Ed. Note: Seth Godin is a marketing guru and well-known author who writes the most popular marketing blog in the world. I read his blog nearly every day and nearly always find myself saying “What Seth just said.” Still, from time to time, I might have an added thought or comment to add. So, I am doing it here. BTW, Seth does not allow comments on his blog, so feel free to make a comment about his original post or even on my follow up. And I acknowledge that coming up with the original idea is much harder than just commenting on it.
How to send a personal email
Here are some easy to follow tips that will help you avoid being seen as a spammer, or having your emails trashed or ignored. The thing is this: email reduces friction. Greedy, lazy organizations have embraced this and tried to figure out how to blast as many emails as they can as cheaply as they can, relying on the law of large numbers. The real law of large numbers is, “using large numbers is against the law.”
I want you to add friction back in. If you want to be seen as being personal, the best strategy is to be personal, which is slow and expensive.
- Don’t send the same email to large numbers of people.
- If you have more than a few people to contact, you’ll be tempted to copy and paste or mail merge. Don’t. You’ll get caught. It shows. If it’s important enough for someone to read, it’s important enough for you to rewrite.
- Careful with the salutation. Don’t write, “Dear Claudia,” if you don’t usually write “Dear” at the beginning of all your emails.
- Don’t mush the salutation together with the rest of the note. If I had a dollar for every email that started, “Joe, When experts come together…” That’s not personal. That’s lazy merging. See rule 1.
- Don’t send HTML or pictures. Personal email doesn’t, why are you?
- Don’t talk like a press release. Talk like a person. A person is reading this, so why are you talking like that?
- Be short. The purpose of an email is not to sell the person on anything other than writing back. If you don’t have a personal, interesting way to start a conversation, don’t write.
- Don’t send an email only when you really need something. That’s not personal, that’s selfish.
- Do you have a sig with a phone number in it? Your phone number? If you don’t trust me enough to give me your real phone number, I don’t trust you enough to read your mail.
- Don’t mark your email urgent. Urgent to you is not urgent to me.
- Don’t lie in your subject line, and don’t be cute. You’re not clever enough to be cute. Just be honest.
- Following up on an impersonal spam email is twice as dumb as sending the first one. Invest the time to do it right the first time
- Anticipated, personal and relevant permission mail will always dramatically outperform greedy short-term spam. I promise.
- Just because you have someone’s email address doesn’t mean you have the right to email them.
What GL Just Said About What Seth Just Said
Good list, Seth…but you left off the last six tips.
Seth and GL’s Twenty Tips on How to Send Personal Email
Seth’s 1-14, see above or here.
15. If someone takes the time to send you an email, respond right away, even if it is with a short note saying “got it, more later.” Not responding is like being greeted in the elevator with a “hello” and not saying “Hi” back.
16. Brighten their day, whenever possible. Compliment them, say you appreciate them. MIght be hokey-sounding, but it works…and it should, because it is exactly what we all need in this age of ‘social media.’
17. Don’t use your sig box on every email. It’s like giving your business card to your friend after going over to his house to shoot hoops.
18. Be different. On Elvis’s birthday a few days back, I sent out a few emails thanking some bloggers for reviewing DIG YOUR JOB, with a simple “thankyouverymuch, passthepeanutbutter (Elvis Impersonation).” I have noticed that when I amuse myself with things like this, my writing is more ‘normal’ and real.
19. Summarize the attachments or files. I like getting attachments of interesting, relevant articles from my friends. It is even better when they take the time to summarize it first, or maybe cut and paste the first paragraph.
20. Lastly, don’t only send personal emails. Call.
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I don’t agree with #17. In fact, it’s a pet peeve of mine. Your information should be easy to find. If I need to call, fax, or email someone, one of the first places I look is the last email I’ve received because it’s convenient. When I have to hunt for the information, I’m more likely to give up the contact altogether.
Instead, I’d change it to: Don’t put useless stuff in your signature. It should be name, company, and contact information. No quotes, no privacy policies, no junk that isn’t relevant to your email.
You are right, Michelle. Let’s use Michelle’s number 17 instead of mine. What I was thinking when I wrote it was the emails that I send to my kids and close friends only. Better have it just for her reason above. ezy pezy in other words.
I love #19. In addition to summarizing files or attachments, I often summarize long e-mails or e-mail threads. It’s a way to make sure everyone is on the same page before proceeding with the long virtual conversation.