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To Get More Replies, Say Less (2017)

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Re: To Get More Replies, Say Less (2017)

#61

Post by minxomat »

scott_s wrote: post #26
janwillemb wrote: post #15

I've noticed this too in emails to coworkers. If the email is long enough, they just skip it to "read it later". This is quite frustrating, because sometimes you just _have_ to communicate some more words.

Long emails should still have short opening paragraphs. No more than three sentences, one or two preferred. Basic context ("We still need to figure out waffles"), people's names if it's a referral or a request for someone else ("Jane said you know waffle batter the best"), and most importantly, if you're asking a question, end with a question mark ("What waffle batter recipe should we use?"). The rest of the email ca…

That’s called BLUF. Bottom line up front.

Re: To Get More Replies, Say Less (2017)

#62

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

minxomat wrote: post #61
scott_s wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Long emails should still have short opening paragraphs. No more than three sentences, one or two preferred. Basic context ("We still need to figure out waffles"), people's names if it's a referral or a request for someone else ("Jane said you know waffle batter the best"), and most importantly, if you're asking a question, end with a question mark ("What waffle batter recipe should we use?"). The rest of the email ca…

That’s called BLUF. Bottom line up front.

Or TLDR:)

Re: To Get More Replies, Say Less (2017)

#64

Post by Androider »

mesaframe wrote: post #2

Will this work for freelancing proposal? Will this work for about/cover letter/bio?

If you add a one paragraph or even one sentence cover letter that is unique to the company your applying for, you'll already be ahead of 95% of the other applicants in my experience.

Even when we state that a cover letter is required, the number of people who actually supply one is minuscule. It does effectively filter out people who can't read or follow instructions though.

Re: To Get More Replies, Say Less (2017)

#66

Post by weaksauce »

ponker wrote: post #51
formerly_proven wrote: post #17

The shorter the email the more believable it becomes that it was specifically written by a human directed at you, not a mass-used template. If you feel like you get an automatic email, you're not going to respond, because you don't want to talk to a computer. If, on the other hand, you can suspend your disbelief and entertain the fiction that someone named "Valerie" at E-Corp personally contacted you, you are infinit…

When I had a startup I did personally email every user until we got to about 10,000 or so. Didn’t use a template, fired off a new email every time.

how'd that go?

Re: To Get More Replies, Say Less (2017)

#67

Post by ponker »

weaksauce wrote: post #66
ponker wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When I had a startup I did personally email every user until we got to about 10,000 or so. Didn’t use a template, fired off a new email every time.

how'd that go?

It was useful. All of the early customer feedback came from those conversations.

Re: To Get More Replies, Say Less (2017)

#68

Post by wilsonbright »

mepiethree wrote: post #21
EGreg wrote: post #9

Maybe if you made it a two word email and removed the signature it would get 16x the engagement. Or if you had an empty email and put the question in the subject you’d get 32x engagement. Attention spans these days are terrible.

Two word email: Subject: Hey Body: Whaddya want?

Ha ha. This is the shortest!

Re: To Get More Replies, Say Less (2017)

#69

Post by mennis16 »

EGreg wrote: post #9

Maybe if you made it a two word email and removed the signature it would get 16x the engagement. Or if you had an empty email and put the question in the subject you’d get 32x engagement. Attention spans these days are terrible.

I think it would be hilarious to get a company email that uses only the subject line. I miss getting "announcement EOM" emails (EOM indicating the end of the subject is actually the end of the message).
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