Does Your Email Make People Crazy?
How many emails are in your in-box?
How long does it take you to find one you might want?
Do you think about that when you write an email? I’d be delighted if you would.
You may think that email is easy, but I have to tell you. I’m writing this post for a reason. In the last few weeks I’ve gotten some emails that have really concerned me with how folks are doing email business.
Here’s a quote from one:
Dear Liz,
I don’t know you. I’ve never read your blog. Would you come look at mine and see whether I can be an SOB?
I didn’t love that email.
But that’s a gross point. I’ve also picked up some finer points of managing and sending email to business associates that I bet that even you might not have run into.
10 +1 Things to Make Me Love Your Business Email
As with everything in business, email is about execution and helping out the other person. Anyway you can make my life easier — in this case organize my email — makes you my email hero. Make it harder and I duck when I see your email coming.
Here are 10 + 1 ways to make me love your business email.
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1. Don’t take away my generosity by expecting things. If you email me for the first time, do what you can to solve your own problem. Find out who I am before you ask me to do something for you. Don’t write as though I spend my time waiting for your email to come. I work for a living. This is the single biggest problem — via phone call and email — I found freelancers had in all of my years of publishing.
2. Always allow me to opt out. If there are sensitive souls involved in a project, let’s decide together who will be included in receiving what. I’ll be grateful for the chance to opt out of emails that I don’t need.
3. If you have ongoing email reports on projects or events, consider developing a checklist form. Make a simple form that I can sign up for email annoucements of the type I wish to get.
4. Whenever possible limit email and put regular information in a status report. Emails interrupt me. A status report comes out less frequently and keeps the information organized for me. Status reports make you look professional and give me the comfort. I can quickly learn where to look if I have a worry.
5. Always write a subject line that is relevant to me. If you sent me a proposal, don’t put my company name in the subject line. Put yours. Name the document by your name as well. I don’t need another document with the name of my own company on it.
6. If you remember to change the subject line on replies to reflect new information in the reply, I will think you are a godsend.
7. It never hurts to say “hello,” and recognize me as a person before you launch into your message, but please don’t write me a letter. I like to share a personal thought to know that the relationship is working well, but work is what the email is about and I have 63 other things calling for my attention.
8. Concise and upbeat are always nice. Information without value judgment is most important.
9. If you ask questions, propose solutions. That cuts the email cycle dramatically.
10. If you don’t need a response, feel free to say so. “No response necessary” is a phrase that is grossly underused.
PLUS ONE GREAT ONE: If you can fit your message in the subject line, do. Then write
Brand yourself and your business as productive and professional by organizing my email for me. I’ll remember your savvy every time I check my email.
Are there email tricks that you know? Let’s make the longest, email business power list we can put together here.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
If you think Liz can help with a problem you’re having with your writing, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.
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Wow, Liz — I wish I had this list last week when I was dealing with that changing-host problem! I think I broke every one of these rules at least once.
I’m taking your suggestion from yesterday and printing this off. It should be a poster.
Great post! I have two rather obvious items to add to the list.
1. Spell check – or atleast, proof your own words before hitting send.
2. Email in plain, old-fashioned English when possible. Not everyone knows what LOL means, nor do they wish to.
Hi Katie,
I think in moments of stress or deep concentration we all break these rules. I know that I did with a friend this morning, and immediately emailed her back with a “I hope your mom is feeling better.”
I often find myself writing the message and then going back to the top to write a friendly hello or a thanks for your help sentence.
Oh Char,
You’re so right.
LOL and BTW don’t belong in business. Though it doesn’t hurt to add a 🙂 now and then.
Get the address right is another that belongs on the list too.
There you go again Liz writing about me in one of your posts. I need to think of some way to charge you for giving you all these ideas based on my mistakes.
I saw one of these lists on another site and it wasn’t done nearly as good as this one. That list seemed a little rude. Yours makes good sense and is a good guide. It seems like it can be summed up in four words-Be Considerate of Others.
Big Roy,
Now isn’t that just like you to take on the weight of the world? Goodness, no! You couldn’t compare to some of what I’ve seen. Look again at the example I used. 🙂
Thank you for your comments. Sometimes folks try to be clever and funny, but that’s really hard to do when you’re teaching people how to do something. It often comes off as uppity or as you said, “just a little rude.”
Be Considerate of Others. I read that and immediately I got a picture of a logo.
B-COOL
Be Considerate of Others, Lover. 🙂
Liz, you’ve made some great suggestions that shouldn’t be said but unfortunately must be.
Email seems to have made some people too lazy to communicate properly. Like many in business, I receive Emails that begin as if in the middle of an ongoing conversation.
It’s very frustrating and time consuming to reply. Most times I don’t because after reading the unintelligible query, I’m afraid to respond.
Shirley
Hi Shirley,
Afraid to respond is a good way to put it. Sometimes I really don’t what the other person is assuming because of what isn’t stated.
When folks aren’t rude, as in the example, they often leave out too much key information, as you’ve just pointed out to me. It’s become a way of having not to think at all I fear.
Quoting is helpful. We all tend to focus on our own concerns, often forgetting the person we’re emailing may have 30 other matters on hand.
By quoting the previous email (I prefer the bottom section), you help the other person keep track of what’s been going on. And they don’t have to flip through their old emails to refresh their memories.
Hi Scorpia,
Quoting is a thoughtful and practical addition to the list. Thanks for adding it!
It’s a great way to help me get back track with what you want me to be thinking about when I read your email and I’m so much more likely to hear what you’re saying and respond as you need me to. You’ve probably saved us both two or three emails of clarifying things AND made me grateful for saving me time of having to figure out what you were talking about. Just by giving me the context of a past quote on the subject.
Great idea. Thank you!
I’ll add two to the list:
1. Always summarize in the first paragraph what you are attempting to do. You can write a long note, but the reader of e-mail shouldn’t have to figure out where you are going.
2. I am highly reluctant to send an e-mail with more than three paragraphs. More than three means a phone call is better.
Plus one: a 14,000 e-mail string does no one any good. If you want to be good to the reader, don’t ask the person to “start at the bottom” of the e-mail string and to get all the context. Put the issue at the top and go from there.
Hi Scot!
These three are all great ones. I’ve expecially been getting frustrated with gmail making looooooooong trailing emails for me.
How’s this for one:
Sometimes I don’t need the history of the world.
Start a fresh email.
Hey Liz,
seems like people are taking advantage of your good nature. This reminds me of one of your very old posts which talked about exchanging cats.. or were they monkeys 🙂 ? so why don’t you give them your monkey in exchange for their request!
As far as writing emails are concerned I think people are getting too lazy! The least they can do is say hi and end with a bye or something similar.
regards
Ram
Hi Ram!
Thank you for remembering and reminding me. I’m not very good at following my own advice it seems.
I should just give them the monkey right back.
I do think that some group of folks are getting lazy. I sure hope my generation didn’t teach our kids to be that way. But there is a group that seems to think that I am here to serve their needs, rather than we are here to help each other.
Great to see you!
I agree with Scorpia’s suggestion, “Quoting is helpful. We all tend to focus on our own concerns, often forgetting the person weââ¬â¢re emailing may have 30 other matters on hand.”
(I prefer the quotation to be at the bottom as well).
I think it’s important to edit out superfluous information when the quotations start getting long though, it’s the relevance that provides the context. The helpfulness of quotations tends to be inversely proportionate to the length…
Kx
Hi Katheleen,
Welcome. Thanks for saying that.
You’re so right we do get all wrapped up in our own priorities and lose track of the person on the other side of the communication. Someone who does what you’re saying not only gets my attention, but also gets my business and my undying gratitude. I know I need a “keeper.” 🙂
GREAT post, Liz! I think I would add:
“Don’t reply reactively on an assumption that is based on an email correspondance— the email ‘voice’ is not the same as hearing someone’s actual voice. Ask questions first.”
I just got a critical and nasty email yesterday from someone who had made an assumption about something I had done without checking out my intention. I accommodated his request immediately, of course, because what he was asking for was perfectly reasonable, but the tone of his email turned me off to such a degree that I am not willing to collaborate with this person in the future. All from one email!
I am training myself to give people the benefit of the doubt before blasting them, particularly if I am not certain of their intentions. It’s always a good idea to think twice, maybe three times, before clicking “SEND” for an emotionally charged email. Sometimes, you can write exactly what you are feeling and then send it to yourself or a close friend as therapy!
You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, that’s for sure!
Jessica!!
Welcome, great to see you again!
I’m getting better as well at walking away from emails that have that tone of expecttion and well, rudeness. I understand that folks are busy, what I don’t understand is how they seem to consistantly write to me as if I’m waiting with nothing to do, but respond to their requests.
I’m certainly not perfect at email. I find that words I use in conversation in quick moments of email don’t translate. So I usually go back to reread and often rewrite . . . Always I’m adding a Hello and a line tha recongizes the person at the beginning . . . I’m so prone to jump right in at the last topic when writng a response to an email I’ve received. . . .
Thanks for this comment. It’s such a great reminder that there is a person at the other end of the words we send by email.
Great to see you again, Jessica!
Hi Liz!
I am an Indian filmmaker, fallen on bad days, doing nothing more fancy than the odd corporate film script or two. I loved reading the list and have a few general comments that you might agree with:
1. Isn’t it time all of us said “No” to the Chain letter? I especially dread and despise the ones that warn me of dreaded consequences, like death or disease. Shouldn’t there be some kind of law or at least implicit politeness code that bans us from sending these?
2. I feel that like in the simple hard copy version if a business email has a simple letter number, it can make life easier for both parties. Add that to the subject line and you’ve evolved to the next level of convenient mail searching.
3. It may not seem very congenial, but if one added a response form (especially of a Yes/No type)in a Business mail, that might ensure that atleast all the exact needs/questions are resolved. In all fairness, one must add a section for the recepient to add their subjective views.
4. Even when reprimanding, one must try to avoid sarcasm.
Thanks for creating this list, and thankyou to all those who added their comments. Unlike letter writing, email etiquette is still something very nebulous.
I am sorry I haven’t spell checked my mail, and I may have committed some very glaring email crimes, but I do hope my thoughts may spark better ideas in your minds.
Regards,
Manish
Hello Manish,
Great points all of these. Don’t feel badly, I deserve the same punishment for committing the same email crimes. 🙂
I bet most of us do. 😉