Any tips on writing really effective lead gen emails?

Recently a software company asked me this question, and then proceeded to show me lots of emails that were not working. In quickly reviewing these emails, I noticed there was a lot going on. Lots of energy, lots of questions, lots of pictures, lots of things to do. If your lead generation (or targeted) emails aren't working, here are a few things to try:

1. Make it personal. Imagine you are writing to one person. A real person whose face you can picture and who you can call by name.
2. Simplify. What's the single most important thing you want them to know and take action on? Cut out the rest.
3. Tease. And by tease, I mean, don't tell the whole story. Don't give up every detail. Just give the biggest benefit to the reader, then ...
4. Ask. Be sure to clearly ask them to do something to get more: call, click, download, sign up.
5. Trim the fat. Ask an editor to cut the copy by 25%, while still keeping your main points. You'll get rid of all the unnecessary words that can slow someone down.
6. Respect your audience's time and intelligence. Evaluate the finished product. If you received this email, how would you feel? Is it important? Valuable? Does it make you feel important and valued?

Need help creating a strong content strategy for your ongoing email campaigns? We'd be happy to help.