question Poll: Emails to End Users - Long or Short

[tomcarl]

Experienced/pro-active domainers:

What do you find works better for you when emailing potential end users for your domain names? (which style of email do you find you get greater responses/sales)

• Longer, more detailed emails?
• Shorter, straight to the point emails?

Feel free to share some examples, stories, or reasons as to why you believe which is more effective.

 

[N-A]

Short and to the point, should be read in under 30 seconds, peak interest and fill a need. Or, it's to the trash can.

If someone has questions based off your pitch, you can elaborate a little longer in a reply.

 

[equity78]

Good question Tom, I would say the majority of people I have spoken to over the years agree with David. Attention spans are short, if it is a good name it does not need to be explained in depth.

Wait for a question and then go into detail, if you can pick up the phone.

 

[bmugford]

Shorter is better. The longer it is the more likely it is to get deleted.

If you want to make a longer pitch, make it in response to interested parties, not with the initial contact.

Brad

 

[N-A]

I wouldn't necessarily blame it on humans having an attention span shorter than a goldfish, rather a company usually sets tasks for the 9-5 day prior and they will have to squeeze you in unexpectedly. If long and doesn't get to the point, you're costing them money in the form of lost productivity.

 

[TotalWebsites]

Go look through your spam folder. If you own a decent amount of domains, you should have hundreds of domain sales emails in there. Now, do the exact opposite of what's in all of them.

Just make it look like you're a real person that has specifically singled them out as the ideal enduser of the domain. Don't try to sell them on anything or embellish how great of a domain it is. Limit any keywords that relate to "sales" "traffic" "offer" "deal" and things to that nature. That will get picked up by a spam filter and look spammy to the actual enduser if it does make it through.

Here's a quick example off my head for the domain houstonautosales.com

Subject: Houston Auto Sales (keywords of the domain/industry of the enduser)

John, (you should have found their name in your research)

Hope everything is going great. My name is John Doe and I'm the owner of HoustonAutoSales.com. It would be a very beneficial asset for an auto business like "Insert Business Name", so I wanted to reach out to you personally.

You can reach me here or at (111) 111-1111 to further discuss any details at a time that is convenient for you.

Best regards,
John Doe

You can shape it however you want from there, but you get the general idea.

 

[tomcarl]

I guess my personal experience is the opposite of what seems to work for the majority. Or perhaps people are defining long emails as the normal boring and spammy sounding emails and not the carefully crafted ones.

I notice when I send short and to the point emails I get far less responses, even once in a blue a negative response, or those short, 2-word "How much?" responses. And I know for a fact it is not my domain name that isn't good because it is obviously superior to theirs.

On the other hand, when I send more personalized and detailed emails I receive *a lot more* responses by them taking the time to express they're not interested with messages similar to "Thank you for contacting me Tom, but we're not interested.....following an explanation and a Good luck" or more detailed responses when asking for the price like "Tom, it's a good name but, etc, etc, how much?"

For me personally when I send emails that are only a few sentences, it comes across as cheap 'spam' regardless how good the name is ...even though those few emails are personalized. I feel like I am conveying "You are just one on a big list, here is the name, if you like it you like it, if you don't you don't, but I placed myself into your inbox anyway for a quick plug. Good bye"

Now I have experience in sales before domaining, in retail, cold calling, etc, and it seems the short and to the point emails go against everything I've studied for years about sales.

I agree that a good name doesn't deserve explanation and it should sell itself, but I also believe if you present a dish of thousand dollar caviar on a garbage pail lid compared to a silver platter or fine aged wine in a beer mug compared to a crystal glass, it takes away from it's value or appreciation, and by a lot. I don't see the difference when presenting a domain name.

If you allow your end user to grasp what your personality is they will be a lot more open to dealing with you. You can know or respect someone and they can accidentally spill a tray of food on you and you'd both laugh and make jokes about it, yet someone you don't know could bother you by just tapping a fork on a glass.

I believe it's vital in any sales email that the receiver gets an idea of what your personality is, that's called making a rapport and I don't think that's possible in a few sentences.

Again this is only what works for me, but I can believe and appreciate those who share what works for them.

 

[TotalWebsites]

Hmm I posted a reply but it says awaiting moderation..?

Edit: I guess the forums spam filter went off or something lol

 

[RaiderGirl]

Are the emails unique, targeted to specific end users? or are you mass mailing end users with a general letter?

 

[equity78]

I think whatever works for someone is what they gravitate to, I have had people and it wasn't a sales pitch say, when I looked at the email and saw how long it was (three paragraphs) I immediately deleted it sorry, don't have time to read long emails.

Some people think long emails are more spammy others think short, but TL,DR has become such a popular phrase that I have read noted scientists and other academics posting a summary that was three lines because they know many just aren't going to read it.

I see the same thing in publishing, there are people who will say WOW, I appreciate that 3,000 word blog post, I know a lot of effort went into that, thank you, Others will say WTF? TL,DR don't have the time to read your mini novel, no offense.

So its all a contstant try and see what works the most.

 

[tomcarl]

Hmm I posted a reply but it says awaiting moderation..?

Edit: I guess the forums spam filter went off or something lol

Looks a lot better than what I'd usually receive from spammers.

 

[N-A]

I notice when I send short and to the point emails I get far less responses, even once in a blue a negative response, or those short, 2-word "How much?" responses.

I'd take a 2-word, "how much" every day over a lengthy question reply. They're getting straight to the point with you. It's a mutual thing. You're not wasting their time and they won't waste yours if it's too high.

On the other hand, when I send more personalized and detailed emails I receive *a lot more* responses by them taking the time to express they're not interested with messages similar to "Thank you for contacting me Tom, but we're not interested.....following an explanation and a Good luck" or more detailed responses when asking for the price like "Tom, it's a good name but, etc, etc, how much?"

I think this answered your own question, keep it short and sweet while driving the point through if you get more of non-interest vs. the long drawn out "how much" email that can be a tire kicker or low baller. With A/B testing of the two, which one actually resulted in both higher and satisfactory (the price you wanted) sales?

I'd probably run with what worked best.

I see the same thing in publishing, there are people who will say WOW, I appreciate that 3,000 word blog post, I know a lot of effort went into that, thank you

I have to say that I am an "end user" of reading; whether industry news or news in general, and if they can't hook me in the first 2-3 paragraphs with great writing (as many people deliver the news and I can find a shorter message stating the same thing)-I'm hitting the back button. Forbes is notorious for having long, paged articles. However, Forbes delivers quality content that flows from great authors.

Not saying your writing is bad, don't have a 3000 word article to start reading and see. :P

 

[AEProgram]

Rude emails work real good

Template

To whom this may concern

If you are smart enough to know how to read emails, I am confident you are smart enough to know your domain name suc*s real bad. After discussing it with my business associates we all concluded that it's impossible that you picked such a garbage domain name without putting in massive amounts of effort.

Your competition as I am sure you know, all have domain names that are 50000x better than yours, hence their business is rocking while you are sitting there with your junk domain, begging friends and family to go visit your website and mention you on their pathetic FB pages.

Business owners claim they like honesty, well here you go, I shot you the most honest thing anyone will ever tell you about your online web presence.

Now that I go your attention and trust, let me tell you about an opportunity I highly doubt you will take advantage of, but my morals won't allow me to not at least try knocking some sense into your little head.

I have a domain name, yes that means a website address, that will finally get your business looking good online. It is a domain people can easily remember and spell. In addition it won't take up 80% of the width of your business card.

The domain is .......... you pay via a secure method like paypal or escrow and you have the domain it your account within 5-7 days.

There is zero risk on your end, so don't start with any silly excuses about who you can trust online.

The amount I am charging for this name makes me seem like some desperate fool, but I am far from that, I price my domains very reasonable as to further avoid allowing you to come up with an excuse that involves the price being too high.

If you cut back on a few visits to your local w**re house or dominatrix, you will have the money needed for this domain. The good news is, as this domain helps you build your business you will be able to increase the visits to your local WH and also possibly upgrade the quality if you know what I mean jellybean.

Anyway, enough with the nice sweet talk, email me back as to what method of payment you prefer and let's get your business looking good online.

Respectfully Yours
Sir Joe Schmore Ph.D

--

Happy Halloween Everyone! ​

 

[MasterOfMyDomains]

Many thanks to http://robsequin.com/ who had the following sales pitch on his site before, free, sharing his knowledge.

Hello,
Since you are in the _________ business, I thought you might like to know that I am selling the domain name _________ .
This domain can be forwarded to your existing site to capture some pre-qualified leads from people who type in the domains into their browser.
This domain should serve work to your advantage in the search engines and in Internet and offline marketing campaigns.
This is a very short term, first come first served opportunity. I am contacting other _________ businesses today about this opportunity.
I will sell this domain today for _________.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us by email or telephone.
Summary with your contact info.

 

[equity78]

I'd take a 2-word, "how much" every day over a lengthy question reply. They're getting straight to the point with you. It's a mutual thing. You're not wasting their time and they won't waste yours if it's too high.


I think this answered your own question, keep it short and sweet while driving the point through if you get more of non-interest vs. the long drawn out "how much" email that can be a tire kicker or low baller. With A/B testing of the two, which one actually resulted in both higher and satisfactory (the price you wanted) sales?

I'd probably run with what worked best.


I have to say that I am an "end user" of reading; whether industry news or news in general, and if they can't hook me in the first 2-3 paragraphs with great writing (as many people deliver the news and I can find a shorter message stating the same thing)-I'm hitting the back button. Forbes is notorious for having long, paged articles. However, Forbes delivers quality content that flows from great authors.

Not saying your writing is bad, don't have a 3000 word article to start reading and see. :P

Thanks for the comment David, I think there are people out there that don't read long articles when the first paragraph is a great hook, I have seen it on many sites, many different niches, some people see a long article and just don't read it. Then you get people who criticize a 300 word article as too short, not enough substance, there is a lot of testing as to the right formula. I agree with you on Forbes and that is a great example because I will read a 5,000 plus word article, but have friends who never read Forbes articles I forward solely based on length, one was about Fantasy Sports and this person lives for Fantasy Sports but the article was very long so they read the headline and the clicked off the article.

@MasterOfMyDomains I think that is very good.

 

[N-A]

@equity78 maybe some people do have the attention of a goldfish and others want to know as much detail as possible. I suppose we can't all be the same.

As far as emails go, I believe that short and to the point is best (as it's worked for me) and businessperson's (politically correct) are busy. They don't have time for an unsolicited pitch if it takes more than ~30 seconds to speed read and be able to process quickly. It may be different if you could get them on the phone or see them face to face and pitch (probably better for geo's and $$$$+ names if you're going F2F/B2B). That way the hook, line and sinker could be accomplished in one handshake over lunch or over the phone with some good rapport that's not text. Then you have a better potential of cross-selling other services in the future.

@AEProgram not sure if serious or joking. Email correspondence in the same company written in that manner gets things done quickly. However, I've never insulted someone in order to make a sale. It's highly advisable to never insult intelligence (F2F sales), even if you're thinking that the pet rock made by your daughter on your desk is smarter than them, you just nod, agree and try and shift the topic to a hard close on what they're saying so they seem like they got a damn good deal.

 

[JB Lions]

Where's the option for medium.

 

[tomcarl]

@equity78 maybe some people do have the attention of a goldfish and others want to know as much detail as possible. I suppose we can't all be the same.

Exactly. Which is why I think longer initial emails are the way to go, from my point of view. It just makes more sense.

I think an experienced end user that knows about domains has already made the decision from the second that they read your domain regardless how many lines of text come after that, whether it be 2 sentences or 30, so you're not losing this guy, if he's legitimately busy he'll simply skim past the rest of your email and hit the reply button. On the other hand the opposite who wants as much detail as possible will appreciate the additional information, the one who otherwise would've clicked "Delete" after only reading a 3 sentence email because he wasn't persuaded enough or made aware of the benefits.

You're actually losing out on that buyer who reads everything and is able to be sold on a pitch, and there are many out there, while the experienced and already interested businessperson who didn't have the time or desire to read a longer email will skip right past your pitch and to the "reply button".

But I think if the domain can truly sell itself and it's going to interest someone, they'll read.

People love to read about things that already interests them, I would assume being smart means doing your due diligence on something you're interested in acquiring and if the seller is laying everything out professionally in black and white in the very first email, what you are actually doing is not wasting their time, you're saving them time from having to reply and ask the obvious questions and then waiting for your response.

Just make sure it's carefully crafted with useful info and not all fluff. If you're not capable of crafting such an email, you should stick with something shorter because then it can work against you.

 

[AEProgram]

@equity78 maybe some people do have the attention of a goldfish and others want to know as much detail as possible. I suppose we can't all be the same.

As far as emails go, I believe that short and to the point is best (as it's worked for me) and businessperson's (politically correct) are busy. They don't have time for an unsolicited pitch if it takes more than ~30 seconds to speed read and be able to process quickly. It may be different if you could get them on the phone or see them face to face and pitch (probably better for geo's and $$$$+ names if you're going F2F/B2B). That way the hook, line and sinker could be accomplished in one handshake over lunch or over the phone with some good rapport that's not text. Then you have a better potential of cross-selling other services in the future.

@AEProgram not sure if serious or joking. Email correspondence in the same company written in that manner gets things done quickly. However, I've never insulted someone in order to make a sale. It's highly advisable to never insult intelligence (F2F sales), even if you're thinking that the pet rock made by your daughter on your desk is smarter than them, you just nod, agree and try and shift the topic to a hard close on what they're saying so they seem like they got a damn good deal.

hey i was joking, id never email that to anyone

 

[webm]

Most of my sales have come from:

--
Hello,

Would you be interested in Domain.com ?

(My Name & Contact Details)
----

That's it. I had tried several variations of "this name could do magic for you" "you are spending bla bla on advertising for this bla bla keyword" "Since you already hold willy, why not have nilly" etc etc - but my personal experience is, that either they want or they don't - as simple as that. If they even smell that we are trying to push something their throat, they become negative in an instant and there you lost your remaining opportunity.

My 2 cents.

 

[tomcarl]

Only problem with that is spam filters are going to snap that 1 sentence email right up, with gmail anyway.

My spam folder is filled with them.

 

[N-A]

with gmail anyway.

All of this is subjective to how you have your mail settings on your domain and if you're a "trusted" mail deliverer.

For instance, send 25,000 messages like that through AWeber and it's going to get to the inbox. They may unsubscribe like hotcakes, which would tip off AWeber that you may be spamming and then have an inquiry if those were opt-in or not, followed by a suspension...

But, if you're doing B2B emails all the time with Hotmail (is by far more notorious for blocking) and other providers such as Gmail, you should be alright because all "sound" spammy whether it be short or long with AI reading the email and judging if it's spam or not (AI automatically says it's not if from IP X and other variables filled). That's more of a mailing topic (though not mass mail as you could have sent only 10 emails to Hotmail and got yourself blocked).

 

[FPForum]

If we're talking initial emails they need to be short. Maybe once you hear back from an interested party you can go into more details and make things a little longer, but never in the initial email!

 

[DomainVP]

Most of my sales have come from:

--
Hello,

Would you be interested in Domain.com ?

(My Name & Contact Details)
----

That's it. I had tried several variations of "this name could do magic for you" "you are spending bla bla on advertising for this bla bla keyword" "Since you already hold willy, why not have nilly" etc etc - but my personal experience is, that either they want or they don't - as simple as that. If they even smell that we are trying to push something their throat, they become negative in an instant and there you lost your remaining opportunity.

My 2 cents.

Are these typically $x,xxx sales; above or below?

I usually write a 'long' email and a typical sale will be $1500 to $7,000 closing within 3 to 5 days of initial contact.

I'm going to start experimenting with the short method, but I have a feeling that there are a fair amount of $100 buyers that will waste your time using that method.

What is your general experience?

 

[webm]

Are these typically $x,xxx sales; above or below?

I usually write a 'long' email and a typical sale will be $1500 to $7,000 closing within 3 to 5 days of initial contact.

I'm going to start experimenting with the short method, but I have a feeling that there are a fair amount of $100 buyers that will waste your time using that method.

What is your general experience?

I do agree that most most of these sales were XXX - however, even for higher amount of sale didn't seem have any influence from the length of the initial pitch.