We discussed earlier this month how a well-managed mailing list can make a difference at every point of a recruiter’s job. However, if used incorrectly, email can end up doing more damage than good. Not getting the success you’ve been expecting from your mailing lists? Here are a few reasons why that could be:
You’re Scaring Your Readers
The content of your emails should be supportive and positive. The last thing you want to do is send out an email to your candidates which says their sector is really tough and jobs are sparse. That’s more likely than anything to scare them into taking the first job offer that comes along, whether it’s from you or a competitor; and whether they’re a good fit for it or not.
This doesn’t mean you should provide subscribers with a ‘false positive’, but rather than showing cold, intimidating numbers, put together content which provides suggestions on how to succeed in a tough market. That way you’re managing candidate expectations, whilst also preparing them for future interviews.
Rules like this hold true on the client side as well. You want to project expertise and optimism towards your clients, so make sure that any content and articles you send their way are helpful, and up-to date. Also, do your best to send them your own content, nothing will challenge a client’s trust in your agency than if you’re sending them useful content from a competitor agency’s blog.
Your Subject Line Is Weak
Candidates are used to getting emails with titles like ‘jobs on our site this week’ or ‘all jobs from October’. There’s nothing in these subject lines that make a reader want to open the email. Even worse, they emphasise the fact that the email is untargeted. When you’re writing a recruitment email it’s important to remember that the subject line is the first (and if they’re on their phone, the only) thing a candidate is going to see. So make it good!
Consider the phrasing of your subject line as well. Something like ‘3 AWESOME jobs for engineers this week’ is going to perform much better than ‘engineering jobs in your area’. Just as ‘I think you’ll like this job’ is much more appealing to than ‘you match the talent criteria of this role’. Take the time to write a human subject line, and the results will amaze you.
You’re Not Targeted Enough
Don't send candidates jobs without doing research first. You risk either insulting them with roles that they consider below them, or scaring them off with roles they don’t think they can do. Make sure that when you build a mailing list you’re confident that the recipients will want to read what you’re sending out. If you find that you’re getting a lot of unsubscribes from a mailing list, that’s a sure-fire sign that something isn’t right.
Your Emails Have No Character
Digest emails and job-alerts are hugely useful for recruiters, and a well-managed job-alerts system is always going to be valuable to a jobseeker as well. Without personalisation however, you’re missing out on the chance to make your job alerts perform even better. The most successful job alerts always have some character to them because that makes the candidate immediately feel more engaged with the email’s message. The easiest way to add some character is by personalising your emails, and the best CRM systems will allow you to personalise subject titles, names, and add custom images to the email. Done alongside one another, these three bits of personalisation can be the difference between a candidate clicking on a job advert, or deleting the email when it first arrives.
Most of these steps are easy to put into action, and will have a big impact on how both your clients and candidates will feel about your email campaigns. If you add value, target your audience, and have a great subject line, you should see candidate drop-off reduce, and your personal brand strengthen over time.
