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How to get every email returned

nytimes.com

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Re: How to get every email returned

#41

Post by mr_toad »

js2 wrote: post #13
gnicholas wrote: post #2

I've found a couple things to be useful: * If there's a question for the person to answer, make sure it is the very last sentence in the email. That way when the person finishes reading the email and is deciding whether to ignore/archive or reply, they're more likely to reply. If possible, make the question yes/no instead of long answer. For example: "Is now a good time to move forward?" versus "How does this sound t…

On your last point, you might be interested in reading Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It . The author would advise you to ask a negative question in your email such as "have you given up on this project?" People don't like to say no and it often motivates a reply. https://blog.blackswanltd.com/the-edge/3-ways-to-make-no-wor...

> have you given up on this project?

This comes across as presumptive passive aggressive nagging.

It implies that you already know the answer, and are just poking for a response.

Personally, I’d try and avoid working with someone who used that tone.

Re: How to get every email returned

#42

Post by pointytrees »

hhjjkkll wrote: post #29
noir_lord wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On that topic people who go onto support channels on IRC and then ask if it’s ok to ask a question drive me crazy. It’s a support channel, just ask.

They may have had bad experiences with asking questions before, it's not that unnormal for certain communities to have a culture around shaming newbies for asking questions. They feel like they have to ask to test the waters before jumping into it. I don't blame them.

I'm hesitant to agree with you because it happens so frequently. I'll admit that I've had my share of receiving newbie bashing.

More often than not, I feel like talking with those folks and explaining to them that they should just ask and not ask if they can ask it seems like they just don't recognize what they're doing. Thus, it's usually good to tell them they don't need to ask and to just ask now and in the future.

Re: How to get every email returned

#43

Post by Spooky23 »

inopinatus wrote: post #30
quickthrower2 wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Depends on the person. We're not all sheep, and I'd see through that and think "Fuck You". I might right click the email and select "create filter out of this..." The problem with any systematic of getting someone's attention is that is is impersonal by nature (not tailored to the person). As audiences get more sophisticated and used to technology, the sender needs to get more sophisticated. In the early days of inte…

Indeed. The author of that advice has this in his bio: > "CEO of ... a firm that solves business negotiation problems with hostage negotiation strategies".

The advice makes sense in many scenarios, just not marketing.

Shaming people into not being a lazy shit at work or some other negotiation scenario is a legit and effective strategy.

But with a cold/cool sales contact, it is not genuine. What idiot salesman would start a relationship in a way that casts the customer negatively?

I’ve been in positions where I have influenced spending in a vertical where it’s sometimes winner take all. CRM generated pitch emails come in all of the time designed to look like normal emails and use these approaches, angling to get a meeting. It’s obnoxious. Tell me what problem you’re going to solve and how you solve it. 80% of the time I don’t care, 20% I might take some action if it sounds compelling.

Re: How to get every email returned

#44

Post by bruhmoment »

Hi everyone, would you mind avoiding using any sites articles from New York Times? They require a subscription after a certain amount of views. Sure, journalism isn't charity work (news editors and journalists need food on the table, too, you know?), but all other sites have advertisements. I leave advertisements enabled on sites that don't block you out. If you use an article from NYT, would you mind including another link to a mirror article?

Re: How to get every email returned

#45

Post by shhsshs »

bruhmoment wrote: post #44

Hi everyone, would you mind avoiding using any sites articles from New York Times? They require a subscription after a certain amount of views. Sure, journalism isn't charity work (news editors and journalists need food on the table, too, you know?), but all other sites have advertisements. I leave advertisements enabled on sites that don't block you out. If you use an article from NYT, would you mind including anoth…

I’ll add that most of the time you can get around their paywall by using an incognito tab. I still agree I would rather have a mirror.

Re: How to get every email returned

#47

Post by floatingatoll »

throwawaymath wrote: post #38
floatingatoll wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It clearly declares the author’s intent to give up asking in the face of being ignored, without any specific insult or derogatory behavior. Either not replying is fine with the recipient or it isn’t. If it’s rude to say “I won’t bother you again if you don’t reply”, what behavior would you replace that with that clearly indicates the outcome of choosing not to reply? I encounter this frequently at work, where people…

> If it’s rude to say “I won’t bother you again if you don’t reply”, what behavior would you replace that with that clearly indicates the outcome of choosing not to reply? Not bothering me in the first place, or maybe taking a hint. If I didn’t reply to your first or second emails, assume I don’t want to. A motivating example: the only people who have ever emailed me repeatedly and used language like, “one last time”…

I do not endorse the use of this method, or any other, in a sales scenario.

Re: How to get every email returned

#48

Post by gnicholas »

pointytrees wrote: post #39
gnicholas wrote: post #2

I've found a couple things to be useful: * If there's a question for the person to answer, make sure it is the very last sentence in the email. That way when the person finishes reading the email and is deciding whether to ignore/archive or reply, they're more likely to reply. If possible, make the question yes/no instead of long answer. For example: "Is now a good time to move forward?" versus "How does this sound t…

Have you considered making the question the first line? I think I understand your reasoning. If you lead with the question, then write a bunch of stuff. When they finish reading and get to the end, they may have forgotten the initial question. I guess I have found in my professional experience that leading the with question is often more effective when talking to management. They're often quite busy and may skim the…

Yes, and perhaps I did this more when I was working in a big corporation (law/tech). But now that I'm running a startup, most of the time I'm chasing people down it's for business development.

In that context, the recipient doesn't have any need to email me back, and I'm trying to make sure they do. For internal emails, there's already pressure for the recipient to email back sometime-or-other, so it's a different challenge.

Re: How to get every email returned

#49

Post by theNJR »

mr_toad wrote: post #41
js2 wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On your last point, you might be interested in reading Never Split the Difference: Negotiating As If Your Life Depended On It . The author would advise you to ask a negative question in your email such as "have you given up on this project?" People don't like to say no and it often motivates a reply. https://blog.blackswanltd.com/the-edge/3-ways-to-make-no-wor...

> have you given up on this project? This comes across as presumptive passive aggressive nagging. It implies that you already know the answer, and are just poking for a response. Personally, I’d try and avoid working with someone who used that tone.

In rare situations forcing the answer, even forcing a no, can be helpful.

Re: How to get every email returned

#50

Post by gnicholas »

takanori wrote: post #46

Lots of nytimes articles on HN lately

Lots of people insinuating things about this recently.

I'm the person who posted this article, and I do not have (and never have had) a relationship with the NYT. I read their articles for free thanks to a partnership my library system (SMCL) has with the NYT. I definitely don't always agree with their stories, but some of their tech stuff is good.

It's also worth noting that some of their content is newsworthy for the HN community simply because many (non-HN) people read the NYT and form their ideas about tech based on what they read there.

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