How LinkedIn Does Email Marketing

Despite it appears that Facebook may be beating LinkedIn at the job seeking game, you can learn about how LinkedIn creates effective email calls to action.

During these tough economic times, as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that as of July 2010, the number of unemployed persons stands at 14.6 million and the unemployment rate, at 9.5%; LinkedIn created an effective (and well-timed!) email titled “Get hired faster: 1 month free Job Seeker Premium Account”.

Here’s how LinkedIn does it and what you can learn from it.

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What’s So Good about LinkedIn’s Email

Here’s the email that LinkedIn sent out on August 3rd, 2010:

LinkedIn is following 2 of all of the 4 Steps to Get Started on Email Marketing and creating a great call of action.

Step 1: LinkedIn’s email is be short and sweet

LinkedIn developed an email that has just a bit over 170 words and over 50% is just the fine print.

This email focuses on one, and only one, story: get hired faster through a free month of LinkedIn Job Seeker Premium Account. You can answer the question “What’s the purpose of this email?”  in one sentence and it can be tracked with one single measure to determine whether the email campaign was successful or not.

Step 2: LinkedIn is sharing a gift.

LinkedIn is making good use of the law of reciprocity and providing something REALLY useful and FREE to its email recipients.

Also, it is reminding its customers about the benefits of using its products and services.

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Transparent and Valuable Transaction

Even though LinkedIn does not make use of Steps 3 and 4 of the 4 Steps to Get Started on Email Marketing, it does make a big effort to truly reinforce the value of its gift by providing a simple and easy to understand receipt via email.

A $29.95 gift is not chunk change.

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Conclusion and Takeaway

Make your email calls to action relevant by timing them with big, well-known events. Keep your email short and create a measurable one-sentence purpose. Provide a carrot that is truly valuable (sorry free white papers won’t make it when the unemployment rate is at 9.5%)  and reinforce to your customers how much they have saved and how much they can achieve through your gift.