WWYD? Deconstructing Spam Emails

If your cold outreach emails are ending up in the recipient’s spam folder, you’re probably wondering why that is and what you can do to prevent it from happening in the future. We’re going to deconstruct two examples of emails we received that either ended up in our spam folder or just weren’t effective at grabbing our attention. Every single email campaign is different, but there are a few things you can do to every message to improve engagement. We’ll provide specific feedback about what changes we would make to the messages below and hope they inspire you to reevaluate your emails once more before sending them! Let’s get started.

Email Message 1:

​​Hi Sarah,

I'm the Managing Editor for [company name] and first I want to say that I haven't added you to any mailing list, nor will I sell/give your info to anyone else.

Do you sometimes use freelance copywriters? If so, are you tired of them missing deadlines or just disappearing altogether?

Well, we have a group of copywriters that provide content for a range of clients, from blogs about plastic surgery to marijuana and everything in-between, to landing pages and press releases.

Our rate is just .13 per word and we strive to always turn in quality work within 48 hours of assignment.

If this sounds like something you'd like to hear more about, let's set a time to talk by phone.

Thanks Sarah, I hope you have a great rest of your week.

P.S. I really am a real person on this end. When not writing for our clients, I write my own fiction and work on GeekInsider.com, where I delve in all sorts of Geekness LOL.

Our first thoughts on this email? It’s WORDYYYY. Way too wordy.

If you’re sending this long of an email to a busy executive, they’re most likely not going to read it. Most people will skim the email at the bare minimum, but likely won’t read it thoroughly or respond at all. You should get your main point across in 1-2 sentences so the reader knows your goal right away. So, what would we have done with this email to make it more effective?

In the photo above,  you’ll see all of the changes we suggest this particular company make.

The final message would look like this:

Hi Sarah,

I see that Boundless Media is expanding like crazy and the content that you are putting out has real value.

Curious, are you missing any writing/copy deadlines for yourself or your clients?

Does next week work to connect?

P.S. When not writing for our clients, I write my own fiction and work on GeekInsider.com, where I delve in all sorts of Geekness LOL.

Ideally, we would make it even more personalized than this, but it would work well for a more mass-market approach.

The second email we received ended up in our spam email for one main reason. They sent it from a personal Gmail account rather than from their company’s domain. This sets off a red flag to Google, regardless of how legit your business is. Let’s read their message and see where we can help them improve.

Hey Larissa,

Companies across the globe are witnessing some disruptions in their operations & service delivery due to lack of projects, in-house talent, and so on!

This is where we would like to pitch in.

We are a Full-Service Digital Agency and have helped countless agencies like Boundless Media across North America to reduce their service delivery costs and expedite critical projects. We work as your silent delivery partner and help in delivering your existing projects on time while you can focus on acquiring new clients.

Our team of 300+ in-house experts includes:

• Web App Developers - For all major CMS and custom frameworks
• Mobile App Developers - iOS, Android, and Hybrid
• CMS & eCommerce Developers - Shopify, Magento WordPress, & Drupal
• Graphic Designers - UI/UX & Landing Pages
• QA Experts - Manual & Automation

Larissa, can we connect over a 15 minutes call this week to discuss how we can help in expanding Boundless Media’s capabilities at reduced costs?

Let me know,

Calie

Location: US | India

This is how we would have written the email:

So what’s the final message?

Hey Larissa,

Saw Boundless Media is using Airtable, Hubspot, and Slack — love seeing that move to more automation!

Curious, are you looking to streamline all these systems to reduce costs?

Love to connect to show you how you can do this (even without hiring us), does Tuesday work?

Cheers,

THE RIGHT NAME (The original message was sent from one person and the signature had a completely different name. It’s the small details that make a difference!)

At the end of the day, you need to keep a few things in mind when crafting your messages. You need to think about who you’re reaching out to and how much time they have in their day to read emails. A CEO of a company isn’t going to read your email if it’s long and you only focus on yourself. But they might take the time to read a shorter email that’s focused on them and getting their problems solved. Your emails should add value and generate trust between you and the reader.

If you want any help crafting your emails or even want someone to review one before sending it, don’t hesitate to reach out. You can book a call here or send an email to nico@getboundlessmedia.com.

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