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How to Write Good Emails and Get Response

Frode Heimen — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 22:31:20 +0000

Are you having trouble getting the message out when writing an email? You might be doing it wrong.
I receive large quantities of email each day, at work, and at home. I see a lot of faulty ways to write an email. Do you want to do a better job? Learn how to write a good email. I must admit that I have not yet found a good system on how to handle emails in a good way, and oh.. I have tried. But the best system for me is that you know how to write them. In this article I will show you how I prefer to receive an email, and you will get good advice on how to make sure it’s read and that the recipient take the right action.

How do I divide emails?

Action emails – These emails require me to take action, I need to do something in order to be able to reply.
Read emails – FYI – For Your Information – These emails need to be read, archived or deleted. I do not need to do more with these.
Trash emails – My favorite – Emails I can delete at once. Uninteresting, not relevant, spam that made it through my filter, hush…! Old ones I’ve forgotten all about…

Let’s start with the basics: Who do you write to?

You need to think about who you write to. Who needs to take action, who needs the information and who DON’T need the email.

TO: This is to the people that needs to take actions. If I am in the “to”-field I expect that I need to take action. There are some exceptions, I’ll get back to that.
CC:Carbon Copy, I am on the copy field. This means that the information is FYI, I am just informed about what the “to-ers” got to do.
BCC:Blind Carbon Copy, as it says, “Blind” – the recipients don’t know that I get it. This article describes how BCC can harm your career. So be careful. This is for sure a FYI, just read email.

To be clear: If you want me to respond, take action or do something, put me in the to- field.

The promised exception: If I am the only recipient, use FYI in the subject line to indicate that I just need to read.

The subject line

Please do use keywords. And start with some hints. Like these:

URGENT: Need you to do this fast, really do consider calling instead.
DEADLINE: mm.dd.yyyy or in whatever date format your country use.
FYI: Just read this email please
RESPONSE EXPECTED: I need you to answer this
NOT URGENT: Take your time

URGENT: Catfood project – please review project plan

What the ???? do I need to do?

I fellow wise co-worker said today, if there is no response, it’s because they either don’t know the answer or they don’t know what to do with it. I have been thinking about this today and I think it makes sense. Why don’t you reply to your emails?

Here is the solution: Write what you need people to do, summarize after all the blah blah with names and tasks:

Gina; I need you to tweet about this post.
Geoff: I need to comment and be amazed.
Steve: FYI – just relax, you don’t need to do anything.

This creates a clear instruction. And all recipients will know what to do, and confusion issues are solved. I have received emails to me (customer service) with carbon copy to finance department, with a question to them. They should not reply, and I don’t know the answer.

How many emails do you receive each day?

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Did you answer, way too many? Well so do I, and most other people at work. This is why it is important to consider these factors before you email like a like a drunken sailor spends money.

Who needs to take action?
Who needs to know?
Who really don’t need this information?
Should I call, or walk over instead?
Do I really want to send this at all?

You should try to reduce the amount of emails you send. A good idea is to be a bit psychic and imagine what the next question will be and respond to it in the first email (This is actually an excellent customer service advice as well) – I’ll use an example from my days in telecom. We would get customers asking if they could get an email account with us. The short answer is: Yes. – The next question is how; so answer the how at once, and where, and how much, and technical stuff like POP3 and SMTP server.

Hot tip: Don’t send important emails right away, wait for a while, read it and make sure you have followed these advices and be a bit psychic – answer the next question, saves you another email. And DON’T send if you KNOW it will generate a new question.

Emotions in emails are impossible!

No I do not know if this line is sarcastic. I do not know if you are smiling when you write. I do not know if this was supposed to be funny, unless I really know you, and it is still hard. Smileys don’t help. I often write: Please read this email in a jolly and happy manner. If I do, I know that my email might sound harsh and angry, when it’s not supposed to be. I have seen emails that would shock your socks off between people who know each other. For them it was humor, for me, I thought they were sworn enemies with a lot of hate and was preparing to solve conflicts at work. So be careful.

TO: Loyal readers; All new readers
CC: Steve; Geoff; Gina
BCC: mom
Subject: URGENT: Please share and subscribe

Hi all!
I am a bit short of twitter followers due to limitations to prevent spam, and that is good, but it is preventing me from following more amazing people.

Loyal readers: Please to share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Stumbleupon or wherever you feel fit.
New readers: Please do find a way to subscribe to my blog, and follow me on twitter. And THEN share.

CC: Steve, Geoff and Gina, there is a message for you in the middle of this post, no further action is necessary.

Have a great day, and thank you for reading.

Best regards

Frode Heimen

10 ways to become the best at work

Frode Heimen — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:16:56 +0000

1. Work systematically

Make sure to have a goal and purpose with your work. Find out what will make your day great and go and get it. Use checklists to write down stuff you need to do. Look at your day, decide for a period of time and work as hard as you can to reach your goal.

2. Follow the rules (but bend them once in a while)

Find out the rules of the game and follow them. Do not be a troublemaker or argue about the rules. You can talk about the rules in a constructive way. If you need to bend the rules to get your work done please do carefully consider bending the rules, but if you break them there is a consequence, make sure you know what the consequence is. Be on time!

3. Be consciously positive

You might be tempted to talk down on someone or to complain about anything. But if you cannot improve it shut your yapper. If people are complaining, it is your task to help them see how they can fix it. And do brag about your co-workers. Being positive is hard, but the reward is great.

4. Know what is expected of you

Talk to your boss, and know what is expected of you. Get a list if you must, or at least find out what you need to do to be GREAT!

5. Be a friend

Do I really need to write anything to prove my point? Karma baby!

6. Study and Read at your spare time

If you really do want to be GREAT, do not sit around and wait for internal classes or for someone to come around and tell you the secret to success, it is all about hard work, and you need to do a lot on your own. Get books, find an interest in your field and read, read, read and reflect.

7. Could you have done anything differently?

All right it might be Friday, most people are goofing off waiting for the weekend to start. There is a cold beer waiting at home and you are finally outta here! But wait, there is more, take 20 minutes look back at the week and imagine that you just got fired… What would you have done differently? I “mentally” quit my job once a month, because I always had the tendency to look back and think: “I wished I did that differently”… And “if I only”. Fight the if’s and make them happen.

8. Celebrate

If you reach a goal, or succeed even a little, celebrate. Keep a box of your favorite candy or whatever in your drawer and enjoy your little reward. And do feel free to share.

9. Do not become passive!

You are in control of your life. If you are unhappy at work or else in life, you are actually in the driver’s seat. What are you going to do about it? Everybody knows that just sitting in your car day in and day out without actually driving it might be boring. Unless it is brand new.

10. …

Please do feel free to provide my tenth point by leaving a comment…This might become a long list, depending on your input Have a great day!

One Week Action Plan

Frode Heimen — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 19:36:47 +0000

I understand that Mondays can be a dread. And you might think that the weekend is a far far away place that seems impossible to reach. I am going to provide you with a day to day guide on how to make your week more fun and interesting. Start by looking in the mirror in the morning and decide that this week is going to be great!

Monday

Start the day by writing down two different goals, one goal for Monday and one goal for the entire week. These goals must be measurable. Put them down on a sticky note or on a piece of paper that you can attach to your computer screen or somewhere else your eyes tend to focus. (No! Putting a sticky note on a co-worker’s behind is not acceptable!)

Do not worry too much about reaching the goal. Check your score against the note when the day is over. Maybe you did not reach your goal? Maybe you did? Now write down your “high score” you will keep this number for the rest of your week, and your goal is to beat your own high score during the week.

When you come home on Monday, think about what you can do for your spouse, if you have not bought a gift within the last three months, you should get a small item to show that you care. Or you can plan a picnic, go for a walk or spend some other quality time together.

If you are single, call a friend and plan an event for Thursday. This can be a trip to the movies, get together for dinner or any other activity. Do try to invite five-six people for a nice time. Start by inviting them on Monday evening.

Tuesday

Bring a small bag of candy or some fruit to have on your desk. Look at your note and figure out how to beat your high score. Add one more goal to your note: Try to make two people smile today.

Tuesday is no complaining day, so be aware of negativity and try to stay positive, even try to turn other negative people around, it can be a sport. When you go home today select another route. If you walk, try to walk a longer route.

At home make a list of at least three things you want to do around the house and do it.

If you lack people for your Thursday night event, keep inviting more.

Wednesday

Are you on your way to reach your goal for the week? Evaluate and adjust if necessary. Do something different today, or try something new. Taste something new; get to know someone at work or anything new or different. Maybe you could get something new for your desk like something decorative or any fun attraction. Special assignment of the day: Thank someone for something.

At home select one room to clean. Make the last efforts to your invitations, if you still lack a person or two for the Thursday arrangement.

Start planning your weekend.

Thursday

Are you keeping track of your high score? How are you doing? You have a new chance to set a high score today! How do you feel when beating the high score? It is Thursday today. This day is great for two things; clean your desk so it is tidy on Friday. And get the worst tasks out of the way, leaving the easy or fun tasks for Friday.

If you are going out with friends, relax and know that Friday will be a great day.

Thursdays are also great for housework, a shiny house on Thursday is a great place to be on weekends.

Friday

Finally it is Friday, last chance to beat your high score and last chance to reach the goal of the week. Even if it is Friday, does not mean that you shall not work, so give it everything, in hope of beating your high score and then celebrate.

Bring snacks to work, put it in a bowl at your desk and share with everybody.
Friday is about fun, make people laugh, make them smile.

So did you manage to reach your goals? Did anyone contribute to this victory? Did you get help from anybody? Make sure to thank them. Thank people that made your week great. The day is over, and the week flew away. Now what? Weekend, enjoy and look forward to Monday and read this once more. Your high score is up for a beating. Do you dare to compare high scores with a co-worker next week? Make a race out of it.

Have a fantastic week!

How do you provide value at work?

Frode Heimen — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 13:49:21 +0000

(Short comment from me: I needed to re-post this as I managed to delete it, do not ask me how…)
I can’t say it too often. You are hired to provide value at work. You are not hired to make money or to have an relaxing life. You are hired because the top management can’t make all the money by them selves. So here is the deal. I will pay you to make more money for me. At least make more value than I invest in you. That is the basic reason why anyone hire anybody.

So this brings me to how you can provide value at work.
I do believe that most people like to work hard, feel appreciated and they like to feel like a part of something bigger. The problem is that you will not be part of anything unless you give something in return. I have two small illustrations that I use over and over again when I try to make people understand how to provide value at work.

As you can see from this illustration even doing a good job, might not provide value to the company, or growth for you and your fellow co-workers. A lot of people work in this way today. “I won’t work harder until I get more pay”. “I do a lot more around here than Pete, why is he making more money?” “Finally five of clock. I am going home” – Sorry lads, I am not impressed.

How to really make a difference
So what is a hard working Homo Cubicle Sapiens need to do around here to get some attention? To be adding some value you need to add and share. Take a look at the illustration below

You need to refuel with new knowledge, new abilities and skills, you need to get inspiration from somewhere. You need to insert some goals into your “mind-drive”. When you have learned something you will be able to do one of the most meaningful things in the world, you can share and teach others. You can mentor, you can inspire. You have the power to influence other people. Imagine that you learn how to motivate people to increase productivity, and you increase productivity 5 % among all your 20-40 co-workers? You can produce 10 % less, and still make more money for the company because you increase the productivity among the others. That is why Pete gets more pay than you. Yes he completes less tasks, but he makes everybody else produce more. And when you do share, teach, inspire and want to make the best out of people, you suddenly care about others.

The best way to lose weight is to help other people lose weight. You might fail to diet on your own, but if you decide to help someone else diet, you will feel more committed. You will more likely succeed. At work it is just as simple, become an engaged employee, help others and experience that you will start to love your job.

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