pumpkinslayer

The previous analysis of a download notification from a lead magnet download form showed one example of an autoresponder email message for a download link request. This time the context is different, which doesn’t shift the whole intent, but changes the approach in subtle ways.

Email Context

The context of an email is important because it indicates different levels of trust and thus how much you can ask for or give to the lead. You can gauge how much they have invested in the process up until now.

In this case, I have already signed up as a member of this site. That means I’ve gone through the hassle of entering all my contact information, then clicking on the confirmation link email. If I was a potential customer, I am probably slightly more invested at this point than a once-off downloader.

Let’s take a dive into the download notification email.

Good

I like quite a lot about this email. It gets to the point and doesn’t sound too corporate.

Subject Line

CompanyName - Here is the literature you requested - DocumentName

The inclusion of the company name reminds the person of where this email is coming from. The object of the email is clear. The name of the requested material is listed. All the necessary details are there.

Personalization

Dear Peter,

All good and the syntax is fine. Sometimes the commas get a bit mixed up if the name is missing. I know they always collect first names for this, so missing names shouldn’t be an issue.

Short and to the point

• Download content explicitly named – blurred bit on the first line
• Download link obvious – big blue link

Contact details

There is a contact email if you have any questions. Good because it makes it easy to get in contact if you have any questions.

Not so good

A few little nitpicks.

Variables.

[SendDate]

The mail merge variable [SendDate] should be replaced with a real date (or just deleted). The square bracket notation is a common text replacement technique for mass emails.

NOTE: This could easily be prevented through simple testing. Also, send the test email outside your local email system. i.e., if you use Exchange, then send a test to Gmail

Reply

*** This is an automated email. Please do not reply. ***

Setup the email so the recipient can reply directly. It might seem like a small thing, but busy people reading emails don’t really want to jump through more hoops to reply.

It feels like this sort of thing comes straight from a user manual where the poor technical writer is trying to explain away glaring design issues with detailed explanations. However, from a UX perspective, this is just poor practice. It likely points to a poor setup of email delivery systems. Don’t fix the user, fix your email delivery.

Closing Thoughts

As mentioned in the beginning, this email came after I was a registered member of this site, and logged in when I requested the download link. Which begs the question…

Why email?

If I am required to register and be logged in, then displaying a download link directly makes more sense. Remember, there could be a significant wait for the notification email to arrive.

Any decent analytics software would record the download and include it in the client vetting to indicate that this person is interested in certain topics. And then the follow-ups can proceed as usual because the appropriate triggers have been… well… triggered.

Email autoresponders with personalization are intended to mimic the communication of friends and acquaintances. Of course, they are supercharged with automation goodness to reduce manual workload, but they should be written like a human, not a robot.

The autoresponder message was a download link for a case study. Let’s have a look at what is good and what can be improved.

Good

Personalized

Hi [FirstName]

People respond positively to their own name. This also mimics how you would address a friend. “Hey Joe, what time is the party on Friday?” If the first name is available, then use it, otherwise, start to collect them when collecting email addresses.

Easy Reply

"Feel free to reply to this email if you have any questions at all."

At all costs avoid the cringeworthy, “This is an automated message, do not reply.” The message should be low-barrier and low-commitment, so don’t make it difficult.

In this case, the email was a download notification, so get to the point and tell the dear potential customer where to get what you promised them. Make it as easy for them to get back to you if they have a question.

OBVIOUS TIP: Make sure the reply address will actually reach someone.

Not so Good

Subject Line

For your ___ download notice - 2020/07/23 14:06:19

The email title, like all titles everywhere, is the gateway to the rest of the content.

You would never email anyone else with this sort of heading, so don’t make the machine sound even more artificial. Try this one instead.

[FirstName], here's your download link

…or…

Here's the case study you requested.

Shocking, I know, but these are sufficiently clear. The date information is just wasted space, and the left out part didn’t make much sense. The date and time information could be included later in the email if absolutely necessary.

Body – Info Table

This table is unnecessary, and doesn’t add any clarity in this case.

The word choice is also poor.

• Topic – the title of the document from the download link
• Web Page – the landing page where they submitted their information
• Attachment – the document download link

Lets try an alternative that includes all the original data.

Just in case, you requested the [DocumentTitle] from [URL] on [Date].

LINK: [DownloadLink]

It’s probably not necessary to include that much information, but sometimes company policies dictate their inclusion, so get them in somehow.

NOTE: Even if the email message is text only, the download link will be displayed as a blue link, making it obvious

Conclusion

Polish up the headline, remove the table, and make the download link clearer. Those will sort out the major issues.

Oh, and don’t forget to track open rates and click through rates.

And please follow up after a few days to see if the download was useful. Or if they didn’t download it, gently remind them. Because that’s what good friends do.