The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss - Latest Comments in 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Vincent — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:16:45 -0000

From France this tips regarding good emailing are great. What I like about this short text is the ability to do mass mailing with this type of message while staying very personnal. The 6 th tips might be the ability to have a touch of humour and style.

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Joseph — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:47:55 -0000

I used the email tips above and the person I wanted advice from actually phoned me 10 minutes after sending the email to set up a 1 hour face-to-face meeting!

Thanks for writing this article Tim.

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Thomas — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 11:13:11 -0000

You didn't mention the single best thing he did: he flattered the crap out of you. Done right, this always helps!

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Michael Erwin - Time Managemen — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:26:42 -0000

Great tips. Following these guidelines will certainly help you to have your email read rather than deleted. One thing I would add is that the Subject Line needs to capture the readers attention. In my experience busy people will delete emails based on the sender and the subject before they even set eyes on the email body. Tim, what was in the subject line and what do you suggest for the subject line for these emails?

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Jeff — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 04:38:26 -0000

Hello Tim,
Excuse me for my english which is not very good.
I am 46 years old and my salary is 3000€ per month for 35 hours labor per week and 38 days af hollydays per year.
Now, i can take my early retirement with 1500€ per month but if i continue my job, my retreat can be 2000€ in 2017 (at 55 years old).
My question is : what do you make in my place ?
Thank you for your answer
Jeff

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Carter — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 03:14:54 -0000

Wow, I can't believe it.

Prior to reading this post, I just sent a painstakingly crafted e-mail asking for advice from a potential mentor, who I am also hoping to build a relationship with...! Good news is, I think I would score a 4/5 based on the points you emphasized. But I definitely could have fine tuned a couple of things.

Another coincidence - I actually just ran into Rob Moore a few days ago at reunions here at Princeton, so it was pretty funny when I saw his e-mail up on your site.

Carter

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Kiat Huang — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:54:33 -0000

Years ago the Harvard Business Review had a great article on managing email effectively, and today I rediscovered it: Some good things in there...

Tips for Mastering E-mail Overload = hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/4438....

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Kiat Huang — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 17:53:32 -0000

Years ago the Harvard Business Review had a great article on managing email effectively, and today I rediscovered it: Some good things in there...

Tips for Mastering E-mail Overload = http://hbswk.hbs.edu/archiv...

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Shawn Graham — Fri, 23 May 2008 12:05:23 -0000

Size matters. Busy people don’t want to read novel-length emails. Think about the two or three things you want to accomplish with your email and build your content around them.

And, just as referrals work for headhunters as in Tim’s template, they also work equally well as subject lines. Busy people are much more likely to open a message if they see you were referred by someone they know (just be sure to ask for permission to do so from the referrer).

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

lee — Thu, 22 May 2008 14:35:18 -0000

Can I meet your daughter? :)

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

eric — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:16:21 -0000

Thank you for being so concise. I will consider sending the link to this post to at least some of the people that send me emails that i would normally not read...

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Dawn Marks — Wed, 21 May 2008 23:12:20 -0000

Hi Tim,

3 quick observations:

1) I can't think of anyone on this planet who wouldn't gain something from reading your book. (I often recommend it.)

2) You've got to be the most interesting guy alive under the age of 30.

3) You really ought to meet my 26 year old daughter.

(No kidding on all accounts!)

Keep up the good work!

Dawn Marks

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Adam Davis — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:50:10 -0000

Pretty good sample template. I think face to face meeting will always trumps email or phone - just the extra steps. I have had success sending something in the mail (something small, and relevant to the face to face conversation) and then following up with an email.

Bottom line: it's all about having a plan of action and having respect.

Tim, what do you think about specific times of the day to send emails or certain days of the week for optimum 'eye-ball' time results?

Keep it coming!

Adam

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

benediktkroll — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:49:02 -0000

Great advice, thanks. Nevertheless, I think getting a reply is also a question of the personal attitude of recipient towards you as well as the situation you catch her or him in.

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Joel Mueller — Wed, 21 May 2008 09:22:38 -0000

I see this email as wasting more of my time, because he keeps repeating how "busy" I am, and that I can't always read / reply to all of the emails. I say, just get to the point, and don't add things in that are frosting.

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Raina Gustafson — Wed, 21 May 2008 05:29:07 -0000

Yes, yes, Tim - the coincidental palindrome is obscenely adorable. Makes me think of Sheldon from The Big Bang Theory - which I've seen only twice but am absolutely in love with. http://youtube.com/watch?v=...

Some thoughts for Jenn:
I think high profile friendships and relationships can be approached in a very similar way to what Tim has outlined. Perhaps the most important step is defining what you want to create with a friendship/relationship and how it will benefit both parties (just like you would a business interaction). Simply admiring someone is not a foundation for friendship - there has to be more at stake. Social interactions are based on emotional needs - so you want to develop your ability to recognize them in others. Particularly with someone you don't have physical interaction with, this will include quite a bit of trial and error. You could visualize it like rock climbing - you look for a firm hold. Sometimes you can step right up on a ledge, other times you have to stick your hand into a gap in the rock and hope it stays put while getting bruised and bloody. It's a crazy sport, I know.

To adapt what Tim has written specifically for reaching out on a social plane,
I'd condense #'s 1 & 2 into essentially the same rule - brief, meaningful and memorable is better than overdone and unfocused. #3 doesn't quite apply, and #'s 4 & 5 can again be combined. Be confident that anything of real value - whether a business deal, friendship or relationship - will be worthy of many people's interest (so no need to get too caught up on any one person's reaction).

To provide a real-life example...
There's this guy I know and like. I genuinely believe there's a lot of potential, possibly life-altering potential. So, it's a venture worthy of patience and reflection and continual course-correction. At times I share information with him just as food for thought - not expecting any direct response. When I really want a reply, I ask for it. If I just want to stir things up, I might casually drop that the documentary-maker we met together at the party invited me away for the weekend and could he please tell me what he likes best in Vancouver?

A few months ago I asked a guy... if he wasn't interested, did he know anyone he could set me up with? Worked like a charm, but hard to execute that one online. Of course, these things can never be mere tricks or they will backfire - they have to be genuine and heartfelt. If the man in question had set me up with his friend, I would have been just as satisfied. Emotional cleanliness and transparency is the key, I think. Ditto with Vancouver boy. If he answers what he likes best, I'll be happy that he cares enough to want me to have a good time. If the thought of me spending quality time with someone else motivates him to ask me out, even better. If I get no response, it's course correction and explore other options time.

So to sum it up:
1. Recognize other's emotional needs
2. Create a scenario that illuminates those needs so the other person can confirm or deny that they exist
3. Show the person how you can help meet their needs while remaining unattached to the outcome

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Sabine — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:39:14 -0000

Dear M. Ferriss,

I'm reading your book and I simply LOVE it!

Please MARRY ME!!!

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Marsello Oentoro — Tue, 20 May 2008 21:22:29 -0000

First of all, how do you filter all the incoming emails that you received and would you actually have the time to scan through 4 paragraphs of email? Should we use direct marketers techniques of sending creative attachments?

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

GreenTea — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:09:12 -0000

I just want to say thanks for these very concise guidelines--having more clarity on what this type of email should and shouldn't contain encourages me to go ahead and take the chance on sending it.

Also, who would have thought food and email could have so much in common?

Love the cartoon as well :)

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

mike carroll — Tue, 20 May 2008 20:01:43 -0000

Hi Tim, im curious do you have a physical office for your operations or do you work from home/remote. I run web based muses small ecomm sites, social networking sites etc... and last year i got an office. The office is nice but im paying 1,000 a month and everything i do there i could do from home and im wondering if i should work from home again? It got me wondering if you have an office you work from or if you work from home and abroad. Many thanks!
mike

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Carrie — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:51:33 -0000

Hey Tim,

I've just come back from Sydney myself and it would have been interested to attend your book launch there:) I loved the beachy look to the Aussie front cover!

I do find what you say and how you say things interesting, and more suited to how a man wishes to receive information, getting to the 'heart' of the matter,' and the facts and getting really clear, as opposed to a lady, who build up her approach in a more emotional, and relational way, with quite a bit more empathy. I wonder then, whether you feel that you respond more to guys more than ladies 'cos men are more direct, like your good self who is very, direct and very rational, I am sure you are emotional too, it just appears to be well-hidden beneath your 'superintellect.'!

I know that from my experience to date, the responses that I have had, have been very different with similiar emails from the men 'in high places,' compared to the women, and it has revealed quite A LOT, in terms of how our genders receive and process information.

Namaste, light & love,

Carriex

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Marvin — Tue, 20 May 2008 18:26:15 -0000

Now that we've seen a copy of what a good attention-getting email is all about, I'm curious to "see some of the worst e-mail pitches out there."

I just hope there's nothing in the worst pitch scenario from me... ;-)

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Jennifer Bingham-Heart — Tue, 20 May 2008 17:21:45 -0000

Ah... I guess my friendship with John Cuscak or his PR firm won't lead to drinks in LA or Chicago. Boo!!! LOL

Thanks for the advice. My best friend and I don't see each other that often because of the busy lives we lead. Such as life. I guess like the friends I have now, the relationships developed more organically than a pitch to a CEO. If I am meant to be friends with John, I am sure I will meet him on a plane or at a bookstore.

Thanks again and Hugs,
Jen

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

chadvavra — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:40:11 -0000

Tim, your subject is misleading and I'm annoyed you wasted my newsreaders time.

This is 10 tips for PITCHING busy people. I came to it hoping to find out how to get a response from coworkers.

Not every email is asking for commodities.

###

Hi Chad,

Take it easy, big fella. This is for contacting extremely busy people, not necessarily pitching them. The "busy" I refer to here is -- I suspect -- much busier than your co-workers.

You are right that these tips are for first contacts, however. Sorry if it didn't help.

Cheers,

Tim

Re: 5 Tips for E-mailing Busy People

Sital — Tue, 20 May 2008 13:21:36 -0000

One further tip regarding the subject line - use the first name in email.

I get large ammounts of emails from people asking for help or wanting to connect. But the ones that have a "Hi Sital" title are the ones i usually feel more comfortable opening.

Works much better than "here's a great opportunity" type titles which sound like all the rest of the emails.

It's a small thing, but it gets me to open and read.

Keep up the great work Tim.