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The perfect email

davidgcohen.com

1–10 of 43 posts

Re: The perfect email

#2
As someone who is often very nervous about sending "cold" emails to this degree, I really appreciate that you/David posted this.

It really helps paint a better picture of what a good easy-going email should look like, in this case/scenario. I feel like I often over think more "important" emails like this and re-write them over and over. It's good to finally know that if I'm just more myself, it will probably stick out more than if I try to sound like a robot and someone I am not.

Thanks again! :)

Re: The perfect email

#3
And now I too am very curious what the response was, particularly whether location-based services are being over- or underestimated at the moment.

Re: The perfect email

#4
I wouldn't call it perfect. You have to shift through all the verbiage to find the points you want. I think that email could have been refactored to half the length.

Busy people want short emails.

I'd be interested in knowing what the subject line was for the email.

Re: The perfect email

#5
IMO this is too long, also not clear enough.

Single sentence per line. Or two small ones.

Clear ask on its own line, correct?

Thanks, Startup Founder

Startup Name and URL

email / phone

Re: The perfect email

#6
I'm only guessing here, but I think that most of the angel investors that I know will trash such an email after reading the first sentence and seeing how much more they still have to read.

Re: The perfect email

#7
Basically: "He made it all about 'me' and that's the thing, as an investor, I love the most."

In all seriousness if you truly want to know how to do something great, go to someone who has done something similar successfully before and soak up their knowledge. At the end of the day though, if you want someone you don't know who has never heard of you to invest in you, you have to stroke their ego a bit.

Re: The perfect email

#8

I wouldn't call it perfect. You have to shift through all the verbiage to find the points you want. I think that email could have been refactored to half the length. Busy people want short emails. I'd be interested in knowing what the subject line was for the email.

If the intended recipient thought it was perfect, then he achieved his goal.

We all have different preferences for emails we received, clearly he nailed it for his target.

Re: The perfect email

#9
Good post. This is approximately what I've been doing for the last two weeks as I try to contact specific developers to come work at famo.us. I spend time researching them, including reading their github code, twitter and G+ streams, LinkedIn, personal blog etc.

If I can't find a solid connection between what their experience and the things they love to do then that is a signed that I haven't researched enough or that there really isn't a fit and that I shouldn't bother them and waste their time.

My favorite quote about email comes from Seth Godin:

"I don't want to get email from anybody. I want to get me-mail"

Re: The perfect email

#10
Before I hit "send" on an important email, I always try and stop for a second and put myself in the recipients shoes. If I was receiving this email, how would it make me feel? Would it make me want to respond?
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