Effective Email Communication
By: Tommy Darker
Tags: Email, Communication, Musicpreneur

Let’s say you have attended a symposium and you have met a famous producer. Or you just ran into an A-Lister on a plane. Great news!

The bad news? This might only happen once or twice a year (but, more often than not, never).

Should you spend your whole year hoping? No. You have to plan your attack and reach out to them.

For various reasons I won’t list here, I’ve figured out that the best and most professional (and maybe… the safest?) way to reach out is via email.

Emails are imprinted in most professionals’ brains as their favourite way of being contacted. So let’s go for that, shall we?

The first step might be tracking down the correct email address (I’m not going to show you how), but sending a powerful email that gets opened, communicates your message, and gives them a reason to respond is the most important part of the equation.

Remember: you don’t have much time (or space) to grab their attention and make them actually care — using your words wisely is essential.

Let’s see how we can achieve this.

1. Keep it short (be concise)

You might see me publishing longform essays on my website — it’s obvious that I like talking a lot. But, when it comes to emails, I prefer to keep it short and to the point.

The most common mistake you can make during your first (or second, or third…) contact is to keep talking about stuff they don’t really care about. Your dreams or your ‘amazing’ new project can wait.

They don’t know you (and they probably need a reason to keep on reading), so only the absolutely critical info should make it into the first few exchanges.

Keep your messages short and concise. Important people value brevity more than you might think.

Think about it. When you receive hundreds of emails a day, what do you read — and answer — first? The emails from people you know and all the really short ones. The lengthy ones — especially if they come from strangers — either get deleted or archived in the ‘to answer later’ folder (which is to say that they usually get forgotten).

Through experimentation, I realised that 3 paragraphs with 2–3 sentences each are just perfect. More on that later.

2. Make it personalised (know who you’re talking to)

You know what spam means, right? Sending unsolicited messages without permission, often to a large amount of people. Most spam emails are written generically, so they can appeal to as many people as possible and increase the chance that someone actually opens the message.

They’re not personalized, and because of this, do not appeal individual persons.

This is the main issue with most senders today: they know the influencers they want to get in touch with, but they don’t help said influencers realise that the email has been sent exclusively to them!

Simply start with ‘Hi (their name here)’. It’s been said that ‘the best sound in the world is the sound of your name.’

Still… even if the influencer opens your email, they’ll likely be put off if they have to read a generic, monotonous email that could be a copy-paste template sent to 100s of other contacts,.

Don’t get embarrassed if they murmur ‘ufff… fuckin’ spammers again’. You’ve earned it.

Do your homework.

If you’re planning to contact someone important, spend time researching some notable details of their life and work. This information could include recent facts (which shows that you follow their work) or older ones (which screams ‘I’m a life-long fan of your work’). Ideally, be a real fan of their work.

No matter what, be (or at least look) genuine.

3. It’s all about them, not you

Imagine that you receive an email from a stranger, where they analyse their new idea. At the end, they ask you to be a helping hand or to promote their project.

‘Huh?’, would be your most possible response. ‘What will I get out of this? Will he just use my time and contacts? I don’t even know this person.’

Or, even worse: ‘How dare he?!?’

Can you put yourself in the shoes of the receiver? You’ll probably get what I mean.

Personally, I cannot find anything more repulsive than a person asking for help out of the blue, without building familiarity with me first.

Why?

Because I feel I’m being used.

Remember — every influencer is a human being and he or she wants to feel the human connection first, so they can have a strong reason to justify their actions. Influencers will be more open to the idea of helping a flesh and blood person like them, not some ghost they’ve never heard of.

Us human beings do enjoy helping without getting anything in return. It’s part of our DNA. However, we also do hate being used because we have power, contacts or influence (you name it).

It always helps if you make it clear (with words and actions) that this is a mutual value exchange.

And, since they don’t know you, first providing value that will help them to accomplish their goals and making the conversation all about them is the only way to go. It shows respect and points out that you don’t want to just take advantage of them (and then vanish into thin air).

Show that you intend to build a lasting relationship.

This is not always the rule; sometimes your emails will be answered just because they feel empathy, because they see the spark in your eyes or your desire for progress, which might excite them. This helped me get some projects off the ground and build a good portfolio of contacts when I first started out.

But it’s not a scalable or reliable strategy and it won’t happen often. Don’t just rely on empathy to win people over.

Not everybody has the time to care — make them care.

This is so important that it’s my responsibility to tell you: start by making it all about them and less (or not at all) about you.

4. Give them a little something, before you expect to get

I’ve heard so many complaints from important people, saying

‘This dude contacted me asking for this major favor, saying he’s in an emergency. I don’t even know this guy. How lame is that? If they’re in an emergency, then I’m in an emergency, and EVERYONE’s in an emergency. Things don’t work this way.’

It’s true that we often feel like we know (perhaps intimately) the important people we’re getting in touch with. Their public updates probably have helped us form a ‘persona’ about who they are. We’ve got value from their work and we’ve been following them for a while.

But, guess what? They don’t know you.

This is a major part of the problem; and results in no response: they’re not familiar with who you are.

All they see is a name and an email address. No human-to-human connection is formed. And, consequently, they feel less bad for not answering a stranger’s email rather than of someone they know.

‘Give before asking’ is a phrase that my parents used to say — maybe your parents did too! It makes sense, and I’ve seen it work numerous times before.

Remember, we’re human beings. We form bonds because there is some kind of exchange of value.

But, what do you give to a person that probably has everything they need at the moment?

Well, it’s easier than you think. A few suggestions:

1) Spot a problem they might be facing currently. Offer to be their helping hand.

From time to time they may talk about one of their challenges on social media. People are inclined to do that. Have your eyes open and provide a solution. It will take you a long way.

Important note: under normal circumstances, you doing them a huge favour could bring great results and definitely make them notice you. However, huge favours at an early stage might backfire: it might make them feel suspicious regarding the purity of this stranger’s intentions. Extreme reactions always seem to scare people off.

Thus, consider doing something smaller to begin with, always with genuine interest in helping and building a lasting relationship.

2) Provide valuable information.

Recommend a book, blog, website or other source of trusted information related to their current project/challenge or, if they’re talking about an interesting topic, contribute to the conversation by posting a relevant link. That can keep the discussion going.

Genuinely recommending a book, along with a thoughtful and relevant comment, shows that you’re a considerate, caring individual, not just a time-waster.

3) Be part of their public projects

I definitely don’t mean that you start building tents for their outdoor events!

If they have a blog, be part of the conversation and provide constructive comments.

If they have a community, share your thoughts and help them build value. From my own experience, I’m more likely to ask for feedback from an active and considerate member of my tribe, rather than from an individual that hasn’t personally engaged with me before.

We tend to be attracted by people who provide value. Always remember that.

4) Connect them with someone.

Becoming a connector is the easiest way to bring value.

You filter information for them, saving time, creating value and empathy — all with one simple gesture.

The more contacts you have, the better connector you can become. It snowballs.

5. Mention something they can relate with (a person or an event they know about)

Let’s get back to spamming again.

Spamming means that you send an unsolicited message that is not intended to go to any specific person.

Have you considered that sometimes your emails might accidentally look like spam?

While writing your email, if you fail to mention (early) how you know them or something familiar they can relate to, this omission might work against you. It goes along with #2 (make it personalised).

Go by the quote:

“Your goal is to make them read the first sentence. Then the first paragraph. Then the next one, till the end of your message.”

The first thing the influencer will notice is the length of the message (‘ok, it’s short, I’ll read it now really quick’), and then they will read the first sentence. This sentence needs to build familiarity, in order to grab their attention and keep them interested.

If nothing familiar or notable pops up there, then they’ll probably leave the rest of your message for later (or never).

Use simple sentences like:

“I’ve read your last interview with XY and I loved it, especially the part with…”

or

“Your friend Mario suggested that we talk, as he realised that we’re working on similar projects at the moment.”

(The last one has a bonus: it builds familiarity and mentions a common goal; which is a possible benefit and problem-solver for the influencer.)

If you can make them say ‘Ok, this is not spam. If Mario sent them my way, I should not ignore them,’ then congrats. It’s very likely that they’ll read the rest of the message.

6. Praise them

You like their work. Express it!

Praise (within reason) can help them like you more. Anyone knows that.

Think for yourself. Who do you like more: someone who gets excited about your accomplishments or someone who is always unimpressed?

Nobody hates praise, even people who get complimented all the time. There are psychological factors that boost our egos and how much we like the people that admire us and notice our hard work.

A genuine and thoughtful compliment can make them like you much easier.

It goes along with #2 (again). Knowing whom you’re talking to and praising something specific doesn’t only imply that you’re not spamming. It also shows that you appreciate them as a human and a professional. It creates empathy.

It doesn’t have to be something major. However, the more specific your praise, the better the response you’ll probably get.

“The part of your interview with BBC, where you expressed your theory on … was the biggest revelation for me. I’m now using these principles as guidelines for my work. Thanks.”

7. Clear call to action

This is the part of the email that most people mess up.

Say the influencer has read your short email ‘til the end (which means you’ve kept their interest), and now they’re ready to read the last few words, before the final greeting.

What should they read? Should you ask for something? Should you let them figure out for themselves? Should you play shy and retreat to your cave, without mentioning anything?

Before the final greeting is where you have to place a specific and concise Call-To-Action (CTA).

What is a CTA? It’s what you want them to do next.

Remember? You lead the conversation, not them. Being shy and leaving it up to them to figure out what next is a no-go.

Always be cautious: it’s human nature to always wonder ‘what can I do next’ and look for any obvious instructions/signs. If we see some, we can stop thinking so hard and relax. Following the obvious and default suggestion is a relief, since it removes the burden of us having to come up with a solution by ourselves.

You’ve cooked a meal that they’ll appreciate, and now all they have to do is sit back and enjoy. Why wouldn’t they?

In my opinion, emails with no clear Call-To-Action should not have been sent in the first place.

Important note: ask them for something trivial, which, ideally, gives THEM value. This will create a conversation, which is your first goal. If you ask them to remix your music for free, or connect you with XYZ executive, it won’t take you anywhere!

As a rule of thumb, what you give should be more than what you expect to get.

Want an example?

“…If you are free during these dates, here’s what you can do: Go to www.mywebsite.com/privateshow and write your email in the opt-in form, so I can include you +1 in the VIP list of the show.”

Pretty straightforward. You can make it as short as

‘Please go to www.competition.com/myband and vote for my song by clicking the red button.’

No ambiguous instructions. The simpler & the ‘dumber’, the higher the conversion & the more likely they are to do what you want them to do.

What if there are many things you want to ask of them?

In this case, please read the last bullet point. It will clear things up.

7+1. Don’t approach the message as a one-off conversation.

The famous and rather charismatic owner of WineLibrary.com, Gary Vaynerchuk, once said:

“Most entrepreneurs try to get a deal set in their first message. They act like 19-year-old boys. They try to fuck on the first date. Don’t do that, it’s ugly.”

Why rush, if you have a genuine interest on that person? Why look desperate, trying to get something as fast as possible?

Asking them for multiple things or telling them the story of your life in one email is ugly. You’re being that 19-year-old boy.

Trust me, it indicates that you don’t believe you’ll have another chance to talk to them. Sending a brief and well-constructed email with a clear call-to-action demonstrates your confidence and creates a favourable image about who you are. It shows focus and a relaxed attitude, which increases the chance that they’ll engage with you.

Everything starts with a confident person who wants to provide value. Who could resist that?

Think of it as a conversation at a party. You wouldn’t try and unload the story of your life on someone you met a few minutes ago. That wouldn’t seem natural and they would probably try to avoid you for the rest of the night. Instead, you would initiate a balanced conversation with flow and mutual value for both sides.As an initial CTA, sum up the single most important thing for them to do.

Let’s write the perfect email together