Are You Making These Email Mistakes?

By Henry Gold
Posted Monday, November 8, 2004

Every day, I receive at least 300 emails. I will usually sort them out by checking and deleting every subject line that looks like junk mail.

After sorting through the emails, I am finally able to sit down and reply to those I have received from my customers, friends, and family.

J-unk email usually starts out with:

"Ma^ke $10,000 in 48 hours"

"E-arn $5,000 in 3 days"

"S(uper) su.per V-ia..."

60% of the emails that I receive are coming from spammers... and sometimes it is very difficult for me to distinguish between emails from my clients and those from spammers.

Worse still, I sometimes delete email from people who would like to Joint-Venture with me, as I am unable to recognize where the email has come from.

This creates a lot of frustration for people who would like to approach me personally. Many friends of mine are experiencing the same situation.

If your email starts with the subject line:

"Read this", "Believe Me", "Debt Con-solidation",

"Joint-Venture Proposal", "Urgent Messages", etc.

Guess what?

I wont even read it, as I personally believe that it has come from someone who would like to send me a virus, or who would like to s-pam me with "unsolicited email".

Worse, as a "Block" button starts to become available, I may easily block your address so that I no longer receive emails from you.

=> Here is the reason behind the story above...

This is NOT a story that I have made up by myself. This is what most Internet Marketers do all the time.

People have a habit of opening emails that they receive from their friends, family, clients, and 'warm strangers'.

They tend to filter out every email that looks like a spamming message, so why on earth would you want your emails deleted by those marketers who may work with you in the future.

=> Henry, What should I do to create a legitimate email?

Here are sure ways to get your email read:

1. Put the recipients name in the subject line.

I usually receive emails with subject line like this:

"Joint-Venture Proposal"

"Let's work together"

Most of the emails with these two subject lines above, will definitely go into the spam inbox, because I didn't recognize who you are, and what your intention is. I am concerned that you may be trying to spread a virus into my computer.

=> What should I do, Henry?

Put my first name on it...

"Henry, please review my JV Proposal..."

"Henry, let's work together..."

These are the messages that I will definitely take a look at, as I feel that you know me personally.

Even though I can't recall who you are, I assume that I must have met you in the past.... or maybe I have some problem with my memory. :-)

2. Include your name in the "From" field.

I notice that some webmasters still use the word "Webmaster" in the "From" field. This makes it very difficult for me to distinguish between you and other webmasters, who email me all the time.

I may or may not open your email. At present I have at least 50 people in my mailbox who use "Webmaster" in the "from" field.

I may forget who you are, which makes it awkward if I need to contact you.

If you are one of many people who have sent me your Joint-Venture proposal, I may have already forgotten who you are.

Please put your "Full Name" in the "From" field.

3. Tell me how you found me

As I mentioned in "1" above, I may have a problem with my memory! That being so, you need to refresh my mind as to how you found me, before I click my mouse to delete your email.

For example:

"Hi Henry, this is Michael Wong, the guy you chatted with in JV Seminar.

"Hi Henry, this is Michael Wong, I found your website from the search term "Free Internet Marketing" on MSN.com

It's as simple as that if you want to make me listen to you further.

4. Tell me who you are and what your intention is

As soon as you tell me where you found me, you simply tell me who you are.... so you keep me alert all the time.

Remember though, you only have 10 seconds to convince me who you are or I will most likely delete your email.

So.... Here is the example:

I am a webmaster of (www.domainwithheld.com), an internet clothing company. I would like to find out if we can work together.

I am a subscriber of your "E-GoldNetter" Marketing Newsletter. I would like to find out if we can work together.

This way, I will respect you, and will definitely reply to you with the next click....

5. Don't use bold or color when sending email.

The last things that I dislike about email messages are those sent in colors or font that really annoy my eyes.

Many marketers are working in front of their computer for 10 - 12 hours a day. Sometimes, it is very difficult to distinguish between red and green and if you use bold or even big fonts when sending a letter to marketers, they will feel that this letter is not sincere and will delete it.

Worse still, regardless of how great your writing skill is, they will quickly conclude that it is as an amateur email message.

It means that even though your letter will not go to a spam folder, it will be put in the trash folder.

Be sure you use just a regular font, with a nice neat format when writing email messages, especially when you're sending this letter to marketers who are receiving upwards of 50 - 100 emails per day.

Closing Note: I understand that this may all sound a little harsh, however, my intention, in this article, is to inform you how all well-known marketers sort their email every day.

About the Author
Henry is recognized as one of the most successful Work-At-Home expert. Visit: (http://www.freebiesgroup.com) for free articles on Internet Marketing, Free E-book, software, animation, and more. Too busy to visit? Subscribe to his Free weekly E-goldnetter Marketing: mailto:internetgoldenkey-15470@autocontactor.com