{
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "description": "Five elements of a great email: you-focused language, a clear call to action, an informative subject line, informal writing style, and 300 words or fewer.",
  "path": "/articles/write-great-emails/",
  "publishedAt": "2017-06-27T08:00:44.000Z",
  "site": "at://did:plc:jznynyzgerlqmdbbj33o7wfs/site.standard.publication/3mnll3icujb2z",
  "tags": [
    "Outreach and Email"
  ],
  "textContent": "When you’re writing an email, do find yourself struggling to write a* great* email?\n\nEven if you have a swipe file (for common emails and situations) it can still be a challenge to write something that:\n\nIs clear\nGets a reply\nDoesn’t take a lot of time to write\n\nLet’s talk about 5 key elements when it comes to writing great emails\n\nMake Them ‘You’ Focused\n\nWhat is a ‘you’ focused email? A you focused email is an email written with a focus on the recipient.\n\nAvoid words like ‘I’ or ‘Me.’ Focus on words like ‘you.’\n\n(You can read more about this at /you/)\n\nBy writing your email you the recipient and talking about them instead of talking about your company or yourself, you make your email more interesting to the recipient.\n\nHave a Clear ‘Call to Action’\n\nWhat is a ‘call to action’? A call to action (or CTA) is the instructions that tell the reader what to do next (‘call to action’) and what to expect after they do that thing.\n\nWe can compare and contrast two separate CTAs to see the benefit of a clear call to action that explains what happens next\n\nJust hit reply and let me know your thoughts\nAs a next step, let’s schedule a time for a 20-minute conversation to discuss this. You can pick the time that works best for you on my calendar here (LINK). Once you pick a time, I’ll send over a short agenda before our call.\n\nBy having a clear call to action that explains what the recipient should do next and what will happen once they do that thing, you remove uncertainty.\n\n“This is the next step. We have a meeting and we discuss it.” is a lot clearer than ‘Let me know your thoughts…’\n\nInformative Subject Line\n\nYour subject line has a singularly job: get your email opened.\n\nTo achieve that, an informative subject line that helps educate the reader on what to do next is your best option (/secret-getting-outreach-emails-opened/).\n\nI, personally, fall back to\n\nKAI from COMPANY NAME\n\nVery often in my outreach as it’s an easy to use informative subject line. Could it be improve on? Heck yeah. Does it get the job done? Heck yeah.\n\nWrite in an Informal Style\n\nHow do you write an email to a friend or colleague? How do you write an email to a potential business prospect?\n\nReview your emails and contrast the styles of the two. For me, my business-focused emails get a bit…\n\n…business-y\n\nAnd lose the casual, conversational style that I enjoy.\n\nThe best way to learn how to write your business emails in a casual, informal style is to read and review your casual, informal emails and see how you write them\n\nDo you include a greeting?\nDo you jump into the content immediately?\nHow do you phrase the calls-to-action?\nHow long are the emails?\n\nAnd then start to mimic the positive traits you see in your casual, informal emails.\n\nWrite Short Emails\n\nAim for 300 words in your emails. Short with a single call to action. If there is additional information you need to share, then include the executive (tl;dr) summary and:\n\nLink to the additional information\nAttach the additional information as as report\nLet the recipient know you’ll share the full report for them to review before your call/meeting",
  "title": "Write Great Emails"
}