Moving from impulse to intent-driven email messaging

Just because we can send it, doesn’t always mean we should. As internal communicators, we often sit at the intersection of everything. Every update. Every initiative. Everyone wants their message out. But here’s the thing—when everything is treated as important, nothing truly stands out. Early in my career, I tried to say yes to every ask. The intention was good—but the impact wasn’t. The result? Noise. Confusion. Distraction from what truly mattered: driving toward the business goals. Here’s a simple framework that’s helped me align with stakeholders and bring more intention to what we send out: ◾ Urgent + Important + Critical to business or people: Send it. Now. ◾ Important, not urgent + Relevant to business goals: Share it—but let’s be smart about timing and format. ◾ Urgent, but not important: Pause. Does this need wide visibility, or would a smaller audience be better? ◾ Not urgent + Not important: Maybe this doesn’t need to be sent at all. But we can define the audience and explore other channels if needed. I also use two quick filters: ◾ Will this help employees take action or make a better decision? ◾ Does this support a key business goal or priority? Using a framework like this in internal comms does more than streamline messaging—it protects attention, ensures relevance and creates clarity. 👀 I’m curious: How do you filter the signal from the noise in your org? Let me know in the comments.

If your plan this weekend is to blast 3-4 disconnected promotions in the next few days, STOP and rethink your approach. Let me explain. Here's what most brands do: Thursday: "NATIONAL DONUT DAY SALE!" Friday: "FREE SHIPPING SALE!" Sunday: "FLASH SALE!" Monday: "20% OFF PANTS!" Your customers and prospects? They're drowning in discount fatigue. Try this instead: Create a cohesive event, not random promotions: Thursday: "Announcing our Biggest Clearance Event (Early Access Tomorrow)" Friday: "The Clearance Event is LIVE" Sunday: "Clearance Event Update: Top sellers almost gone" Monday: "Final Hours: Clearance Event Ends Tonight" But the real magic isn't just in connected messaging. It's also in strategic audience narrowing - here's an example: Send 1: 120-day engaged + all purchasers (cast wide net) Send 2: 60-day engaged + clicked previous email (tighten focus) Send 3: 30-day engaged + didn't purchase yet (target the interested) Send 4: Engaged with previous emails but haven't purchased (final push) Then segment further by: First-time buyers vs. repeat customers Price-sensitive vs. premium shoppers Category preferences And layer in SMS for high-intent signals, less batch and blast. Only text people who clicked but didn't purchase Or for time sensitive messages: Final "hours left" reminder From my experience, this approach doubled the average click-through rate and revenues. Stop treating each promotion as an isolated discount. Start creating a narrative that builds anticipation and focuses on your most engaged audiences. Leverage the power of event marketing in email and sms. Real strategy will increase your revenue. What's your go to for your email and sms marketing strategy?

You don’t need better intent data. You need to read the internet like a buyer in pain. Most teams wait for big trigger events like funding rounds or leadership hires before reaching out. But by the time those hit the wire, you're already in a crowded inbox. The smarter move is to track micro-triggers….subtle signals that surface in a prospect’s digital footprint. –An engineer asking “anyone using <tool>?” on Twitter. –A VP reposting Gartner’s latest quadrant. –A quiet change in job title from “Marketing” to “Growth Marketing.” These aren’t random. They’re symptoms of an internal pain or evaluation moment. You can track them in under 15 minutes a day. Use TweetDeck, Talkwalker, or Google Alerts with Boolean searches like “looking for <solution type>” or “recommendations for <category>.” Add qualifiers to stay tight on your ICP. Then focus on the context - why they asked, what they liked, who else chimed in. Reach out with value, not pitch. Example: “We actually built a free comparison matrix for tools in that space—no forms or opt-ins, just sharing it in case it helps.” It’s a trust-first play. Over time, log these signals into a daily queue. Company, name, trigger phrase, context, and potential angle. Five responses a day based on micro-triggers will outperform twenty generic touches built on stale intent data. The opportunity isn't in volume. It's in timing. Rooting for you, Tom

The #1 reason your email list is underperforming…. You’re sending the same message to people with completely different reasons to buy. Not segmentation by demographics. Not A/B testing subject lines. Not prettier templates or flashier copy. The problem is misalignment. When the message doesn't feel like it's for you, it gets deleted. Last month, I was reviewing a clothing brand with 82,000 subscribers. Email/SMS SHOULD be printing money. But every campaign? Same everything. Same angle. Same offer. Same urgency. To everyone. Grandma buying gifts. Dad into hunting gear. Mom shopping for school clothes. All getting the same email. The results were brutal… <20% open rates. 0.3% clicks. Revenue per send barely covering costs. Not because the list was bad. Because the message doesn’t match the moment. So here’s what we did: We stopped writing to "our audience" and started writing to why they buy. • Parents got: "Outgrown last season's tee? Here's what's next." • Gift buyers got: "Got a birthday coming up? These were made for it." • Hunters got: "The hunt is over. Our #1 camo design is back." The results? Open rates jumped to 34%. Click rates hit 2.8%. Revenue per send increased 4x. It’s not rocket science. It’s relevance. Write to one real person with one real reason to care at the exact moment they need it solved. Most agencies think segmentation means splitting by company size or industry. That's surface-level thinking. Real segmentation is intent-based. Want the framework? Reply "INTENT" and I'll send you the breakdown.

If 2024 taught us anything about Cold Email, it’s this: 👇 General ICP Outreach isn’t enough to drive results anymore. With deliverability getting tougher every day, there’s only one way to make outbound work: → Intent-Based Targeting Here’s how we do it at SalesCaptain to book 3x more demos ⬇️ Step 1️⃣ Identify High-Intent Triggers The goal? Find prospects showing buying signals. ✅ Website visits – Someone browsing pricing or case studies? (We use tools like RB2B, Leadfeeder, and Maximise.ai). ✅ Competitor research – Tools like Trigify.io reveal when prospects engage with competitor content. ✅ Event attendance – Webinar attendees or industry event participants often explore new solutions. (DM me for a Clay template on this) ✅ Job changes – Platforms like UserGems 💎 notify us when decision-makers start new roles (a prime buying window). ⚡️ Pro Tip: Categorize triggers: → High intent: Pricing page visits → Medium intent: Engaging with case studies This helps prioritize outreach for faster conversions. Step 2️⃣ Layer Intent Data with an ICP Filter Intent data alone isn't enough, you need to ensure the right audience fit. Tools like Clay and Clearbit help us: ✅ Confirm ICP fit using firmographics ✅ Identify the right decision-makers ✅ Validate work emails ✅ Enrich data for personalized messaging ⚡️ Key Insight: Not everyone showing intent fits your ICP. Filter carefully to avoid wasted resources. Step 3️⃣ Hyper-Personalized Outreach Golden Rule: Intent without context is meaningless. Here’s our outreach formula: 👀 Observation: Reference the trigger (e.g., webinar attended, pricing page visit) 📈 Insight: Address a potential pain point tied to that trigger 💡 Solution: Share how you’ve helped similar companies solve this pain 📞 CTA: Suggest an exploratory call or share a free resource ⚡️ Pro Tip: Use tools like Twain to personalize at scale without landing in spam folders. 📊 The Results? Since focusing on intent-based outreach, we’ve seen: ✅ 3x Higher Demo Booking Rates 📈 ✅ 40% Reduction in CPL (focusing on quality over quantity) ✅ Larger Deals in the Pipeline with higher-quality prospects It’s 2025. Let’s build smarter, more profitable campaigns. 💡 Do you use intent signals in your outreach? Drop me a comment below! 👇

My client saw a 30% increase in inbound inquiries when she shifted to targeted messaging. When she came to me, she was frustrated. "I feel like I'm saying the right things, but no lead is reaching out." After reviewing her content, I realized her messaging needed more focus. It wasn't speaking directly to her audience or guiding them to take action. Her posts were too broad, trying to appeal to everyone. And when you try to speak to everyone, you connect with no one. Here's what I changed to make her messaging laser-focused and attract aligned leads: 1. Defined her ICP: We analyzed the 𝗪𝗛𝗢, 𝗪𝗛𝗔𝗧, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗛𝗢𝗪 of her Ideal Client Profile—identifying their problems, behaviors (positive and negative), common mistakes, and goals. This gave her a crystal-clear understanding of who she was targeting. 2. Conducted competitor analysis: She had never done this before and had no idea. I helped her identify 5 competitors, analyze what content worked for them, and find gaps in their strategies. 3. Created client-specific content: She replaced generic advice with content customized to her audience's specific problems and filled the gaps her competitors were missing. 4. Added clear CTAs: Instead of vague calls to action like "What do you think?", we used intentional prompts like "DM me for personalized tips" or PS lines that resonated with her audience. Within 2 weeks, her engagement doubled, and she began receiving consistent DMs from aligned clients. Remember, your dream leads are out there. But instead of trying to pitch to everyone, focus on creating content that calls the right people to you. If you are also struggling with targeted messaging, DM me "GROWTH"; let's create a strategy that works for you. #LeadGeneration #PersonalBranding #HariWrites

Cold Email Case Study: 150,000 High-Intent Emails Per Month (2.5% Reply Rate) Most people think cold email is dead. It isn’t. It’s just that blasting random lists doesn’t work anymore. Here’s what I’ve been doing instead: I send 5,000 emails per day, which adds up to 150,000 per month. Every lead is high intent : That means they’ve already shown interest in my sector and were active on LinkedIn in the last 24 hours. This one simple change has given me the best results I’ve ever seen. I’m hitting a 2.5% reply rate, which is massive for cold outreach. Here’s a quick breakdown of what’s working: - Targeting leads based on LinkedIn signals (competitor engagement, events, specific keywords) - Enriching profiles with email and company data, then pushing it into Slack or CRM - Keeping the outreach message short, clear, and personalized Tools like Instantly help with deliverability, though scaling this up requires serious infrastructure and budget. I’m currently exploring ways to reach 50,000 emails per day. Cold email still works in 2025, but only if you stop spamming static lists and focus on intent-driven leads.

Stop treating all intent signals as intent to buy. This approach has become 2024's version of spray and pray. Someone sets off a signal of any type, and you rush to book a meeting. But sometimes it’s not intent to buy, but rather intent to learn. Or intent to be curious. Or maybe they accidentally clicked onto your website. Instead of a one-size-fits-all response, you should match the signal to the buying state. Then adjust your messaging to match. Josh Norris helped create this handy guide for sellers to do exactly that. A first-time visitor to your website and a returning visitor to your pricing page should not get the same messaging. A webinar attendee should not get the same messaging as a conference booth visitor. Some buyers are unaware of the problem you solve. Your messaging might include offering a report or a resource. Your goal is to make them aware of the problem space you're in. Others are aware, but aren't looking to solve it right now. Your messaging could offer an async demo or case study. This way they're aware of your product for when the timing is right. While others are actually looking for solutions in the moment. THIS group is the actual "intent to buy" group, and the one you can offer to book a demo with straight away. Of course, every company's intent signals will be different. What combo of signals indicates each stage of a buyer's journey will vary. But you should figure that out. Don't treat every intent signal with one-size-fits-all messaging.

How a single follow-up email generated $20K in revenue for a DTC brand. (Forget the generic “send reminder emails” and “follow up more often.”) Let’s dive into tactics that actually drive results. ↳ Perfect timing We waited 48 hours after someone left an item in their cart before sending a reminder. This was the magic number to catch their interest again—waiting just enough but not too long. ↳ Make It friendly, not pushy Instead of just saying, “Did you forget this?” we told them, “Here’s why other people love this item.” It felt more like a helpful tip than a sales pitch. ↳ A special deal, just for them We didn’t do a basic discount. We made it feel exclusive: “Get 10% off if you finish your order in the next 24 hours.” This made it feel like they had a little reward waiting for them. ↳ Add real-life reviews We included a story from a real customer who bought and loved the same item. Seeing someone else’s experience helps people feel like they’re making a smart choice. ↳ One clear button We ended with one simple button that said, “Complete My Order.” Nothing confusing—just one action to take. And we got incredible results: → $20K in revenue → 35% higher open rates → 45% bump in click-throughs. Follow-up emails are not just reminders They are opportunities to connect with real intent and impact. Now is the time to stop using “reminder” emails and start maximizing revenue from follow-ups. If you want to create email strategies that engage, convert, and drive revenue, DM or comment “YES” and let’s get started.

Don't hit "send" just because you feel like you need to. Lots of your competitors are falling into the trap of sending filler emails that don’t add real value—think random observances like “National Polka Dot Day.” Instead, take a moment to make sure each message you send has a purpose. Here’s how: Start by asking "What’s the purpose of this campaign?" Whether it’s driving sales, educating customers, or gathering feedback, being clear on your goal will keep the message focused and effective. Each campaign should have a single, clear call-to-action. This could be “Shop the Collection,” “Claim Your Offer,” or “Join the Webinar.” Keep it obvious and easy to act on. Plan for what happens next... For those who open and click but don’t convert, have retargeting ready. Set up follow-up campaigns to keep interested customers engaged and bring them back to complete their purchase. Remember: Sending marketing emails and texts to “fill the voidr” isn’t just ineffective—it’s a waste of time. Get intentional, and you’ll be ahead of the competition.