When it comes to time and money, e-mail is the most cost-effective follow up method. Prospects are more likely to provide an email address than they are a phone number, which only leaves you one follow-up channel—more email.

One of the biggest frustrations that marketers and salespeople have with email marketing are the open rates. Achieving solid  open rates is all about writing emails that not only get read, but cause the reader to take action.

Despite the fact that email might seem like a losing battle, sending marketing to inboxes drives a 4,400% return. If you want to write emails that convert, follow these tips.

Start off with some social research. Pretty much everyone has some social media presence, and it never hurts to check them out and include some of what you glean in your messaging. Try to include this information in your subject line or pre-header text. Don’t be clever; be utilitarian. Grab their attention with something they’ll want. Personalize your subject lines. Just adding a name can increase open rates by 29%.

If you want to use emojis, give it a try. They are eye-catching, and statistics show that the inclusion of an emoji in the subject can greatly increase open rates. If you’re sure how to put an emoji in a subject line, go to GetEmoji.com and you’ll be able to copy and paste any emoji that you’d find on iPhone or Android.

Once you grab their attention, you want to follow up with whatever information the lead requested. Remember, we are talking specifically about prospects that have submitted some kind of lead form, and you need to give the people what they want as quickly as possible when you follow up.

When it comes to the body of the email, be as conversational as possible without appearing fake. You want to do everything in your power to make it seem like you sat down and wrote that email for the individual. If you are sending so many messages that it no longer seems realistic to make them seem personal, make sure you are providing value.

The final part of the email is the call to action (CTA). Your CTA should be based on what you need from the prospect. If you’re using e-mail as a follow up, then you already have some of their contact information, and you don’t want them to fill out unnecessary lead forms. The primary purpose of the email could be as simple as judging their interest. If they open the email and download the item of value, then you know to call them again.

You always want to analyze you open rate, you click through rate, your conversion rate, and your general ROI. At ReminderMedia, our best day is Tuesday when it comes to the success of our emails campaigns, but this might not apply to your outreach. Always pay attention to stats, create controlled campaign variables, and make sure to A/B test.

So this week, try the social selling method. Do some background research on your prospect and send a personalized email.