You can dramatically increase the effectiveness of your communication in 30 seconds to get more email responses. When writing your email next time, remove as many “I” references as possible and focus on “you.” It sounds subtle, maybe even useless, but this high-focus approach works wonders.
What is high-focus language?
Joe Thomas teaches about what he calls “high focus language;” this approach will get you more email responses and even phone calls.
Framing communication as beneficial for the recipient is a part of great communications, marketing, or sales process. The idea isn’t that surprising, BUT using high-focus language in addition to a focus on the recipient, connects the dots and spoon feeds your audience on that value.
Why does this matter?
Those you want to influence are distracted. Even if you offer a valuable product or service at an incredible price, the person you’re reaching out to is likely to completely miss the opportunity. Think about it for a few seconds. You operate in a low-energy capacity when using email. Can you even remember the last email you read? Probably not, and your customer is no different.
High-focus language gets you more email responses
Restructuring your sentences using high-focus language will make your message stand out. It is a striking difference to the recipient and an “in your face” trigger that lets your audience know “THIS IS VALUABLE FOR YOU.”
To use high focus effectively, comb through your entire email and make sure the reader is addressed repeatedly. Make sure the word “you” appears, and remove any references to “I.” Here are two versions of a cold email pitch I wrote. The first is low-focus, meaning the writer (me) was the primary focus. The second version is high-focus, meaning the recipient was the primary focus. The high-focus version is what I sent, and the person responded favorably in 3 hours.
When was the last time you got a favorable cold email reply in 3 hours? It’s likey Joe Thomas would have encouraged the removal of “I” entirely from this example, but complete removal of self isn’t necessary. Just make sure the recipient is the primary focus, and you will see more email responses instantly.
Low Focus Email Example
Hi Bill,
I looked you up after getting an email about widgets. I would love to be considered to amplify your message. I could get you some big PR wins. Can I schedule a phone call with you to discuss this?
~ Justin
High Focus Email Example
Hi Bill,
I looked you up after getting an email about widgets. Have you considered amplifying your story? Your company could get some big PR wins. What would it look like to start a dialogue with you on this?
~ Justin
How to get more email responses
High-focus language will grab the attention of your desired audience and serves a secondary purpose as a value guide for you, the writer. If you have trouble using high-focus language, it might be that your message isn’t valuable in the first place.
Using high-focus language and focusing on the reader will dramatically increase the rate of returned emails.
Did you find this post valuable? Can you guess why? 😉 It’s because high focus was used the entire post. Write like this, and you will get more email responses in no time.
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