You’re sending outbound emails in Spoke and not getting enough replies. Maybe you’ve got a good list, your message makes sense, but your response rate is still stuck in low single digits. This guide is for you—whether you’re in sales, partnerships, or just someone trying to get answers from busy people. No nonsense, just practical steps to make your sequences less ignorable.
1. Know What Spoke Actually Does Well
Spoke is built to send sequences—emails that go out on a schedule, with some basic personalization and tracking. It’s not a magic bullet, but it gives you the tools to automate follow-ups, test messages, and spot what’s working.
What Spoke is good for: - Managing simple to moderately complex sequences. - Personalizing at scale with variables (like first name, company, etc.). - Tracking opens, clicks, and replies (with the usual accuracy caveats).
What Spoke won’t do: - Write good emails for you. - Guarantee deliverability (that’s on your list, your domain, and your content). - Replace thoughtful research or human follow-up.
Don’t get sucked in by any tool promising to “10x your pipeline” out of the box—real improvements come from how you use it.
2. Start Simple: Clean Up Your Email List
You can have the best sequence in the world, but if you’re sending to a garbage list, you’ll get garbage results. It’s boring, but this is where most outbound fails.
Before you write a single email: - Validate emails. Use a tool (NeverBounce, ZeroBounce, whatever) to remove bounces and obvious spam traps. - Ditch the deadwood. Remove people who haven’t opened or replied in past campaigns, or those who’ve opted out. - Segment by relevance. Don’t try to write one email for everyone. Even basic segments (by industry, title, or past interaction) will help.
Pro tip: If you get a high bounce rate (over 5%), your sender reputation tanks. That means even good prospects won’t see your emails.
3. Nail the First Email—Don’t Bury the Lede
The first email in your Spoke sequence gets the most attention. If it flops, those polite follow-ups won’t save you.
What actually works: - Short and clear. 3-5 sentences, max. If you can’t say it quickly, rewrite. - Real subject lines. Skip “Quick question” or “Touching base.” Use something specific, like “Question about your supply chain process.” - A reason to care. Not “I’d love to connect,” but “Saw you’re expanding in Texas—can we help with hiring?” - No fluff. Don’t introduce yourself with your job title or a paragraph about your company. They don’t care—yet.
What to ignore: - Long, templated intros (“I hope this finds you well in these unprecedented times…”). - Fancy formatting or images (just triggers spam filters). - Gimmicks (“Did my last email get stuck under a pile of puppies?”).
4. Sequencing: Timing and Content Matter More Than You Think
Spoke lets you schedule as many follow-ups as you like. More isn’t always better. The trick is to nudge, not nag.
How many emails? - 3-4 is the sweet spot. Most replies come from the first two; any more and you’re probably just annoying people. - Spacing matters. Wait 2-4 days between steps. Back-to-back emails feel desperate.
How to write follow-ups: - Don’t just resend the first email. Each follow-up should add a tiny bit of new info or a different angle. - Be even shorter as you go. A one-liner like “Any thoughts on this?” can work as a final nudge. - Make it easy to say no. Oddly, this gets you more honest replies (“Let me know if this isn’t a fit and I’ll stop bugging you.”)
What to skip: - Automated “bump” emails with just “Following up.” Boring and obvious. - Fake “breakup” emails (“Should I close your file?”). Everyone sees through it.
Pro tip: If someone opens every email but never replies, try calling or reaching out on LinkedIn. Don’t just keep emailing.
5. Personalization: Do Just Enough (But Not Too Much)
You’ve got Spoke’s merge tags and variables—use them, but don’t overthink it. The goal is to sound like a real person, not a mail merge robot.
Bare minimum: - First name. - Company name. - Something about their role or recent activity (if you know it).
Going further (if your list is small enough): - Reference a recent company announcement or LinkedIn post. - Mention a shared connection (but don’t fake it).
But skip: - Overly clever or forced personalization (“I see you like hiking—so do I!”). - Anything you scraped that’s even slightly creepy.
Pro tip: If you can’t personalize at least the first line, your list is probably too broad.
6. Deliverability: Don’t Sabotage Your Own Emails
Spoke can send emails, but it can’t fix a bad sender reputation or a spammy setup.
Check these basics: - Warm up your sending domain. New domains should start slow—maybe 20-30 emails a day and ramp up. - Authenticate your email (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). If you don’t know what these are, ask your IT person. Without them, you’re already in spam. - Use plain text. Fancy HTML signatures, images, or big logos just get you flagged. - Test before sending. Use tools like Mail-Tester or GlockApps to see where you’re landing.
What to ignore: - Any plugin or “AI tool” that claims to guarantee inbox placement. If it sounds too good to be true, it is.
7. Measure What Matters (and Ignore the Rest)
Spoke tracks opens, clicks, and replies. Some of these numbers matter, some just make you feel busy.
What to watch: - Reply rate. This is what counts—not opens or clicks. If you’re not getting replies, you need to change your message or your list. - Bounce rate. High bounces mean a bad list or a sending problem. - Unsubscribes. A few are normal; a spike means you’re off-target or too aggressive.
What to ignore: - Open rates. Apple Mail and Gmail break these stats. Use them as a rough trend, not gospel. - Clicks, unless your call to action actually is a link (like a demo booking page).
Pro tip: If you’re not getting replies, don’t just send more emails—change something and test again.
8. A/B Testing: Simple Wins
Spoke lets you split test emails, but don’t get fancy. Test one thing at a time—usually the subject line or the first sentence.
How to run a quick test: - Write two versions (A and B) of your first email. - Send each to a random half of your list. - Wait for replies, not just opens, before declaring a winner.
What not to do: - Test five variables at once. You won’t know what made the difference. - Obsess over tiny changes. If the difference is small, pick the simpler version and move on.
9. When to Give Up (and When to Try Again)
Not every sequence will work—sometimes it’s the list, sometimes it’s just bad timing. Don’t chase ghosts.
- If you’ve sent 3-4 emails over two weeks and got nothing, pause.
- Try a new angle or a different audience before blasting the same list again.
- Review who did reply and why. Use that as your learning loop.
Final Thoughts: Keep It Simple and Keep Tweaking
Most people overcomplicate outbound. The best sequences in Spoke aren’t clever—they’re clear, relevant, and sent to the right people. Clean your list, write like a human, don’t overdo the automation, and always look for real feedback. Iterate one thing at a time, and don’t be afraid to kill what isn’t working.
You’re not looking for a silver bullet—just steady, honest improvements. That’s what gets you more of the replies you actually want.