5 Phrases Which Will Get Your Emails Ignored Immediately

As a marketer, I get tons of emails in my corporate email box daily. This is why I never open it in the morning but leave this shallow work for the afternoon.

It's crazy how insistent people can be with emails, even if I never signed up for their offers or expressed an interest.

I spend just a few seconds checking each email and deciding if it's worth my attention or not. Getting dozens of promo emails a day, I decided to share the most common email types I ignore right away.

If you are a business owner, blogger, or entrepreneur, you should better avoid using these phrases in your email.

1. "You might be busy, but please reply."

On average, I get 3–5 follow-ups from the same person, which means I get the exact same offers for a month or two.

Due to a huge workload, some emails might disappear from my list. However, I always reply to the second follow-up in case the offer is promising.

Honestly, two follow-ups are more than enough if you pitch the right audience. Moreover, people will reach out to you on their own if the offer is compelling.

There is no need to spam with multiple follow-ups. It wastes your time, and the recipient gets annoyed by your pitch.

2. " I sent you an invite for a product demo. Why didn't you accept?"

Marketers get very creative when it comes to defining an audience with the lowest intent to buy. Here is a great email example I get from time to time, depending on the websites I visit:

Let's check the logic behind this email. I visited a specific website to read some info about inbound marketing. The next day I've got an email offering me to book a call, chat with a team member, call someone, and reply. What a proactive behavior!

Do I ever reply to such emails? No. Never! The offer is, at no point, relevant. I don't want to buy anything. I did not submit any inquiry. I did not check pricing, and I did not request a trial . I only wanted to read some posts.

Wrong targeting is costly!

3. "Just a ping."

It's my favorite so far. I got this email from a stranger, and it reached my list of top weirdest follow-up emails I've ever got.

If you wonder how the email looked, here it is:

"Ping :)

Best,"

This is it! I did not even bother to check the initial request since the basic rules of business communication should be followed.

I did not respond to this email, but I've got a good mood for the day. Perhaps, this email is not that bad.

4. "I saw you accept guest posts." - No, I don't.

Before you send any collaboration offer, take a few minutes to check a website and be sure you pitch the right audience.

I strive to keep my blog clean and share my blog posts only. I rarely accept external offers.

However, I keep getting these emails:

"Your website states that you accept guest posts. I have a list of great topic ideas for you. Let's collaborate. No payment, just a backlink."

Obviously, I flag these emails as spam to avoid getting future pitches from untrustworthy senders. If people do not dare to check the guidelines, why should I trust them?

5. "Please let me know, or I'll call 911 for you…"

Creativity matters a lot these days.

When conventional "I wanted to follow up" emails do not work, business representatives come up with bizarre yet amusing ideas to improve email open rates.

Surprisingly, it works! Receivers are curious about what the hell it is since it stands out among the rest of the emails in the box.

Look at this lovely email I got from a B2B listing service provider:

Let me confess, I did not only open this email, I even responded to it. However, I did not buy anything from this guy.

I doubt this approach helps to get more meaningful email responses, but their open rate is most likely high.

Follow These Rules to Avoid Being Flagged as Spam

Quantity is not better than quality, even if your competitors continue spamming users with their emails. Most likely, your audience is tired of getting tons of irrelevant emails. This is why they are buried unopened.

This is how you can improve your email performance:

1. Follow business communication rules, always! Impolite, informal, or fun writing styles can sound insulting for some people. If you want to get a response, dedicate some time to writing a compelling email.
2. The subject matters a lot. If everyone sends follow-up emails with the subject, "Let me follow up on my previous email," why are you better than others? Customize your emails with [name] parameters or explicitly say what's the purpose of your follow-up. If the offer is not relevant, even a higher open rate will not help you.
3. Personalize communication. Hubspot calls me from time to time to check if I am ready for collaboration. They have also added me on LinkedIn to make sure I see their offers. It is a "wow" approach when a client feels special. It will not work with guest post emails, but SAAS companies could definitely improve their communication this way.