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I want to share a valuable learning experience (goof up) I just had in the hopes that it might make other people more aware when sending out cold e-mails.
I wanted to reach out to a VERY successful entrepreneur (let's call him John), about a project I had in mind. I took a half hour to construct what I deemed to be the "perfect" e-mail, one that would guarantee a response. Here's how it looked.
"Hi John,
You're the man! Love your work on ..., you have a great story, and kicked a$$ on ...'s podcast.
I know you genuinely love helping people so I thought I would reach out directly.
My friend and I are starting a website that aims to ... It's an $11billion industry that's so full of ..., that .... That's where we would come in.
Thing is, we're both business guys and don't know the FIRST THING about building a GOOD site. That's why I'm reaching out to you.
You have an incredible technical knowledge and I want to involve you in this process (Give you money!!)
I would love the opportunity to have a call on Tuesday for 15 min @ 10 AM PST. Would this work for you?
Thanks in advance! I would genuinely love to connect.
Best,
..."
Now, by sending this e-mail I thought a few things.
1. I was being affable, friendly, and casual (which would get a response)
2. I was showing him that I actually did my homework on him (which would get a response)
3. I was asking for a brief amount of time, and presenting a specific call to action by proposing a time (which would get a response)
Well, I did get a response. One minute later. It simply read
"No thanks."
I wanted to dig a little deeper so I responded:
"No worries. Thanks for the response!
Out of curiosity, did anything jump out at you that I can improve for future cold e-mails? I'm always trying to get better."
He responded
"Your e-mail was all about you."
I had to go back and think about it. All about me? What? I re-read and re-read and it suddenly became clear.
The entire e-mail was me trying to get something from him. I wanted to involve him in a project, I wanted his time, and I wanted his experience. Nowhere in my e-mail was there any mention of really collaborating, working together, building something as a team, etc. The e-mail was written from a fundamentally selfish perspective of "I need something from you and I'm going to get it". I thought that by mentioning money in the e-mail I would elicit a response. I was wrong on every level.
A good takeaway for both myself and the people learning from my mistake is to ask yourself whether your e-mail is coming across as selfish when you send it. What is the real purpose behind your words? If it's trying to get something from someone else, it will fail.
MJ speaks about adding value when creating a business, the same thing is true in e-mails. Does your e-mail add value? Are you producing value for the recipient of your e-mail, or are you consuming their time?
Might be worth keeping in mind next time you send out a cold e-mail
Have you received a selfish e-mail? (Did it make you not want to respond?)
Have you sent a selfish e-mail? (Did the receipient not respond?)
- WT
I wanted to reach out to a VERY successful entrepreneur (let's call him John), about a project I had in mind. I took a half hour to construct what I deemed to be the "perfect" e-mail, one that would guarantee a response. Here's how it looked.
"Hi John,
You're the man! Love your work on ..., you have a great story, and kicked a$$ on ...'s podcast.
I know you genuinely love helping people so I thought I would reach out directly.
My friend and I are starting a website that aims to ... It's an $11billion industry that's so full of ..., that .... That's where we would come in.
Thing is, we're both business guys and don't know the FIRST THING about building a GOOD site. That's why I'm reaching out to you.
You have an incredible technical knowledge and I want to involve you in this process (Give you money!!)
I would love the opportunity to have a call on Tuesday for 15 min @ 10 AM PST. Would this work for you?
Thanks in advance! I would genuinely love to connect.
Best,
..."
Now, by sending this e-mail I thought a few things.
1. I was being affable, friendly, and casual (which would get a response)
2. I was showing him that I actually did my homework on him (which would get a response)
3. I was asking for a brief amount of time, and presenting a specific call to action by proposing a time (which would get a response)
Well, I did get a response. One minute later. It simply read
"No thanks."
I wanted to dig a little deeper so I responded:
"No worries. Thanks for the response!
Out of curiosity, did anything jump out at you that I can improve for future cold e-mails? I'm always trying to get better."
He responded
"Your e-mail was all about you."
I had to go back and think about it. All about me? What? I re-read and re-read and it suddenly became clear.
The entire e-mail was me trying to get something from him. I wanted to involve him in a project, I wanted his time, and I wanted his experience. Nowhere in my e-mail was there any mention of really collaborating, working together, building something as a team, etc. The e-mail was written from a fundamentally selfish perspective of "I need something from you and I'm going to get it". I thought that by mentioning money in the e-mail I would elicit a response. I was wrong on every level.
A good takeaway for both myself and the people learning from my mistake is to ask yourself whether your e-mail is coming across as selfish when you send it. What is the real purpose behind your words? If it's trying to get something from someone else, it will fail.
MJ speaks about adding value when creating a business, the same thing is true in e-mails. Does your e-mail add value? Are you producing value for the recipient of your e-mail, or are you consuming their time?
Might be worth keeping in mind next time you send out a cold e-mail
Have you received a selfish e-mail? (Did it make you not want to respond?)
Have you sent a selfish e-mail? (Did the receipient not respond?)
- WT
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