It’s amazing how many unsolicited emails I get from businesses who don’t even take the time to learn my name when contacting me.
As the purveyor of a growing podcast about filmmaking and a website that’s a resource for professional creatives, I get quite a bit of unsolicited emails from companies who want my business. I get emails like this (this is an actual email):
Subject: Can We Connect?
Greetings,
Trust you are doing well. Out of respect for your time I thought an email would be less intrusive than an unannounced phone call. We noticed that your website has a lot of untapped potential. We identified several SEO parameters on which, your site could significantly improve on to not just enhance visibility on search engine but drive traffic that will eventually increase sales. We have all this in an easy to understand audit report which we would like to share with you and may be a quick 15 minutes free consultation call to help you optimize your website.
If you are interested in the free of cost and no obligations report, please reply to this email and one of our consultants will share the report.
Best,
I get it. It’s a numbers game. You have to cut and paste perhaps a hundred of these emails a day just to get a few bites. So heaven forbid if you were to take an extra few minutes to at LEAST learn the first name of the person to whom you’re soliciting. It’s not very hard on my site to learn who’s running it. (This person even used an email address that has my name IN the email address. That means they either didn’t notice and/or didn’t bother to actually address me by person in the email. Neither bode well if you want my business).
If sending out unsolicited emailS is your tactic for gaining business, there’s no shade. I don’t have an issue with that technique in and of itself. But take a few extra minutes to find out the name of the person to whom you’re writing. Better yet, add some small tidbit of information that suggests you’ve done at least a modicum of research on what they do. (I love it when I get emails from other video companies telling me how important video is for my business. I’m like, “DUDE! Really? You’re that disconnected from your prospect that you don’t know they freaking do the EXACT SAME THING YOU’RE SELLING THEM?!” EESH!)
Also, try to make your email as targeted as possible. If the company is larger, make sure you’re contacting the right person and not just sending it to the just CEO because he or she shared their email address publicly. If you want to do a marketing video or commercial photography work, chances are the person you should contact is a VP or other high-level manager. These kind of personalized customizations are even more important if you’re selling a higher-priced service or product.
In today’s world of social media overload and spam, it’s the little touches that make all the difference. So, if you’re going to send me an unsolicited email to pitch me a service, at least use my name. I’ve made it easy for you. Just look at the image on this blog post.
Good luck!
