Agenda:
Alternative CTAs
3rd Party Bumps
P.S.’s
Before we jump in, you can upgrade to my paid plan for $5/mo and get instant access to my top 7 email templates (along with 60+ archives and my Q&A).
If you are a paid subscriber, scroll down to the bottom and grab your copy there :)
Alternative CTAs
For a while, everyone was using specific CTAs: How’s 1pm ET this Friday?
Then Gong released data saying interest CTAs worked best: Open to learning more?
But here’s the thing…
Pattern interrupts tend to grow stale. You have to adapt.
Even if interest CTAs aren’t directly asking for time, any prospect who’s communicated with a salesperson knows that if they respond “yes” they’re getting pushed into a meeting.
And sometimes a 30-minute meeting feels like TOO much of an ask. Some prospects need to be warmed up.
That was my hypothesis at least…
So I started testing 2 CTAs with a lower friction ask:
#1: Video CTAs
If interesting, can I send a 1min video?
I created a one-minute static video briefly outlining the problem Mailshake solves and how.
If someone responded "yes", I'd send the following template:
Sounds great! Here's that vid explaining how it works.
Once you watch it, can you let me know (a) not of interest right now or (b) worth a chat?
Thanks so much!
Yes, I have to take extra steps to get a meeting. But the 2x increase in replies makes it worth it.
#2: Offer-Based CTA
You’ve likely heard the phrase “give before you take” in sales.
A demo/discovery call usually feels more like a take than a give to the prospect.
To change this (and invite more replies) I started using offers in my CTA.
For example, part of Mailshakes solution is email deliverability. So instead of a “meeting” or “demo” usually we offer “deliverability audits”.
It’s more of a value add to the prospect. As a result, they reply more!
Think about the insights you have from working at your company. How can you package that into a consultative offer?
Here are some examples for other companies:
PandaDoc: send us your proposal template and we'll give you custom feedback based on data from our 40k customers.
LeadIQ: send us your ICP and we'll give you a list of data to run side by side with your current provider.
3rd Party Bumps
Shoutout to the Lavender team and Kristina Finseth for this tip :)
For my bump emails (emails that reply to a thread “bumping” them to the top of the inbox), I like to provide resources related to the problem we solve.
For example, I’ve always shared Mailshakes free Cold Email Academy. Problem is, it’s coming from Mailshake! The company trying to sell them something.
So I started sharing resources from other sources to see if it would build more credibility and trust with my prospects.
So far the impact on our reply rate for later-stage emails has been HUGE.
For example, Mailshake has a spam word checker built into our sequencer. I could share OUR article explaining why spam words are bad for deliverability.
OR...
I could share Hubspot's article, "394 Email Spam Trigger Words to Avoid in 2023". And then I can follow up letting them know our platform avoids these words automatically.
Here’s the template:
[name] - did you see Hubspot's 394 spam trigger words to avoid in your sequences?
We removed them from our email copy and open rates increased 11%+.
Happy to send the list.
The key is NOT providing the resource in your email.
Why?
Because (a) the link will hurt your deliverability and (b) you want to encourage the prospect to respond.
Instead of sharing resources from your company, find a credible source in your industry and share its resources.
P.S.’s
I’ve always loved using a P.S. in my emails.
Here are 4 ways I use them:
#1: Calling out something personal that doesn't tie into my value prop
P.S. saw you were homeschooled, me too!
#2: Pointing the prospect to another channel
P.S. I connected on LinkedIn if you prefer to chat there!
#3: Offering an alternative CTA
P.S. I can send over a short vid if you prefer that
Or
P.S. let me know if you think [colleauge’s name] would make more sense to speak with
#4: Offering an out
P.S. if it isn't relevant feel free to lmk and I'll stop
Speaking of Lavender… they just released data showing that using a P.S. has a huge effect on reply rates:
Thanks for reading!
Jed
Here’s your copy of my top 7 email templates. Enjoy!
So 🔥