No one loves a long email, and often, email attachments can make all the difference between a successful campaign and a failed one. They can help catch the recipients’ attention and provide plenty of information, while also keeping the body of your email to the point.
On the other hand, email campaigns have their limitations — both when it comes to the tech and the human side of things. Below, you will find the most relevant info for recruiters, PR specialists, and any other people working with email campaigns.
Trust aspects: How should attachments look like?
For starters, any attachment should make sense; otherwise, it will simply look suspicious. People are in no great rush to click on suspicious links and files in their inbox, especially if they do not know the sender.
This, of course, may pose a certain challenge for recruiters who get contacts from pro databases and email prospects they did not yet have a chance to meet in person. So, when emailing a stranger, your email should explain clearly why you are contacting this person and who you are.
For example, when making a job offer, it is totally fine to include attachments with more info about your company. However, such attachments should be in business-acceptable email attachment format (PDF, txt, doc, etc.) And, of course, any attachments from a stranger should be ‘introduced.’
Simply put, do not just expect anyone to click on your files; make sure to give some explanations about file contents. For example, it can be a presentation with a full job description; or an overview of your company goals. You can even include some reports about your company growth that are relevant for a job offer.
IPs and Domains: the tech side of trust
Your IP, along with the email client and the domain you use, matters quite a lot. Users have growing concerns about malware and may not click on a suspicious link or file. Software, however, may go even further than that and block your message or your email altogether. Especially if you send out too much or the content you send does not meet server requirements.
To avoid this, recruiters and email marketers should not get carried away by sending out too many emails with attachments. Instead of making a campaign successful, such a decision may ruin it right from the start.
Contacting a thousand prospects you just found on an email hunter will have more chances of success if you stick to plain text. Any email attachments should better be sent to smaller groups of people — in less voluminous marketing or recruiting campaigns.
Attachment formats & mail servers
Here, a lot will depend on your ESP — restrictions may vary from one client to another. You may remember when Google suddenly decided they would not send any zip-files in emails. At the time, it created some difficulties, but people found a way out — as they always do. So, when you work on a new email campaign, always double-check the formats your provider supports. This way, your messages will not be blocked, and you will have a chance to reach quite a lot of clients and prospects.
As for how many attachments you can send in an email, there are no particular restrictions aside from the overall message size. Still, sending too many attachments in one message can look fishy and unprofessional. So, it is always better to go with one, clearly structured file.
The size counts: mind the limits
What about email attachment sizes and their limits? These, too, will depend on your mail client, but the general rule is not to send anything over 60 KB. If you need to send larger files (for example, video presentations), it is always better to include a link. Another tip that should boost your attachment trust levels is to give links to Google Drive folders. For starters, any files stored on Google Drive look more professional, and thus, credible. Next, Google checks all content for malware, so your recipients will have no problem clicking on a Google-verified link.
Making sure your mails come in
Most recruiters who find email addresses online never start with an attachment email. For starters, such messages can automatically get blocked. Second, they look a bit suspicious coming from strangers. So, for example, when making an offer, it’s better to start with the good old text and mention that you can send presentation materials later — if the recipient is interested. This helps build trust and acts as a conversation starter.
In some cases, even the first introductory letter can come with an attachment, but it has to be something under 60 KB. In that case, automatic blocks will not affect your message, and the mail will most likely come through.
Few things about HTML attachments
Not to bury the lead, HTML attachment is a bad idea in 99% of all cases. These files are hardly ever displayed correctly, and their visuals will vary from one device to another. So, no matter if you are promoting a job opening, a product, or service, HTML is not your best friend. It is always better to stick to generally acceptable formats that look the same on all devices and operational systems. PDF is definitely a good example for anything visual-related. If you need to show the recipients a web page, it’s always better to go with a link.
Final tips
Email campaigns, just like all other spheres of professional communication, follow the rules of their own. Fortunately, the basics are not too tough, and it is always possible to customize and automate any campaign your team is working on. For example, plenty of professional contact databases, SignalHire included, come with mail tools of their own. Of course, there is no magic trick that will help you go around mail client restrictions we discussed above. Still, pro email marketing software can save an hour or two on automation, and that is already a huge win.
All in all, it goes down to keeping your sender reputation high and reliable. Also, you might need some prep work with your recipients’ lists to make sure every contact suggested by your email finder can be safely contacted within this particular campaign.
Finally, with or without attachments, you should always remember to make your email text personal and engaging. If you can come up with a humane, individual message, it is unlikely that any files you send will raise a red flag.
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