4 Tips to Keep Emails from Landing in Your Client’s Spam Folders
I recently read a helpful article from Honeybook on this topic and realized I needed to change how I write email messages to my clients so those messages don’t end up in their spam folders. It would help if you didn’t make the same mistakes I’ve been making for the past eight years, so I’m passing these golden nuggets on to you so you can start implementing them immediately. Your clients deserve a luxury experience that shouldn’t include digging through spam.
The basis of this article is that an email has a better chance of landing in your client’s inbox, instead of spam, if it starts and ends with professional content. Honeybook tells us that even the slightest change can make a significant impact. So, consider these four tips when crafting your email messages to clients.
Limit the Number of Links, Symbols, Emojis, and Exclamation Marks
I’m most guilty of this mistake. I tend to add a lot of exclamation marks to show my clients how excited I am about their wedding day. But Honeybook tells us that excessive links, symbols, emojis, or exclamation marks may set off spam-detecting software.
Now, instead of ending every other sentence with three exclamation marks and several emojis, I omit the emojis altogether and save one exclamation mark for the end of the paragraph, if at all.
Links are helpful and necessary, but I also ensure I’m not overdoing them where they aren’t needed.
Personalize the Introduction
Avoid starting emails with impersonal greetings like "dear" or "my friend," as software can detect these terms as spam.
Instead, use the client’s first name to be more personal. Honeybook allows users to create email templates with dynamic field placeholders so that the client’s first name is automatically added to the email. This automation reduces the risk of mistyping their name. Bonus! A typo in the client’s name is the worst type.
This personal touch can also improve the chances of your clients opening your email.
Avoid All Capital Letters
Spam software is more likely to flag your email as spam if words, phrases, or sentences ARE TYPED IN ALL CAPS.
Sentence case is best, especially in your email subject lines. If you need to emphasize a point, try using bold type in the body of the email instead of all caps.
Proofread
Many members of LPS know that I call myself the Typo Queen. But now that I know that software can detect multiple misspellings or incorrect grammar as spam in my emails, I am much more careful about double-checking before I click send.
I also recently downloaded Grammarly. It has been a game-changer for me in all of my writing outlets and I’m even considering getting the premium version soon. If grammar is an issue for you, I suggest getting at least the free version of Grammarly as well.
You can also run your email through ChatGPT or another free AI program that will help you brush up on grammar. Be specific and let it know it is a professional email and that you would like it to maintain a personal vibe. You might be surprised at what a good job it does making suggestions for you!
I hope this information will help your photography business flourish by ensuring your emails don’t get lost on the way to the client. Nothing is more frustrating than getting ghosted by a dream client. Imagine how they feel if they think you never responded to their inquiry because your email went to spam.
If there is one thing we love at LPS, it’s helping our photographers achieve their goals and applauding those achievements as a group. Our LPS+ Members have access to little golden nuggets of information just like this at Office Hours, live online. We’d love to applaud your successes there, too.
