159: Do Better Email (Sending) - a podcast by Jason W. Womack MEd, MA

Hello, and happy 4th of July! Hey, today is our 15th wedding anniversary…if you’ve got it in ya, both Jodi and I are on twitter!

Or, of course since this podcast is about how to send better email, you can email us as well or you can visit www.TimeToGetMomentum.com.

Before I share with you the 5 things every email you send has GOT to have, I’d like to share this quote first:

“Whether we're conscious of it or not, our work and personal lives are made up of daily rituals, including when we eat our meals, how we shower or groom, or how we approach our daily descent into the digital world of email communication.” Chip Conley

In this podcast, you'll learn about the 5 things I think about before I send an email. Now, to set the stage, I send about 30-50 emails a day. These are brand new emails, that I initiate. Every email I send goes through a 5 point checklist.

But, before I share the 5 tips, let me tell you how excited I am about this month’s Get Momentum theme. Over the next 4 weeks, I’m going to give members around the world the skills and tools they need to be more productive through technology. My promise: Each member will learn how to use their tools 50% more effectively. What would you do with an extra 5 or 10 hours a week? Want to join? Just visit us here.

When I’m emailing someone and I’m the initiator of the communication, I’m looking to OPEN the conversation. In doing so, I’m looking to make it as easy as possible for the recipient to IMMEDIATELY know at least 2 things:

1. What is the email I am sending them about?
2. What is the action I am asking them to take?

(There is more I may include, but those are the two most important things.)
3. Is there any kind of due date?
4. Is there a “way out” if they’re not interested in what I’m writing to them about?

The first thing people do when they receive a message is look at who sent the email. Based on their relationship to the sender, they’ll respond right away, sooner or later -- or never. Do you want to increase the likelihood that they’ll respond faster? You’ll do just that when you realize the power of the subject line.

Right now, open your SENT ITEMS in your email inbox. If you’re like most of the clients I meet with, you may notice that most subject lines are indeed a description of the email, focusing in on a noun or a phrase about a thing or things. But it can be more effective to include a verb near the start of the subject line. The most popular action words I’ve seen effectively used are the following:

Review
Confirm
Meet to discuss

After you maximize the Subject Line, next go to the body of the email. There are just a few “components” that I’m interested in looking for here:

1. Salutation: keep it brief
2. Body of the email: use bullet points, simple, short sentences and focus on action and/or information
3. Conclusion: make it abundantly and clearly obvious what it is you’re asking for with a one-two sentence summary
4. Signature: personally, I include my full name, phone number, mailing address and email address.
5. Attachment: IF an attachment is included, I will ask the recipient to “please click reply to let me know you can open the attached doc.” This gets them to take an action, and let’s me know that they’re looking at what I sent them.

During this month’s Get Momentum module, I’m going to share some email software programs that I couldn’t work without. If you’re ready to be much, much more productive, join today. And, oh of course, if you’re listening to this podcast later, once you’re a member of Get Momentum you gain immediate access to all past modules. Jodi will tell you more about this at the end.

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