention through email? For years I’ve always used “My Pants are on Fire! Beats the heck outta me, but it works. Don’t ask me why. Try it next time you need a response from your boss.

When the world was a lot less politically correct, pretty much anything that had to do with sex, sexy, steamy or any combination there of was an attention better. Same thing for headlines. But unless you’re working/writing for Cosmopolitan, I’m pretty sure your email will go straight the trashcan. The challenge we all face is how to persuade. How to get the person on the other end to allocate us 5-8 seconds of their time or whatever the latest demographics tell us.

Email Logic 101

I never thought there was a method to the madness of writing emails. But apparently there is. According to an article on Inc (which actually borrows liberally from one written on the always knowledgeable blog at Hubspot), we mere mortals in the crowd fall victim to a handful of email foibles:

1. The subject is no good
The focus of the subject line is to broad and focuses on the wrong goal.

Remember, the goal here is about getting a response, not closing a deal.

2. Sending emails at the wrong time.
Recent data reveals that the worst days for open rates are Monday and Tuesday, and the best email send days are Saturday and Sunday. There’s an interesting dichotomy here, because while email open rates are drastically higher over the weekend, it’s important to note that far fewer emails are sent over the weekend as well.

3. Using a generic address
Where’s the humanity? To hear from a real person it helps to be a real person. So cank the business account or company name.

Get writing!

Remember, 50% of all emails are opened within the first 24 hours. After that, you’re pinning your hopes on fantasy. Timing is everything, but also what you say and how you say it!