Screenwriter Email Marketing Best Practices - How to Get a Reply from a Busy Producer
There is one major skill that today’s screenwriters are sorely lacking. And it has nothing to do with narrative, characters, or dialogue. No, this is a missing skillset that exists outside of the pages of your story. But when mastered, this will be the difference-maker when it comes to selling your project, landing that dream writing job or getting representation.
And that skill is screenwriter email marketing:
Email marketing… I know, eww, right? No, no, stay with me. This is important. Because there is tooo much confusion around this term within this profession. I have talked with tons of screenwriters about this exact concern. And every time I bring up the topic, they snuff at the word ‘marketing’, and pretend it doesn’t relate to them.
But then, when I interview Producers, Agents, Managers, and Distributors, they all say the same thing:
Will somebody please teach these writers how to write a damn email.
Well, that’s what we’re going to do today. And after we show you how to write professional emails and detail the best times to send them, we’ll also give you some ready-to-send screenwriter email templates.
Now let’s boogie!
Screenwriter Email Marketing Explained
It is understandable that the term Email Marketing is usually reserved for more traditional business-oriented communications. For example, a company’s monthly newsletter or product update. But really, when we break it down, all it is is direct online business messaging. And this is where many, many screenwriters are missing a step. They are in a business, and they, too, are attempting to communicate with another business about selling a project, nurturing a relationship, or collaborating together.
Screenwriter Email Marketing Tip 1 - The Focus of the Message
Where most writers get it wrong is that they treat email as a means to an end. And you know what: It comes across that way. Many emails that producers or decision-makers get from writers are:
Pushy
Needy
Confusing
Over-written
And most of all - too self-serving.
We get it, the writer has an objective, and they want this person to solve it. But that’s not how we communicate in the business world. In fact, this type of communication can be pretty harmful to your reputation. That is why learning the best practices of email marketing for this critical stage of your career is so important.
Screenwriter Email Marketing Tip 2 - The Best Time & Date to Send an Email
Okay, so let’s begin with when to send an email. Now, based on email marketing platform data across most industries, the recommended time to send an email is:
Tuesdays or Thursdays, between 10 am- 12 pm.
This is generally when the recipient is in work mode and readily available to read what lands in their inbox.
It isn’t a hard and fast rule, though. So if you do need to send something on a Wednesday afternoon, they will most likely see it. But, if we look at the data, then aim for the Tuesday or Thursday slots and see how that helps.
Screenwriter Email Marketing Tip 3 - The Call-to-Action or The Purpose of the Email
Next, let’s look at the purpose of the email itself. In marketing, it is crucial to have a Call-To-Action with any professional communication. What this means is, “What do you want the recipient to do after they have read your email?” That is your CTA. Your call to action.
If you are contacting an actor and would like to speak with them about organizing a table read for your script, then your CTA could be a proposed meeting to discuss the project. If you were looking to have a fellow writer read your screenplay and provide feedback, then the CTA would be for them to agree to receive a copy of your work for review.
Without an understandable, legible call to action, your email has no purpose. And if it has no purpose, why should they read, react or reply to it?
It sounds simple. But many times, the sender doesn’t have a clear concept of what they are looking for when they send out an email. They have a general idea. But they have not sufficiently detailed a clear, direct ask. And these emails come across as more “time suck” requests. Where it has the feeling of an objective, but it is still too loose in detail for a busy recipient to want to respond.
Examples of these “time suck” emails are “Maybe we can hop on a call sometime” or “If you had time for a quick chat.”
If you are contacting a busy person, this can be a bit too vague for them. So be specific. If it is about arranging a meeting, provide details of exactly what you are looking for, what their part will be, and a suggestion of the time and date. Basically, don’t leave it up to them to fill in the blanks. They won’t. And your email will just get pushed down their inbox and forgotten about.
Now, regarding a CTA for producers or decision-makers, many writers I know would look to lead with the Big Ask:
“Can you read my screenplay?”
That actually isn’t a very successful strategy for the first email. I mean, I’m sure it has worked for a couple of people in the past. But, in general, that is a Tall Order if this is the first message they receive from you.
We basically need to get away from this concept that one email is going to deliver all of our hopes and dreams. Instead, it's about using email to nurture and cultivate relationships. Leading with the “Can you read my script” move shows the recipient that you are more interested in benefitting yourself rather than developing a professional business relationship that helps them achieve their goals as well. And nobody wants to be treated that way.
Instead, try to think of ways where you can add value to the recipient. Is there something you could offer to them, with your skillset, passion, or experience, that will positively impact their life or career?
We are all selfish by nature. And marketing works best when it feeds off of the recipient's needs and not your own.
And again, this most likely will take more than one email.
Screenwriter Email Marketing Tip 4 - How Many Emails Should You Send?
So basically, on average, across all industries, it takes around 8 touchpoints to close a sale. That means that one business has had 8 points of contact with a lead before they converted into a customer.
For more cold sales-oriented email campaigns, it can take up to 4 emails alone just to get a response. This is why companies such as Hubspot and Mailchimp have developed automated workflows designed to send out specific emails on a specific timeline, increasing the chances of closing a lead with each new message sent.
Now, you don’t have to have an automated email marketing tool for your objectives. But it is important to know that, most likely, it will take more than one or two emails. And if you don’t get a response, it doesn’t mean it’s a NO or that they don’t like you.
It just means that they were busy or didn’t connect with your message, so another email should be sent at a later date. In fact, many times, they might want to get back to you, but it just slipped their mind. So ensure that you go into your email marketing game with the idea that you most likely won’t land your goal with just one email.
Screenwriter Email Marketing Tip 5 - Keep the Request Simple and Achievable
Another thing you should aim to do is keep their response as low maintenance as possible. We don’t want them to have to spend too much time working on their reply back to you. An absolute pro tip for this is to actually provide multiple-choice responses to your request within the email you send.
So, if they are stuck for time, they could just respond with the A, B, or C that you suggested rather than having to come up with their own explanation. In B2B marketing, this move is highly successful.
Now, once you have decided who you are emailing, what the topic is and what your CTA will be, it’s time to focus on the very first thing your recipient will see: The subject line.
Screenwriter Email Marketing Tip 6 - The Subject Line
In email marketing, 47% of email recipients open an email based on the subject line. This means that this is a crucial part of the game.
The general best practice is to keep your subject line short- in and around 30 to 40 characters.
It should also work as more of a tease for what's inside, rather than a full description. If your email is a film trailer, then your subject line is the teaser.
Obviously, the subject line will depend on the topic itself. When I would send out emails inviting people to attend a webinar, I found that one of the best subject lines that worked was simply: Your invitation inside.
That’s it. A hint of something on the other side of this email. An alluring sense of curiosity.
You could also have a bit of fun with your subject line. When the screenwriters of the film, Deadpool, Rhett Reese & Paul Wernick, were struggling to get their film made, they decided to reach out to long-standing X-men producer and writer Simon Kinsberg for help.
The subject line they went with was “Deadpool needs your ass…”
And when Kinsberg opened the email, the first line in the email was “sistance.”
It was a fresh, disarming and funny way to kick off an email. And yes, it was effective, as Kinsberg did help them get the film out of development hell. But it all started with an email. And the email started with a cheeky, intriguing subject line.
Screenwriter Email Marketing Tip 7 - The Screenwriter’s Email Signature
Next up, let’s make sure you are signing off in a clear, professional manner with your signature. Most email providers allow you to produce an automatic signature which is nice. But what exactly should you include?
Obviously, let’s go with your name. First and last. Maybe some additional contact information as well, like your phone number or social links. Do you have a website? If so, then we should hyperlink that here as well.
You could also add a photo to help push the human connection a bit. Putting a face with the name can always help remind the recipient that they are indeed communicating with, you know, a person. Or if you have met them just once before, the photo might help jog their memory.
Other fun ideas you could use in your signature are maybe a link to your portfolio or maybe a specific film you worked on that has been released. If you had a project that received a great review, maybe link to that article itself.
I’ve seen some people add quotes that they find a strong connection with. Or, maybe use this moment to promote a worthy cause. Hyperlink a charity or a support network for people or groups in need.
If you need help generating an email signature, we recommend you try out Hubspot’s free Email Signature Generator
Screenwriter Email Marketing Templates
Alright, so now it’s time to put all these ingredients together. And as promised, here are a couple of screenwriter email templates to help you get started.
This first one is centered around a scenario where a writer briefly met a producer at an event and wants to send a follow-up email a few days later:
A clear CTA, a couple of pre-written responses to choose from. It also frames the relationship between the sender and the recipient. So that it reminds them of how they have crossed paths in the past.
But let’s say that you have met an industry professional recently and you’d like to send a follow-up email around something that you have talked about. How about trying a version of this template out:
Now, this can work in the form of a resource request, if they mentioned something that you would like to receive from them. But it works best if you are providing the value at this early stage in the relationship.
Okay, so how about a scenario where you would like someone you know to connect you with someone they know? How would these same principles apply? How about this template:
As you can see with this one, we provide the recipient with an actual copy-and-paste blurb that they can use in their message to the other person. Again, we are doing as much of the heavy lifting as we can, to help our recipient follow through with our request.
Now, let’s look at a scenario where a writer wants to re-engage with a contact that they haven’t spoken to for a while. This could be a producer they know but haven’t talked with for over a year. Or some sort of decision-maker that they would like to spark a relationship with once again. In sales, this could be considered a cool lead that you are looking to warm up.
For this screenwriter email template, let’s also focus on ‘adding value’ and pitch this as a way for you to provide benefit to the recipient.
In this example, we understand that this potential recipient probably listens to other people’s ideas quite often. And their current plate may already be full managing and developing a few other projects…
However, there is a good chance that they themselves may have an idea for a project that they think could have potential. It could be based on a personal life experience or an article that they have read.
Either way, what a great way to come back into their lives: As someone who is genuinely looking to provide help, rather than looking to help themselves.
Now, I’ve used this pitch a couple of times in the past, and each time I’ve gotten quite a welcoming response. Hopefully, this can help you reconnect with an old contact that you’ve been meaning to reach out to.
Now, if you’d like to access these templates, we have a free downloadable ebook for you. Simply click here to access it:
I would definitely recommend that you take that creative talent and rework these templates to sound more like you. Have fun with it. Treat these emails with as much care as the projects that you are looking to promote.
Because, you can have the best script in the world, but if you don’t properly connect with other working professionals, then most likely, they’ll never read it.
Thank you so much for reading. My name is Chris Brennan. If you would like more insights into how ‘adding value’ can benefit your script and career, click here, and I will see you on the other side.
