So I guess we better write better, less-stupid emails when prospecting.    Mark Hunter of “High Profit Prospecting” fame has a great checklist for it on his site today.    Check it out full article HERE.   I signed up the the webinar thing because, well, he wrote a good email and it sounds interesting.

Follow these 10 steps:

1. Will the prospect be able to read the entire email on a smartphone with only “one swipe?”
2. Have I kept the email short enough so the prospect doesn’t have enough information to make their final decision without talking to me first.
3. Do the first 8-10 words of the email grab the prospect’s attention?
4. Have I included a compelling reason / call to action for the prospect to contact me?
5. Have I asked the prospect to call me and have I given them my phone number?
6. Am I providing the prospect with new information / insights / questions they will find valuable?
7. Is the subject truly compelling for the person receiving it?
8. What is my follow-up plan? Am I following the two key words found on every bottle of shampoo: rinse and repeat?
9. Have I made sure I’m not wasting words by adding unnecessary information about me and my company?
10. What does the email look like when I sent it to myself and view it on a smartphone or tablet?

As an extra point to #3, let me relay a copywriting tip I learned a long ago.   Not sure if it was Ogilvy or The Wizard of Words who said it though.   But the point was:   The sole purpose of the first sentence is to get the reader to read the 2nd sentence.   The sole purpose of the 2nd sentence is to get the reader to read the 3rd sentence.   The purpose of the 3rd sentence is get them to read the 4th sentence.