5 Better Alternatives to “I Hope This Email Finds You Well”
Alternatives to “I Hope This Email Finds You Well”
Nothing at all
The email app
Boomerang conducted a data study and found that emails between
seventy-five and one hundred words in length had the best response rates.
Although the response
rate diminished slowly after that, talk to any
busy person and they’ll tell you they prefer emails that are brief and get
straight to the point. Cluttering up an email with small talk that the
recipient isn’t likely to acknowledge, or will acknowledge only with a curt “I’m
fine,” isn’t magically making your email more friendly and civilized. Show that
you value the recipient’s time by getting down to business right from the
start.
Something personal
In my work as an editor, I’ve
had people follow me on Twitter
or Facebook, commenting on and sharing every
article I publish. And, just when I think I’ve somehow earned a fan, I’ll get a
letter from them asking me to accept a guest blog post or do some sort of
cross-promotional
content swap. I have to admit, I admire their
dedication to getting to know me, even if it comes with an ulterior motive. And
if they pitch something that reflects the knowledge they’ve gained about my
style and the topics I care about, it’s more likely to be something I can use.
I read
your article about [topic] in [outlet] last week. You hit the nail on the head
when you said .
I learned
last week that Awesome Startup got VC funding. You must be energized by what
lies ahead!
Congratulations
on publishing 80 Shades of Green last week! I’m sure it’s
thrilling to have the product of your creative labors out in the world.
There are a couple of caveats
here. First, don’t use a personalized opener unless it actually relates to the
topic you’re writing about. It would be awkward to congratulate someone on the
publication of their recent novel if you were writing to offer them a deal on
life insurance. (Unless maybe they write murder mysteries. There may be a hook
there.) And also, don’t make your message too personal. Saying you read an
article is one thing, but mentioning the beach vacation photos you saw on Instagram will come off as creepy.
“I know you’re swamped, so I’ll be brief.”
I love this opener. It and
the number of paragraphs in the email I see before me, tells me that the sender
values my time and made an effort to keep things short and sweet.
There’s just one rule with
this opener—if you’re going to use it, you’d better actually be brief. Don’t
promise to keep it brief and then go on for paragraph after paragraph. The
sender may wonder whether you actually know the definition of brief.
“We met at”
Once again, this approach
works best if your previous meeting is relevant to the topic at hand. If you
met at a conference and exchanged words about marketing strategies, and you’re emailing now to ask the recipient to review
your new app for marketers, you’re connecting the right dots. That won’t be the
case, however, if you’ve only bumped into each other in a coffee shop and
exchanged some small talk about the weather.
A bit of small talk
If you really think a small
talk opener fits your audience best, give it a whirl. Just don’t make it as
empty and meaningless as “I
hope all is well,” or “I hope you’re doing
well.” Try something a little more personal:
How are
things in New York? I hope you’re keeping cool during the heat wave.
Hope your
summer’s off to a great start. Is it vacation time yet?
Hey, it’s
Friday! I hope you have some cool plans for the weekend.
The more familiar you are
with the recipient, even if you know each other only through email exchanges,
the better this works.
In my opinion, the most
important rule of email
communication is this: don’t force it. If
you’re trying too hard to be personable or clever, your recipient will almost
always see through your attempts. When I write an email, even if it’s for a
mass emailing campaign, I’m always thinking of my intended recipient
and their persona. I smile as I write (seriously, it’s a little creepy) and
write as though I’m having a face-to-face conversation with them. Just minus the time-wasting small talk.
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