With so much noise in the market, crafting a killer outreach strategy that will capture the attention of candidates and clients can be a challenge. Hyper-personalization is key and it means more than just using a first name, job title or location variable, sending out a cold email and hoping it sticks. 

The right level of personalization combined with some ‘out of the box’ thinking, as well as a multichannel approach will improve your chances of success. To put you on the right tracks, we’ve put together some surefire methods that will help get the replies you need to drive results.

What is an outreach sequence?

An outreach sequence combines email, InMail, LinkedIn, phone calls and SMS to create a series of touchpoints that help drive engagement. It’s a great way to nurture relationships with candidates and clients and increase the likelihood of having real conversations that ultimately, lead to more revenue. 

Outreach sequences best practices

Getting a response should be the main aim of your outreach for several reasons. Replies will help you avoid hitting spam, improve the health of your email domain and lead to more placements and a wider client reach. 

To help you achieve just that, we advise following these best practices:  

• Quality, not quantity

It is easy to be drawn into adding large numbers of people into your outreach sequences but this can lead to poor email deliverability, decreased open, reply rates and unhappy recipients who feel they have been mass-mailed. 

Your time is much better spent focusing on refining an extra level of personalization which will ensure that you get the best results possible.

• Short, snappy subject lines

Subject lines are the first thing your recipient will see in their inbox, so don’t be afraid to personalize them. Given most people open emails on their phones, where subject lines can be cut off after 40 characters, we recommend adding the personalized part first and keeping them short. 

• Hyper-personalize

Writing a personalized sentence in each message increases the reply rate from an average of 18% to 34.5%. But don’t overthink it. It only has to be a sentence that references something from their profile or CV or mentions a particular piece of content they have interacted with recently.

• Personalize in the first line

It is best to put the personalization in the first line of the email, so the reader engages straight away and is more inclined to read on. In addition, we recommend using three or more variables in each message in your sequence to ensure there is personalization throughout the entirety of your outreach.

• 'F'-shaped messages

We recommend writing your messages in the shape of an 'F'. Write a longer first line and shorten your sentences as the message progresses, finishing off the outreach with a short call to action. 

• Use different channels

Rather than sending email after email, make sure you diversify your outreach type by communicating via other platforms such as a Connection Request or InMail. This is important, as the contact may check one platform more frequently than another.

• Avoid internet templates

We advise against using message templates from the internet or ones that don't originate from your own business. If your email has the same layout or pattern of words as others being used for spamming purposes, it will end up in spam too. Writing your own copy shows you’re making an effort and is the safest way to avoid the spam trap.

• Be original

Entertaining and funny outreach will always stand out and is more likely to get a response and generate a conversation. Images and GIFs are an easy way to achieve this, but know your audience – they won’t work for everyone – and don’t use them too early in your sequence otherwise they may impact deliverability.

• Multiple follow-up steps

Follow-up emails are key to success and lead to 70% of all responses. We recommend including 3-4 email steps in your outreach sequences (depending on your region's formalities). The best follow-up emails are natural, short in length and refer back to the personalized content in your first email.

• Add value

Offering something of value to your target individual, either now or in the future, is often a great way to elicit a response. This can be a great opportunity, career benefits, a referral fee, a common interest, or networking for the future. 

Present the offer in an easy-to-digest manner by using bullet points and simple language and avoid mentioning the job compensation amount, as this could be picked up by spam filters.

• Include a call to action

The end of each email or InMail step should include a direct call to action to encourage a response. Phrase it as an open-ended question or give two options to prevent the recipient from saying 'No'.