I just got an email from some kind of research library service.
Huge logo at the top. Then:
“Hello,
We hope you are enjoying a safe and prosperous start to autumn.”
Within nine words, I know I’m being served a spam email blast.
“I am excited to share with you a sneak peek at our next generation product release:”
Great you’re excited. But who are you guys?
After that last colon, they then launched into around 1,000 words of features and benefits, including pricing breakdown (bullet points), and, expected price rises in the future.
I’ve flicked through this email a couple of times, and I still have no idea who they really are, or what I can do with their service. Somehow though, it seems like a legitimate business.
In the last sentence:
“If you haven’t visited our site in a while, please come back and see all the new features and capabilities. Regards, Paul. CEO”
Since I’ve never heard of them, “coming back” is a big ask.
It doesn’t matter who we’re writing to or creating for, whether it’s an email blast or an individual. A few things remain true:
- We can write as if we know who we’re writing to (because we should know!)
- If it’s an email blast, we don’t need to pretend like it’s personal. Faux personalisation is felt. It’s better to just be clear it’s a blast.
- We can focus on what the email/video does for them rather than our features and benefits
- How do we want people to feel when they use our service? Can we create this feeling here? In our language?
- Sometimes we need to provide an update… We can’t always bring “value.” But, we can always create meaning, relevance and emotion.
We put a lot of time into emails or other business or formal correspondence. We may as well go all the way and cultivate a bit of empathy for the reader on the other side.
