More Email Management Tips

October 5, 2009 · Comments

letters Okay, so you love talking about email. I have some more information for you, because you asked. First, you asked about the back side of the form. I’ll give you that. I’ll also tell you about some ways YOU can improve your effectiveness in getting your email answered (as there’s much more we could’ve covered).

My Email Contact Form

So, I went to Google Docs and started a new form. File>New>Form. I put in the categories that you see when you see my contact form. Then, I save the form with a template. Finally, I wrote a new WordPress page called “contact” and embedded the form into it (copy/paste level of difficulty).

On the back end, I get a spreadsheet. The sheet has the following categories from left to right:

Timestamp
Name
Email
I’m Contacting Chris Because
Phone
Brief description of what to tell chris
Anything else
Chris’s Notes
Diane’s Notes (my assistant)

I open this spreadsheet, and everything you send on the form shows up there. I then scroll through each request, and either give Diane instructions on what to do next, or I reply myself, depending on what is requested. When I’m done with things, Diane moves the handled requests to an old spreadsheet for storage.

The #1 contact type that I ignore: press releases. Why? Because they’re so rarely about my community.

The #1 contact type that I answer: speaking requests and other consulting needs.

In between, I answer as many personal emails as I can, and if I can’t get right back, I ask Diane to at least contact the person and tell them that I saw the message and that I appreciate the support.

Now that’s how I handle what I’m getting in. Let’s talk about some more tips for mail you send out.

Sending Email That Gets Answered

I got a lot of good feedback on what to do and what not to do with emails. Mixed into that are things I didn’t cover well the first time. Oh, and I’ve covered this before in great detail.

Subject lines matter. In an earlier post, I recommended these as starter advice:

  • DECISION NEEDED: Picking the corporate logo today
  • SCHEDULING: Check Tuesday, Wednesday, or Friday
  • PROMOTION HELP: Looking for some blog and Twitter love
  • [chrisbrogan.com] seems offline. You might want to check.
  • MICROSOFT DEAL: Should we take it? (from JYang@yahoo.com)

Of course, you can pick whichever way seems to make sense to you, but do you see how those pop out at you? The ALL-CAPS is maybe extreme, but maybe not.

More on brevity. It’s amazing how effective I am at answering emails that are spit out in short lists. I got this from Jon Swanson, who sends little list emails to me now and again. Here’s what I mean:

Chris,

1. We have you arriving at 10:40AM. A driver will be there with your name on a placard. His name is… His cell is…
2. Do you want to go back to the hotel or right to the event?
3. We don’t have your presentation up front. Will you be using your laptop, or can we load your preso onto the show computer?
4. We have your check. Should we give it to you before or after you speak?

——–

I get about 3 or 4 emails like this every day. I answer them right away. Think about it: plow through your 2000 word missive or respond to these rapid-fire questions? I’ll take B any day.

Are there times when you need more? Yes. At those times, I just reply and ask for more. MORE OFTEN THAN NOT, this is enough.

Bring every email closer to DONE. Try to make every email definitive. If you’re planning a meeting, put out three or four days and dates. For the most part, emails should exist to inform, move ideas around, and then stop. (Most times. Conversations are different, obviously.)

What Else?

What else will you tell people about how to manage email? What else should we cover?

Photo credit pink sherbet

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  • Thanks for the nice management tips which I really like a lot.So its really one of the post which having this kind of creative ideas.Its very useful for me.Keep blogging.
  • Hi...
    This is very informative article.I was wondering this from the long time.One of my friend has given me the idea about it but after reading this article I have got lots of information on this topic.Thank you very much for such an useful article here...
  • Making a concerted effort to keep off email for certain types of work could be a good idea. For example:-

    - document collaboration (please take a look at the attached document)
    - schedule coordination (when will you have the time to talk)
    - task management (please finish the document by 10 tomorrow)
    - discussions (what do you think about the new plan?)

    And shift to online collaboration tools for the above, which offer specialized tools for each of the above. We did a whitepaper on this recently - http://www.hyperoffice.com/business-email-overl...
  • Great article! I’ve used many of the methods you mention and they are great! I really like the tips you have given.I am interested very much in the subject matter of your blog.Thanx for making such a cool post.Keep blogging.
  • I've learned a few lessons after several years of reading and replying to hundreds of thousands of emails in my lifetime. Replying to email with clear and concise answers to people questions is a great way to keep things brief.

    Another great piece of advice is to keep the emotion out of responses. In many instances, emotion never is received the way it's intended for the recipient.

    Using tools and scripts to auto-sort and remove junk from the Inbox is important but does require a regular check to ensure no one falls into the cracks of email filters.

    Using colors and tagging in email is a great way to quickly organize and see what's going on in your email at any given time. I wrote a fairly lengthy post about this but it's helpful, Email Is Not a To-Do List! (Tutorial on Email Tagging). I focused on using Mozilla Thunderbird to do email tagging, in the examples.

    Great advice, Chris. I use subject lines on a regular basis as it's needed: "URGENT," "TIMELY," "REVIEW," "REFERENCE" -- using these words before the subject line is to set the expectations on response and the priority.

    ~Joseph
  • anavidi
    I loved the article and am implementing a couple of the ideas right now.

    It seems like there is a unifying mindset that these ideas seem to flow from. The idea that you do not just write an email with the "things" you want to say. You write an email with an eye towards what your end goal for the communication is.
  • AAAAA .. Amazing post ...i was looking for such post and once again you helped me... Thanks a ton..
  • Thank you, thank you! I remember an earlier post where you mentioned using Google Docs to create a form for your site and I thought - hey, that's a good idea, but never managed to dig into GD to figure out how to do it. By including just that one paragraph at the beginning of this post that included the steps to make the form, I was able to see:
    * what was involved in making this form
    * understand that it would be a 15 min project, not a 60+ minute one, and
    * create my own contact form for my site.

    Thanks! (for this and all of the great content you so generously share with us all!)
  • Chris, great points on all types of email communication. The first thing I tell my D-I-Y PR clients is to STOP sending press releases to reporters and send email pitches instead. Definitely, if the email subject doesn't catch attention among your 600 emails, they do not get opened at all so it doesn't matter what gets said.

    If you cannot communicate what is compelling about your announcement in just a few words or sentences, then the editor just gets confused about what the story is about and then decides it is not worth his time to figure it out for you.

    It's better to spend the time upfront honing a short but effective message to select people, rather than a long, crappy message and spending the time pitching it to as many people you can get to not listen to you ;-)
  • I think lists are the best way to go! Especially if you have more than one question to be answered. People are so busy that they seem to miss questions embedded in paragraphs and they only answer the first question they see. If I put my questions in a list, people are more likely to answer each one and that makes it more efficient for everyone.
  • Todd
    Chris, I've gotten lots of positive feedback by using the "all caps followed by a clarifier" approach.
    "NEED YOUR FEEDBACK: You'd love an early Monday meeting, right?"
    More often than not, I try to make the subject line humorous or lace it with office-friendly references and double entendre. I seem to get more responses that way.
  • These are great tips. One thing I like to do (when I have the time) is write the email, save it, and go back in 15 minutes. It lets me clear out excess crap I don't need to say and sometimes I rethink sending it altogether.
  • Its often all too easy to hide behind email. Being systematic in your approach to managing your inbox and in communicating your message effectively whether you do you it yourself or delegate helps you develop better habits and avoid email creep. Thanks for sharing your system with us!
  • Do you have much trouble with spam entries with your Google Docs contact form?
  • Chris' tips for email work equally well for voice mail messages. Keep them brief, and seek to move the discussion forward.
  • Love the spreadsheet idea! The only thing I might change is to make who it is 'FROM' the first, rather than second, data point for review. Yes - Subject line and all the rest are really important - but I always look at who's on the other end of the can and string first. This alone dictates what happens next.

    Can I have an assistant too?
  • richdixon
    Absolutely correct--emails with too many words just cause confusion.

    Thanks for the Google Docs tutorial. It's a great idea. BTW--how's that "bag of money" thing working out?

    I think you should acknowledge that "Diane" is your mom, who reserves the right to over-rule or add her own editorial comments.

    Personally, I think "mom as assistant" is a nice illusion for you. :-))
  • I like what you said.
  • Great idea with using Google Docs to generate a form and post it as the contact page. I just have them emailed to me, but it's a horrible way keeping track of email addresses and names.
  • Jennifer
    Loved this post about email brevity. I get blasted by my friends all the time about too long emails and am working hard to reform myself. I'm definitely going to adopt your subject line tactic.

    When I need to really stress something in email I use colored text and I always provide a deadline for when I need answers to my questions. Most of the time this works in generating a quick response.

    Your 1, 2, 3 method is definitely something else I will try.

    Thanks for the great tips!
  • Just the Google Docs forms tip was a huge help for me. I've learned quite a bit from you, since I subscribed a few months ago. Thanks so much!
  • I am so glad that I took time to read this brief post.

    I agree that lists via email are an extremely useful and helpful way to
    *organize important points
    *keep writer focused and off of rabbit trails
    *keep the reader's attention
    *ensure that important items aren't missed
  • jenniferlane
    This reminds me of the old (old) rule of efficiency about touching each piece of paper on your desk only once. Read it, then file it, send it, or toss it. I try to do that with my email too. And people that send emails back and forth with questions and no answers - it's like they want to play tennis!
  • Okay. A trust agent is one thing...now your reading my mind. Last few days I was digging around trying to produce a contact form (like yours) for a few of my customers AND rethinking how to handle and send mail emails.

    Then this blog post comes in!

    Thanks.
  • My favorite part of this is the "Bring every email closer to DONE." piece - specifically, "...For the most part, emails should exist to inform, move ideas around, and then stop." A pet peeve of mine is when I'm working with someone and I ask something along the lines of "Would you prefer A or B?" And the response I get is "Yes." With that response, they've just doubled the number of messages we need to trade!
  • You just saved me about 300 hours this coming year. Where should I send my check?
  • Really great post Chris. Going to start using the list email idea and ask friends and biz partners to do the same. Great idea. thanks!
  • johnmarchiony
    Subject lines that work for me summarize, promise, call to action, or provoke responses. Favorites include: "15-minute pitch mtg Monday? Promise!" and "Drink & Hug 10/26," sent to an old colleague who's a notorious bear hugger.
  • "What else will you tell people about how to manage email?"

    A: Take these "rules" and make them "personal" - to you!

    For instance, I could NEVER write in short lists - because that's not ME.

    I tend to be more elaborate - because I believe it is more friendly. And no, it may not be "business-like"... but then, I am not either.

    Does it work for me? Yes. Will it work for you? I don't know. Test it.

    That's what I mean by "make it personal - for you".

    Nice tips, overall, thanks Chris.

    All success
    Dr.Mani
  • I think your last paragraph is spot on when it comes to the purpose of email. I think we have all experienced the never ending cycle of an email conversation, which will inevetiably end up with something getting missed along the way as people try to sort through all the emails to find what they need.

    One of the great challenges is the clarity of requests. While I try to make a response as detailed and definitive as possible, different email styles mean that what is being requested and what they are actually after are worlds apart. I've now adpoted a policy of once an email conversation reaches 3 emails, I'll pick up the phone to answer the question and get some clarity, and ultimately answer the question.

    Thanks again Chris for incredibly practical and succinct advice.
  • Ben, I use the same system - after three, pick up the phone, or a F2F meeting (if either are possible). Then use one final e-mail to summarize what the live conversation was about (so there's a search-able record)
  • Sometimes it's hard to figure out how to organize just how to categorize their email, so I'm sure this will help a lot of people, myself included. Thanks for sharing :)
  • markwilliamschaefer
    It's funny. I have avoided leaving comments because I figured the last thing Chris needs is another comment. Now that I know you get 600 emails a day, I feel less guilty about the comments. : ) Hang in there.
  • Thanks a bunch for this! Just so you know, I'm gonna copy some of this post for my "Work at Home Parents" resources blog. :) Of course I'll trackback, I like to give credit where credit is due. I usually have used wufoo forms, but I ♥ Google.
  • victoriaronco
    Hey Chris,
    Loving this subject.
    So you don't answer press releases- any idea how to get them answered? Some of us need to do them for clients, and play the PR game.. but an edge would obviously help!
    V
  • Yes, closing the first email with the idea of ending the conversation there is what I strive for.

    I felt that throwing out dates and times before warming into a conversation was rude, but in these busy times it's more rude not to!
  • "MICROSOFT DEAL: Should we take it? (from JYang@yahoo.com)"

    Are you sure that is eye-catching enough :)?, but the flow has some what of a nice feel to it.
  • I dream about a Twitter-like email tool where all emails are restricted to 140 characters!
  • I totally agree
  • I'm guilty of the "throat-clearing" big-time, but after reading this and the linked articles you've got me changing my ways.

    one method I use is a ticketing system, which cut out 1/3 of inbound email traffic. Why? because the "Thanks, Stephan" email after I complete something [aka: close the ticket] isn't delivered.

    Sans-ticketing system, consider sending replies like this via a 'no-reply' account if you can.
  • indepthwraps
    Hmmm...It seems I may be talking too much on my e-mails (something husband has been telling me in person for years). The short list idea will be HUGE for me. Thanks, Chris!
  • After your last post on the subject I was curious about the Google Docs Forms and checked it out. It is super easy. I'm surprised there isn't more use of this 'out there'. Thanks for the tip.
  • ahockley
    The little list email with the short, easy to answer questions is a great example of how to write good messages. Make it easy for the recipient to deal with it quickly. I find that if I can boil a message down so that a recipient can respond in less than a couple minutes, I get a response *far* quicker than if I ask for a long answer.
  • Our language is evolving. I get a kick out of thinking how a conversation might sound 50 years from now. "Tweet Tweet" !

    Brevity is the current king! Long Live Brevity!
  • Hey Chris...I missed the subject ideas before, thanks for sharing again!
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