Email Rules
Keith Crockett
Helping businesses reverse the trend of rising costs without giving anything up. Reach out for a consultation to receive an actionable game plan to reduce operating costs.
I cannot begin to recall the number of webinars and trainings that I've listened to in order to improve in writing emails. Most individuals and experts in this area have their own variations and tweaks. In most cases though certain rules apply:
- Have a strong subject line
- Keep it brief
- Give the recipient a specific call to action
Recently I sent out individual emails to some customers that I've had some sort of interaction with. The subject line was plain, the email was very long and I didn't ask for anyone to call or get back to me. My intention with the email was simply to inform about an acquisition and a .x release of a product. To my surprise I had several replies back to the email. In this case following the email rules didn't seem to apply.
What kind of emails do you like? One with lots of fancy images? A clever subject line? Something that talks about business benefits? Asking for a meeting? Business trends? Informative? Something else?
The answer might be all of the above it just depends on what we are doing and where we are at from a professional or even personal standpoint at the time. In any case it makes me realize that when it comes to sending emails it is good every once in awhile to break the rules.
Retired
9 年Keith, I do think a clear subject line is best, stating if possible the action you are requesting and a time frame if that is relevant. I really hate emails with subject lines like "Tuesday" or "Details" or "Problems". Sometimes I have gone for a hybrid approach: Subject line, a short paragraph clearly labeled as being the meat or core, and a longer section clearly labeled as "details" or "background".
Chainguard - The Safe Source for Open Source
9 年Keith, short and sweet with the right subject line is key. Knowing how busy people are these days, even with my internal communications I put the meat of what I'm saying in the subject line and keep the body short and structured so that leadership and other teammates can quickly ascertain what needs to happen. E-mail isn't a substitute for a conversation, it's a primer for a call to action. Good writeup.