I often have people ask me what Sharp Guys’ does.  Over the years, I have gotten a bit better giving my elevator pitch, but I don’t think I have perfected it yet.  For example, I might say something similar to what you’ll find on this website’s about section –

“Sharp Guys Web Design is an Indianapolis Web Design and digital marketing agency servicing small to mid-size businesses with their web design, online advertising, digital marketing plans, and more.  Our priority is to provide local companies the digital marketing resources they need to improve their brand, acquire new business, and engage their audience.”

Or, if I am speaking to my aunt, I’ll say, “we build websites”.

How Do You Talk About Your Company When Sending Email?

The time you have on the elevator is many moments longer than you’ll have when someone glances at your email while checking it from their phone.  And if you are sending out email marketing to prospective clients and current clients like I strongly suggest, it may make sense to spend some time looking at your current email messaging.  Is it too verbose?  Are there things you want people to know but are leaving out?  Are you making your best pitch right upfront or is it further down in the copy?  Below are a few tips to take what you have, improve it easily and make a big difference in your email efficacy.

Are you split testing your subject lines?  If your list is just a few hundred contacts, this may not be relevant since the statistical accuracy at those numbers is questionable.  However, if you are sending 5,000 or more emails at a time, you shouldn’t be sending email without testing your subject line.  In most email marketing software, this split testing takes just a moment to set up and could result in huge returns.

Are you utilizing bolded lettering and underlined letters when appropriate and at the appropriate level?  If you are capitalizing everything and underlining every other word, that is probably not the appropriate level.  However, you should call attention to your email’s call to action and to the things you want to be sure people will read.  Make sure to use headers and sub headers appropriately.  People read those first and if they are interesting enough, they may actually read your copy.

Are you using excerpts?  If you are sending out a newsletter with news stories, you may want to put the most interesting excerpts within the email like this, “…and he made over $250,000 just by using…”  This will drive traffic back to your website (which is likely one of the reasons you are sending an email in the first place).

One final thing, using bullet points can work great to draw attention to key points.  Just don’t use bullet points for bullet points.

• Great Usage
  • Fine Usage
    • Misguided Usage
      • Crazy amount of bullet point usage

Just remember that no matter how great of writer you are, the time recipients spend with your email is going to be far less than the time you spend on it.  Make the most of what little attention span people will use to read it and get your points across quickly and with some gusto.  You’ll have better results and increase your recipient’s engagement.