October 4, 2009 92 Comments

Get Your Email Answered

mailbox I just hit a new milestone, but not one that I love. I’m getting over 600 emails a day on average now. I did some really rough analysis and found that over 50% were people asking me for some amount of my time for their needs, 25% were “really nice people,” 20% were business opportunities, and 5% were people who really matter to me personally. A quick bit of math: if I answered 1 email a minute, 600 emails would take me 10 hours to answer. (1 minute is pretty decent unless I have to do some work, like fill out an email interview).

The thing is, we’re all busy. We all have tons of email. We have no time to get it all handled.

But what will you do to get your email answered (for the most part)? I’ve got a few thoughts, and this relates to some of what Julien Smith and I talked about in Trust Agents. If you want to improve your chances of an email being answered by someone (like me), here are some thoughts and ideas. I’m hoping you add yours to the comments.

This applies more to the business sense of email, not personal. If I know you, it’s okay to email me. Just forgive me that I’m having trouble drowning.

Get Your Email Answered

  1. Brevity. I have no time for huge rambling emails. Lead with what you need from me. Fill me in on the backstory (if you feel you must), and then end again with what you need from me. (Most imporant part: lead with what you need from me).
  2. Connectivity. If you talk with me on other platforms (like comment on my blog or talk with me on Twitter or Facebook), then I’m much more likely to know who you are.
  3. Skip the flattery. PR types: starting with “I love your blog” and then pitching me something I could care less about is a bit of a mismatch. You clearly don’t understand my blog if you’re pitching me stories that don’t relate to what I’m doing.
  4. Get right to it. Most emails have about 200 words of throat-clearing. Feel free to just be brief and to the point.
  5. Make it mutually beneficial. It’s very nice that you want me to help you get attention, but it’s rare that this does anything for me. Is there anything you’re going to do for my community to make this more worthwhile for them to care about you?
  6. Make every email about resolving to a close. I hate open-ended emails. Examples: “what would you like for lunch tomorrow?” Instead, how about, “I’m thinking about either tapas or Korean BBQ tomorrow. Do you have a preference?” One makes things close faster. The other makes the message linger.
  7. Give the right lead time. Asking me for something today is probably not going to happen. Asking me for something in three months is going to be forgotten. Think more in terms of two weeks for a typical response, or two or three months for something involving travel. Make sense?
  8. Equip a trust agent. It’s easier to get some kind of response by having someone who knows your target person introduce you.

What else? What else do you think will help?

By the way, since I started my contact form, I’ve found that I *love* responding to information that goes through it. It resolves to a Google spreadsheet, and I can bang out several dozen answers a minute on the form. Just a data point.

I look forward to your thoughts.

Photo credit bobster855

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  • directormatt

    Chris, I love your blog…. : )
    Drinks on me next time you're in LA, specifically the Burbank area.

    Matt Warren
    @mattwarren

  • http://markbao.com Mark Bao

    Those are fantastic tips not only for emails but for communication in general. Pretty much all comes down to brevity, clarity, and relevancy.

    Generally, I star/flag emails I have to take action on, and unstar when they're responded to. That's the easiest way to track what needs to be replied to. Any email that isn't important and doesn't need a reply I hit delete on (which is configured to send it to Google Mail archive.)

    I've started to only handle emails on the BlackBerry now. I use a BlackBerry app called Sensobi http://www.sensobi.com which allows me to schedule a follow-up time to someone from the Sensobi app (if it's a really important email), which I can choose to also add to my calendar, which is a good way to prevent important follow-ups to get lost in the mix. (It also gives points when you contact or are contacted by someone and ranks your most important contacts, wherein you can see your conversation history.)

    The perk of using email on a mobile device is that I can identify an important email and star it when I'm out, and when I'm back on the computer it's not lost in the mix, whereas if I'm gone for a few hours and get back, it's hidden among the barrage of other email.

    Otherwise, the mid-importance email does seem to get lost. Thankfully, social things like event invitations are tied up in Facebook and SMS.

  • http://www.sonnygill.com Sonny Gill

    For those drowning in their emails, what would help from our perspective is to understand where your emails are coming from and what type of attention they need (as you've explained a bit by your %'s).

    Taking that a step further – and after watching Inbox Zero – I've learned to *process* those emails that need immediate attention or some sort of response. After doing so, I either delete or archive said emails. I've adjusted to this method in the past couple months and has helped relieve a bit of that drowning feeling and stress from the numerous daily emails and requests. Understandably, it may not be effective for every person (or fellas like you who get 600 a day), but it's been helpful in my own email management.

    Inbox Zero video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=9731497…

  • http://www.webuildyourblog.com/ Andrew Rondeau

    I remember when I worked in the 9-5 corporate world and the most off putting thing for me was long emails. Hated them

    Another bug-bear – 'urgent emails'. “I need this today by 2pm”.

    Really? Well don't email me, ring me. Do you really think I am sitting at my desk just refreshing my emails every 5 minutes. Must admit even if I saw emails like that and I could response by 2pm, I never did (on purpose).

    Andrew

  • http://www.blogworldexpo.com/ dave_blogworldexpo

    Chris – great tips!

    What an important issue and something Rick and I have been discussing often. We are so buried in emails, it's incredibly challenging to manage.

    I'd love to see how you use the form and reply efficiently using google docs. If you already posted on this, would you be able to put up a link for those of us that missed it? Thank you.

    I'd add just two thoughts for consideration. Not necessarily tips for getting an email answered by a busy guy like you, but rather tips for everyone who gets buried in emails.

    One. Track conversations in strings for those you email with frequently. Whenever possible if an email conversation goes past more than a few volleys, I ask the other party to connect with me on skype. It helps me to keep the string all together (instead of fragmented and mixed with other conversations), and we move through the dialogue very quickly. If I could organize my email conversations into strings like skype, I'd be one happy camper. As it stands, the volume of contacts and conversations coming thru email exceeds my ability to organize and keep pace. It's a continual challenge, and IM'ing helps me save time and keep conversations cohesive. (The lack of latency doesn't hurt either.)

    Two. If a misunderstanding occurs for more than 2 emails, pick up the phone. Sometimes messages are misread in text, and only a voice, inflection, and dynamic interaction can truly convey what's intended. I've seen business friends completely piss off a contact because they insisted on sticking to email, and their intention failed to convey accurately in text form. Sometimes a quick call brings a personal touch, greater success in resolving issues and complete clarity to an otherwise tedious exchange dragged out over numerous time-wasting emails. It's not always necessary, but when things go wrong in text, nothing compares to a real person.

    Best Regards,

    Dave Cynkin
    Co-Founder, CMO, Sleep Deprivationist & Thrill Seeker
    BlogWorld & New Media Expo

  • http://detroit.fwix.com Jamie Favreau

    I will say I have done most of the above and I always get an answer and if I don't get the answer I would like I get a reason why. Which I have learned a great deal from Chris and I think he does a great job with communication. I did get my Trust Agents yesterday and I am going to be reading it today. Thank you!

  • http://twitter.com/mistressmia Mistress Mia

    You might be drowning Chris but you are hiding it well. Email gave us a platform to ramble and that was important because it set us free from “text book communication”. Email isn't formal and you can't run out of paper – therefore hard to “keep it to one page” of business ettiquette. Twitter, I hope is making us better writers. When there is a space constraint in order to get the point across all the 50c words get culled. Perhaps if we write emails that are more like twitter posts there would be more answers.

  • James

    600 per day? you are wasting your time – outsource it. A capable helper will be able to answer 95% of your emails, requiring your efforts only several matters.

  • http://www.sunshinecoastwebmarketing.com/ Adam Ban

    Couldn't agree with you more Chris.
    Email has gotten way out of control.
    I really agree about being quick and to the point.
    Who has the time for Fluff.
    That's what I love about Twitter, short sharp and to the point.

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  • jeffcutler

    More techniques for wading through the morass – from the point of view of the receiver – include enlisting the help of virtual assistants, filters and setting aside offline time to deal with the tidal wave.

    On the flight back from Europe I got 1000 emails read and all the pertinent ones addressed either via a response (which went out when I hit wifi at Logan) or trashed because they were spam or idle chit chat.

    I must confess, though, as a writer I default to using email instead of Twitter, etc. for my deeper communication. The tide is shifting though.

  • http://www.twitter.com/danieldecker Daniel Decker

    I think getting your email answered also begins with getting your email OPENED! A clearly defined subject line can also make a world of difference.

  • http://www.rockofeye.net/ Rebecca

    I have a tip. If someone wants something from you, let them contact you twice and only respond the second time. If they really want a response they won't give up after one round of radio silence.
    (I am a creative agent and always have people contact me fishing around for a new rep. 1% of them are really interested in *me*, the rest just want *an* agent. If they're keen, they will email again/call.

  • http://twitter.com/glowmoment Jeanne Ruckert Lovy

    This is the most useful blog entry I've read in weeks. Thanks.

  • mmyerspalio

    Agree with Mark Bao – “Pretty much all comes down to brevity, clarity, and relevancy.” I'll add one for the list though…

    - Don't open your message like you know me if you don't. Nothing conjures up my delete button faster than BS coming in any form into my in box.

  • http://twitter.com/WhyHireMe WhyHire.Me

    If its unsolicited, make sure the subject is aligned with the recipient. This means doing your homework and researching the recipient. If you do this, you have a great chance of nailing point number 5!

  • http://twitter.com/dturnbull David Turnbull

    Heh, sorry for contributing to one of those email interviews that takes extra time. ;)

  • http://www.zackgrossbart.com Zack Grossbart

    I often contact busy people with requests to interview them, and one approach that has worked for me is big open small close. I give the person a hint of the open ended benefit (publicity from an interview, long-term relationship), but I end with a simple close (say yes or no to the interview). I don't want to make them choose a time or venue for the interview or do anything else before they can respond.

    A couple of other tips I would add are grammar and capitalization. Basically, anything that makes me worried makes me less likely to answer. All lower case letters or really obvious grammar problems make it look like the email wasn't important to you.

  • debng

    Thanks for addressing email, Chris. It's the bane of my existence.This is something I struggle with – every time I travel or step away from the laptop for a few days I end up with thousands of emails to wade through. Yes, there are plenty of people who want me to post about their non-relevant ebook or service on my blog network, but the majority are from advertisers or freelance writers with interesting or important questions. I can't let them slide, but I also can't get to everything. I'm doing my best to handle the most important stuff first. I also take the most asked questions and turn them into a blog post in order to address all at the same time.

    The other day I received an email from a V.A. who wondered if I wanted to hire her to handle my email. I may have to lean that way very sooon.

    I'm going to take your advice regarding a form/Google spreadsheet approach.I'll also be linking to this post today as I feel it's one of your best.

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  • http://cindyking.biz/ Cindy

    Thanks for the tip about your contact form.

    What I have noticed is that I can spend as much time as I give myself to answer the day's emails within certain limits. There's also a question of mentally freeing yourself for the task…

  • http://twitter.com/TaraRepucci Tara Repucci

    Twitter has made me a better e-mail writer. I find myself applying the editing techniques I use to accommodate the site's character limit to the rest of my writing. The result: only the most critical information makes the cut.

  • http://www.smartstartcoach.com/ linda m lopeke

    With anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 emails in my inbox on any given day, I'm seriously wondering what the heck I did with my workday before email. I do get through them, and some I even enjoy receiving but, to be honest, I've recently been considering declaring email bankruptcy. A return to the simple life — know what I mean? (Bet you do.)

    I'm definitely going to make some changes for 2010! Taking this on as a creative challenge.

    Linda M. Lopeke
    The SMARTSTART Coach

  • robinmallery

    It's what you need from me Chris, that I expressed in an email to you. Sounds like I presented as a “really nice people”. I will email again today and get straight to what I can do for you. Be brave, track me down, let me explain.

  • http://www.facebook.com/conradhall Conrad Hall

    Hi Chris,

    I can testify to how well your suggestions work – and that they work with you.

    We were introduced on LinkedIn. When I use LinkedIn, I try to keep my first message short enough to fit in the message box. That's about 10 lines.

    You responded the same day, and gave me permission to send more information.

    Now here's an important point: When I sent more information, I left out an important point about scheduling. You liked the project , but believed it would require more time than you could give.

    Naturally, I'm sending you a follow-up e-mail to clarify. There's also a tip in there for everyone. It's the simplest thing in the world – read your messages through a second time before sending them.

    When approaching people for a project, I have a point form outline for the e-mails. Then I write each one around that outline. That I left out the sentence -yep, one sentence – about scheduling shows my mistake. (Slight Edge – small things matter)

    Thank you, Chris. I'm glad to know you.

  • cgrymala

    Another item to add to number six would be, if you are trying to schedule a meeting, provide me with a handful of times that work for you, and get me to choose one of them.

    Rather than saying “I'd like to meet with you, when might you be free?” say something like “I'd like to meet with you. Please see the three dates and times below and let me know if any of them are not convenient for you” and provide three options for the meeting time.

    Of course, if this is the first time you're contacting me, you probably ought to word the meeting request a little differently, but you should still provide the optional times. That way, I just have to check my calendar and see if I'm free.

    Also, to go with number one, if you're performing a task or doing a job and you e-mail me to let me know you're finished, it's perfectly acceptable (and preferable) for you to simply reply with “Done” rather than giving me some long, drawn-out explanation of how you did the job.

  • http://website-in-a-weekend.net/ Dave Doolin

    (Subject) Long, benefit-driven title alerting reader driving to need to read

    (Subtitle) The first line(s) on the email contains what won't fit into the title,
    that is, more benefits.

    (Call to Action) Make it easy to make a decision

    Closing

    ps: Features feature features

    pps: Upcoming news

  • http://twitter.com/benjaminstrong benjaminstrong

    Chris,
    I don't get the same amount of email you do. I have found my best approach to the volume I do receive is to shoot a quick “Hey, I got your email” reply stating I will follow up when I can. It's not an auto response and I think people believe it's sincere. The key for me is actually following up! I am interested in the Google spreadsheet you have developed. Perhaps a topic for another blogpost or newsletter?

  • http://promodsharma.com promod

    Thanks for this timely post, Chris. You're expecting an email from me that I've yet to send. Why? Two reasons. The content is not concise enough and the benefits to you are not clear enough. In short, a lucrative niche yearns for your help but doesn't yet know what they need it. The explanation is taking too much back story.

    Your post confirms that what you want is close to what I thought you'd want :)

    There's just one discrepancy. Since you're so busy these days, I figured a response time of two months would fit your schedule best. And appear more gracious. Who doesn't want things now! You point out the peril of too much lead time.

    Voicemail and phone calls are even worse than email. Now you've got to make notes from the message yourself. That takes extra time and can lead to more errors.

  • http://www.netwitsthinktank.com frank barry

    #9 – Write clearly. Use short sentences and easy to understand words. Break things up by headings if needed. Use a list format for quick points. (Sort of like writing good blog posts).

    This makes it easier for the reader to scan and understand quickly.

    Oh, and I LOVE the “lead with what you want” … that really is the key.

    http://twitter.com/franswaa

  • http://Under30CEO.com Jared O'Toole

    So many people miss out on the brevity point. Its true that I really dont want a pitch or extra info. Keep things very quick. I'll either see the value or I won't. Having a long rambling email that I will probably skim or stop reading anyway is not going to help convince me of anything.

  • http://www.activeport.com/ Julie Fogg

    Chris – fantastic post. It's really why Twitter is a star. Brevity is King. I'll think of you at Long Beach Comicon today. :)

    Julie Fogg
    @juliefogg

  • mddelphis

    You are famous! You have a consulting practice that allows you to perform a wide range of services, including delivering speeches. You may want to look at various ways to scale your business and hire an assistant (or a second or third one). After all, thanking people, responding to all sorts of requests (be they valid or not), might be part of a sort of “customer service.” I like your idea of your “contact form,” and it is actually well thought-out. Yet, it may also come across as one of these forms (or barricades) offered by companies for people to fill in order to deserve to be looked at as prospects or leads. In all cases, you raise a very interesting set of questions and you could also write a great story about the cost of doing business for a great writer/speaker!

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Thanks. I have staff, actually, but communication is a personal thing. : ) I try to answer as much as I can.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    Great additions, sir. I apreciate them.

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I'll show it. It's not that tricky, but it works for me. : )

  • scottcarpenter

    Two additional points:
    1. consider your audience (this ties to your point 5): who is your audience, what are they interested in?
    2. subject line: make it both compelling and relevant to the purpose of your email.

    Scott

  • http://www.tooprettyforthis.com Christina

    I don't receive the volume of email that you get, Chris, but as a professor at four different colleges, I get a lot of emails from scared freshmen. These typically require in-depth responses (even though I've probably given them the information they need in class).

    Much of what you say in this post would go a long way in helping them, but I think the essential issue of email (and communication) boils down to 1) being as clear as possible, and 2) having a strategy that makes the other person *want* to respond. Everything else is just tailoring the message to the specific audience.

  • http://www.freelancesocialmedia.com jlangford

    This is all on point. I run a music blog and get tons of emails every day from bands and publicists wanting to showcase their music. I only need the facts instead of long drawn out emails.

  • http://www.adamboettiger.com/ Adam Boettiger

    Great article, Chris!

    I'm going to have to try the contact form thing you describe, though I'm not sure whether that comes to you by email or is written to an Excel file that you have to access.

    Here are a few tips not mentioned in the article or in the comments thus far that have helped me:

    1. Use Google Premier Apps if you use email for business
    http://www.google.com/apps/intl/en/business/mes…

    Why: Best spam filtering hands-down, powerful searching capabilities, ability to easily use more than one machine to do email, full archiving and backup built in. Best $50/year I've spent in a while.

    2. If you use the free version of Gmail or the Premier Apps version, here's a superb article on a strategy: http://putthingsoff.com/articles/inbox-heaven/

    3. Five sentences or less.

    Lately I've been trying to limit myself to saying what I need to say in five sentences or less. More than five sentences and my rule is that I must pick up the phone and call or do a short face to face.

    4. There was mention in the comments of an app for the blackberry that allows one to schedule followups to email. I think in the age of clutter and noise, followups play an especially important role. That's why I use and love an inexpensive service called HitMeLater http://www.hitmelater.com/.

    In the BCC field of email I send, I can put friday@hitmelater.com and on Friday, the email I sent will be sent back to me as a reminder. Generally if I haven't heard a reply yet when the reminder comes in I might pick up the phone or shoot a second email.

    Alternatively you can go into your Sent Items folder after sending and forward the message to any timed address in the service and include a note to yourself at the top of the message as to what to do with it, such as: “If I haven't heard back yet, need to call Bob at 555.1212.”

    This is particularly useful for those of us using iPhones and blackberrys as the phone number in the email will appear as a hyperlink that, when clicked on, will immediately call the person from your mobile device. Very convenient and a great timesaver.

    I cannot recommend this service more highly. There is a free trial available with no credit card required and the exec service (which is what you want if you are a power email user) runs $30 per year. It is indispensable and has helped me remember birthdays, anniversaries, followups on deals and more.

    Hope these contributions help!

    Adam
    adam at adamboettiger dot com

  • http://www.gablepr.com/ Tom Gable

    Brevity should include a brilliant subject line for starters. For pitching the media or bloggers, I'd suggest adding creativity and exclusivity as categories. The former means getting attention by providing new information, trends and ideas for future topics to cover, including those with no benefit to the sender. Related to your book, PR professionals try to become trusted resources by providing ideas that go beyond their clients' activities. So when future email arrives, some level of trust may exist. On exclusivity, that could relate to offering something mutually beneficial, such as suggesting an idea exclusively to one writer/blogger.

  • http://www.charleslau.com Charles Lau

    This email thingy reminds me of how some of my vendors write email to me with no solution! Basically, they are writing a situation where I have to help them to think of a solution! What a vendor I have where they are supposed to be solution-oriented…

  • http://www.aaronhockley.com/ Aaron B. Hockley

    One thing you didn't mention (so maybe it's not a big deal for you, but it is for me) is that I prefer subject lines that clearly state what is expected. I'll often begin a subject line with “Reply requested” or “FYI” to help the recipient triage and prioritize my message.

  • http://www.facebook.com/paul.duplantis Paul Duplantis

    Great insight on email overload. Brief and to the point is always a great MO.

  • http://MSN Vlod

    i need to know what xl.93 e-mail fast

  • spiralwisdom

    oohh… Tell more about how your contact form resolves in a Google Spreadsheet?

  • http://www.yourfavoritedirector.com Leslie

    Ooh… Please tell more about how you respond to messages left on your contact form through Google Spreadsheet!

  • http://chrisbrogan.com Chris Brogan

    I share the form with my executive assistant. I answer some of the mails right away, and many of them, I pass to her to manage. Some of the messages go to New Marketing Labs. It's just a really fast way to route things.

    I'll cover it more shortly.

  • Rpoli

    Was that article only to boast on your popularity with your “600 emails a day”? Oh… these social media “celebs”!!

  • Colleen Swanger

    As someone who averages 300+ emails a day and has to respond to almost every one of them in addition to doing actual work, I highly recommend ceasing the use of “reply to all.” It's a huge time suck. I can probably throw out 10% of my emails, perhaps more, simply because I'm just on the reply to all list.

    I particularly like how zappos handles reply to all and have threatened to do the same with my team.

    http://blogs.zappos.com/blogs/inside-zappos/200…

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