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24
Making Email Contact with Web 2.0 Entrepreneurs
October 24, 2005 | Anita Campbell
Recently I wrote about using email to cold call. Of course, it isn’t strictly cold calling. A purist would take issue and say (a) it isn’t calling because you don’t actually speak with anyone, and (b) it is too passive.
Points well taken. But in today’s world, and especially with today’s Web 2.0 entrepreneurs and small businesses, email is sometimes the only way to reach them. They may not operate in an office building. And for these “virtual” small businesses, often the only visible place of business is online and they don’t have phone numbers on their websites.
So what makes a good introductory email to get your foot in the door and get to a phone call or an appointment with this new breed of small business owner? Use clues from their website, from running Google searches on them, or what you have heard or read about them.
- Flattery gets you everywhere – Compliment the recipient for a recent panel discussion he or she was on, or perhaps an interview in the news, or the free download on their website, or whatever you can say positive. Everyone likes to be praised. Seeing a subject line like “Enjoyed your interview in ZDNet” surely makes the recipient open it. Just don’t go overboard (”Your whitepaper about manufacturing widgets has changed my life!!!”) or the recipient will think you are being sarcastic and a dork. Be sincere.
- Ask for help – We all love to help, says one veteran at cold calling. An email that asks for help, such as “…intrigued by your talk, and wonder if you know any sources for —?” can make you want to open it. Just make sure your question can lead to a conversation and not a dead end.
- Find something in common – This may sound lame, but an email subject line that refers to your alma mater or some city you’ve lived in is often enough to make you hesitate before hitting that delete button. Something like “Hi, from another Babson College graduate” or “I see you lived in Pittsburgh” can be just enough to make you open the message and respond back.
- Be friendly – Quite a number of times I have responded to emails that start “Greetings from a fellow Ohioan” or “Hello from Acme Fence.” Emails that start with the word “greetings” or “hello” or something similar sound friendly (as long as they are not spammy). Make the first sentence of the message count, as people will use the email preview feature to scan messages to make sure they are not from the deposed Foreign Minister of some small African nation wanting help to claim $50 million.
- Include an invitation – Send an invitation to attend a free talk, or point to a free download or resource you think the recipient might be interested in (even if it is on someone else’s site). If the person is local invite him or her to meet for coffee.
In addition to the above techniques, small business owners and entrepreneurs use LinkedIn to connect with important constituents, prospects, business partners, etc. While the cognoscenti may think LinkedIn is old hat, remember that the vast majority of entrepreneurs and small business owners are not part of the cognoscenti and are still signing up for LinkedIn.
I’ve even been contacted via Skype, instant messenger, blog comments — you name it, and people find a way. The point is, they are using technology to reach these new Web 2.0 entrepreneurs and small businesses.
And finally, remember to make sure you follow the CAN-Spam rules. With regard to CAN-Spam: (1) this is not about blasting out dozens, hundreds or thousands of canned messages, but about a one-on-one effort to introduce yourself, (2) you can’t have a misleading subject line, and (3) be careful about including offers or advertisements in the message since special rules will kick in. The purpose of the email is to engage the recipient’s attention enough to get to a phone call or a meeting, not blast out a marketing offer or sales pitch. Read more about CAN-spam here.
Comments
2 Comments so far
[…] Making Email Contact with Web 2.0 Entrepreneurs […]
Anita, I found this to be some very interesting reading. Alot of great infor on this site…Thanks!