Are You Getting Left-Swiped?

You do it. I do it. Everybody does it. You’re going through the emails on your phone and message after message just gets “left-swiped” into oblivion. They tell me that the expression “left-swipe” originated in the dating services venue. A potential date comes up, you take one look and say to yourself, “Not on your life!” And then you left-swipe. Gone and forgotten.

Now, let me ask you a tough question: of all the blogs you send, how many get left-swiped? Business propositions? General emails? Invitations on Facebook or LinkedIn?

Here’s the thing: all of us are busy, too busy, and one of the ways we can maintain sanity is by left-swiping everything which doesn’t interest us, and that’s probably over half of the stuff that comes in.

There are probably only three situations where we don’t left-swipe messages: first, if the message is from someone we want to hear from, second if the message is relevant to something we’re working on or otherwise highly pertinent to our lives, and third if the title intrigues us.

So, tell me: when you get something from someone who is not in your “near and dear” circle with a subject line like “Why You Need Our Product”, “Save 5% on Your Plumbing Supplies!”, or “March 7, 2025: Listen Now! (9 Minutes)”, what are the chances that you’re going to left-swipe? Pretty close to 100%, right? So, now let’s think about what you’re sending out, and why anyone would not left-swipe you.

Most social media will tell you what your “opening rate” is, but most bloggers and social media posters have no idea if they’re being “opened” or “followed”, and to what extent. That’s kind of like me putting a box of walnuts on my back porch counting on the squirrels to plant them for me. It works, but it’s pretty hit and miss.

There are probably three keys to avoid getting killed by left-swipes. The first is to make sure your titles or subject lines are intriguing. Really intriguing. If you and a thousand others are fishing off the same pier, you better be sure you’ve got the best bait.

The second is constantly to deliver real value, something where your personal Giftings are really “giving”. Over time, this develops your reputation and an audience will grow who actually look forward to receiving your message because you’re giving them a gift, every time.

The third key is consistency, putting out good work on a regular basis so that readers get to know it’s worth their time and effort to open your missive. This kills most of us, because when it’s time to grind out the next one, you probably don’t feel like it or have the time. Me, too. So the trick is to pound out a bunch when you’re “in the space” and then just put them in the queue.

The Friday Briefing opening rate runs consistently between 52% and 65%. Industry average is 22%. I don’t say this to brag (well, maybe a little bit) but to demonstrate that avoiding left-swiping can be done. It just doesn’t happen by accident.

So, is there something maybe we need to talk about? My email address and phone number are just below!