How to Write Effective Emails and Get People to Respond

Think about your e-mail inbox and reading habits. What grabs your attention? What prompts you to respond? What do you automatically dismiss?

Now think about the e-mails you tend to send. How do they stack up?

E-mail writing is an art, not a science. There are many ways to write effective e-mails and these are good suggestions, tips, and tricks on how to effectively and efficiently get your message across - especially when conveying an action item.

E-mail writing is an art, not a science.

Be Short, Yet Specific

TL;DR - Less Is More: Do not bury things! Keep e-mails short, sweet, and to the point. Make sure they are long enough to cover the material but short enough to keep the recipient interested.

Specificity Leads to Credibility: ...And credibility leads to effectiveness. When you appear more credible you can more easily get our message across. Consider these two examples:

Example #1:

We are a fast-growing startup in the tech space and looking to bring on new talent. Interested in a conversation?

Example #2:

We are a fast growing startup in the insure-tech payments space. We did x4 revenue YoY and are currently at $20M in revenue. We are looking to bring on new sales talent. Interested in a conversation?

Example #1 provided little specificity. What space is this company really in? What roles are they looking to hire? Is this even relevant to me? Example #2, however, with just a few more words, conveyed some specificity that at least the recipient understands why they got this message.

Make It Easy!

End with a Direct Question: To elicit a direct response to a direct question, the easiest way to do it is to end with a direct question. Optimally, there should be nothing after the question and the question should be its own line.

Thank you so much for sending me the slides and discussing the presentation for tomorrow. I have some additional thoughts and suggestions.

Can we chat?

Provide a Choice: When you need a direct answer, it is almost always easier to offer up a choice than to ask an open-ended question (where you lose some control over the conversation causing unnecessary back and forth). If you curate choices you make it easier for that person to respond in a way that is efficient and effective to the goal that you want.

Thank you so much for sending me the slides and discussing the presentation for tomorrow. I have some additional thoughts and suggestions.

I am avaialble today from 12-2 and tomorrow from 9-12.

When works?

Clarity is Key: Overcommunicating for the sake of clarity is not a bad thing! On the contrary, clarity reduces the need to go back and forth via e-mail and saves time and energy.

Thank you so much for sending me the slides and discussing the presentation for tomorrow. I have some additional thoughts and suggestions.

I am avaialble today from 12-2 ET (hard stop) and tomorrow from 9-12 ET (hard stop).

When works?

List it Out: If there is a list of related action items that need to be sent out, it is much easier for the recipient to read and appropriately react those action items if they are listed in bullet-points. It is much harder to miss when done this way. Consider these two examples:

Example #1: 

Hi! To get this candidate closed I need to know desired comp (base/bonus), desired start date, and what are his current benefits.

Example #2:

Hi! To get this candidate closed I need to know:
? Desired comp (base/bonus)
? Desired start date
? Current benefits

Bifurcating Two Distinct Subjects: Sometimes you have two distinct subjects you wish to convey to one recipient. While it is tempting to just put them both in one e-mail, it might be best to send your recipient two separate emails, one for each subject. While this might seem counterintuitive, taking this approach will bifurcate the subjects and increase the likelihood that your distinct subjects are seen and any separate action items taken care of.

Personalize, Personalize, Personalize!

Canned e-mails. UGH. Have you ever received a canned e-mail? It likely ends up in the junk or the trash folder. However, canned e-mails - through personalization - can be more efficient and drive up your effectiveness (especially in sales). Consider this e-mail template:

Hi [First Name] - I hope this finds you well


It looks like you might be open to considering new opportunities.


As part of our long-term growth plan, we are building out the product team. We're specifically looking for someone with your type of [insert specific item from background] background within the space.



Your experience at [insert company name] is solid and generally what we look for. I would love to set up an exploratory conversation.

Open to chatting?

Obviously, inserting the recipients name should go without saying and many CRM platforms will do this automatically. Going the extra mile and personalizing the body of the e-mail template is where you will find gold. It is a good idea to do this in an easily recognizable place like the last few sentences - you want to end on a good note!

Summarizing

Hopefully, the suggestions, tips, and tricks here will help you more efficiently and effectively communicate via e-mail. If all else fails, remember the three major rules:

1. Be short, yet specific.
2. Make it easy.
3. Personalize!