Create interest with the first line of your email!
The most importance sentence in every email you send, and the one that you should spend the most time on, is…the first one.
It should, as hopefully the first sentence of this blog does :), convey to your reader exactly what your email is about.
It should create interest for your reader. let them know what it is about and make them want to read more.
The challenge is that the people that you are sending important emails to – ones that require actions and answers and approvals – are likely to be receiving 100 or more emails per day; that are all fighting with yours for attention.
The objective is to break through the distractions of the rest of their emails and focus their attention on what you need. Give them a good reason to want to read the detail below and understand what will be required of them.
An email that starts with an opening sentence “I would like to request approval for ….” is likely to generate interest to understand why you are asking for whatever it is you need. (And the more that you ask for the more interested they will be to understand why!)
Whilst “Please find below details of the customer service complaint from …. that requires your immediate action…” explains exactly what the email is about and that there is a required action.
No ambiguity. No confusion.
[Tweet “Think about the first sentence of your emails as if they’re a tweet. Short, clear and concise.”]Ask for exactly what you want. Explain what it is about.
And then provide further details.
Career Tip To Go: Explain what your email is about in the first sentence
And, of course, follow on with good quality content…and you’ll be good to go!
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Karen Adamedes is an experienced executive, author and career-tipster. In her most recent book ‘Professional in Pajamas: 101 Tips for Working from Home’ Karen shares many of the insights she has gained during a decade of working from home, where she has negotiated multi-million dollar deals, led national teams and delivered major projects. She does admit to sometimes working in her pajamas.
Definitely! I loved the analogy of a tweet when you’re looking at approaching emails. It’s definitely challenging reaching out to new people, but as you mentioned, it’s very important to keep it simple and to the point. Loved this post, but am excited to hear you speak on how to develop the email into a sustainable form of dialogue for folks!
Greetings Karen,
I hope you’re well!
I’m not so sure about jumping straight into requests in the first line of an email, particularly when trying to build a relationship with the reader. I find a simple initial statement acknowledging the other person softens the message and prepares their state of mind on a positive note for the remainder of the email. It’s also important to end on a positive note.
Keep up the great work!
Best regards,
Greg