How to start an effective email search

The email has been one of the oldest technologies in the digital world, ever since the invention of the internet. Yet, even with all the new platforms and technologies like social media, AI-driven chatbots, and automation tools, email marketing is still one of the most effective strategies with higher results than average.

Contrary to popular belief, the click-through rate from email marketing is six times higher than Facebook or Twitter engagements. Pair that with the fact that we have almost 5.6 billion active email accounts in 2020, and if you are not doing email marketing, you are missing out.

Projections show that by the end of 2020, we expect to see 4 billion worldwide email users (which is more than one-third of the global population). In regard to email sends per day worldwide, we know that about 293 billion emails were sent and received each day in 2019. That figure is expected to grow to almost 320 billion daily emails in 2021, according to Statista.

According to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), email click-through rate is the most important email marketing metric as 70% of marketers’ track click-through rates as a way to measure the success of their email marketing campaigns.

Let us begin with the first step.

Step 1: Set-Up Clear, Realistic Goals

This might seem like a cliche, but having clear goals is the most important thing in ensuring the success of an email marketing campaign. Without having clear objectives, you won’t know what to measure and what to adjust when things went amiss.

Also, your goals should be realistic. If your goals are too far-fetched, they might demoralize you and your team when you don’t see any accomplishment. If you have a very big goal (it’s not a bad thing at all), break it down into smaller, more realistic milestones.

The goals of your email marketing campaign should always be aligned with the overall KPI and objectives of your company. Your company might just launch a new product and will need more awareness. You might need more leads or more traffic. You might need to boost your online presence.

The good news is, email marketing is versatile. You can pretty much accomplish any marketing-related goals with email marketing, which can’t be said with other platforms.

Step 2: Capturing Email Addresses and Building Your List

Arguably, this is the most difficult step you must overcome. After you’ve set up clear and realistic goals, you should target the right audiences that fit your objectives.

Here, our main focus is to capture their email addresses and build an email list. There can be many different approaches to building an email list.

Yet, here are some effective ideas:

2.1 Capturing New Email Addresses

Creating a new email database from scratch can be a really daunting task. Thankfully, there are many tools available you can use to capture new email addresses. For example, you can use the handy Hunter.io.

Another option is to use Outreach.Buzz, select blogs from your niche and add the bloggers’ contacts into an email list.

Listing Existing Customers’ Emails

If your email marketing campaign will be focused on nurturing existing relationships, simply import existing customer emails into your email list tool.

In general, however, we should combine both options to get the most results. Check out this guide by Campaign Monitor that might help you in building an email database.

Make full use of your existing website, landing pages, social media accounts, and all of your arsenals to capture more email addresses. Offer valuable contents or promotions in exchange for new email addresses.

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How many times have you searched for an email for a really long time saying, “I had it somewhere?” Or perhaps you have asked your colleague to send a message once again, and now another person must find the message because you couldn’t. Now is the right time to learn the basics of an effective email search.

Effective Email Search

Imagine you search for 10 emails a day and you could save 30 seconds each time. During the whole calendar year you could save more than sixteen hours, which means two working days off!

What I have found is that most people put just one word in the search bar and play with sorting by different columns to find the desired message. Sometimes it’s even worse: two words are entered with the expectation that the search will find the messages containing BOTH of them, not ANY of them, or the opposite.

Let’s see if we can learn the basics of email search in just five minutes! There are two help pages that you definitely should read. And then practice. And read once again: Learn to narrow your search criteria for better searches in Outlook and Gmail advanced search. You may be surprised how similar these engines are for the end user. If you use Outlook at work, it will raise your email search skills and at the same time you will be able to use most of the knowledge when using Gmail and vice versa.

Have you ever noticed that Outlook has a search bar available with just one click?

There are just few keywords and operators you need to learn and if you use them effectively, you can build some more skills on top of that. I will focus on Outlook and if you want to learn the basics for gmail, you will quickly notice few simple differences.

Examples

There will be just one example that we will be using to build queries to narrow down our search and find just one message among thousands of others. You remember that last week “Nabielec” sent you the presentation you need. Let us start with the simplest case.

• Emails from “Nabielec”
  Many times I’ve seen people putting “Nabielec” and then sorting by sender to quickly find the right one. However, you can simply use the operator (sometimes called keyword) “from:”. There are just few operators (usually logical operators) that do not require parameters, but for the rest, the standard usage is “operator: parameter”. In this case we may simply use:

• Emails from “Nabielec” received last week
  Unfortunatelly “Nabielec” sends tons of emails, so you found few hundreds with this search. We have to improve the expression. This time we will simply use two keywords: “from” and “received” with no magic. Just try this:

• Emails from “Nabielec” with an attachment, received last week
  Now we got down to some reasonable amount, but still most of the messages found are without attachment and that makes the picture blurry. One more keyword will let you find messages that contain the attachment (or not): “hasattachment”.

• Emails with both “Project” and “Next steps”
  In the previous step five emails were found and you got the presentation you wanted. However, you recall the fact that there was another great presentation someone has sent that had “Project” and “Next steps” in it. For that purpose we will use logical operator AND (yes, use uppercase) and “Next steps” need to be taken into quotes, otherwise “next” and “steps” could be in a different parts of the e-mail. The great thing about this search is that not only it will search in the email body, but also in the email subject and attachments.

• Emails with “Meeting minutes” and “Connect” in the subject
  Your previous search reminded you the project called “Connect” and you are pretty sure that the presentation was sent in the meeting minutes. You could simply try “Meeting minutes” AND “Connect”, however that could find unwanted messages with “Connect” in the email body or attachments. Key of effective email search is to find exactly what you want. This time we introduce the operator “subject:”.

Conclusion

I found that just these basic operators give many people dramatic improvement of their productivity when using email. Many people are using large set of folders and remembers complex categorization rules, however when they think about the message they want to find, they most often think something like “email from Paul with the attachment”. This should be immediately turned into search criteria, rather than transforming it into a set of complex rules like “it was about project X, so it could be in folder X. No, wait, it was urgent, so it will be in the Urgent folder. No, wait. It was sent by my boss, I have specific folder for that”. Skip the middle step and tell what you need by a nice search expression.

I hope you can save at least 30 seconds with every email search and you will get your two days off at the end of the year!

The ability to write clear, friendly and professional emails is a foundational skill for your career. Starting and ending your emails properly can help you build relationships and get work done.

In this article, we’ll cover how to start an email including tips and several email starters you can use in your next correspondence.

Why starting your email well is important

Email is an important form of communication, just like phone calls and video conferences. You should treat each email as an opportunity to develop a mutual respect with your colleagues. By writing a great beginning to your email, you are more likely to make a positive first impression. Such an impression can encourage your audience to read the full message of your email and take any required actions.

Professional email salutation tips:
1. Avoid gendered language
2. Avoid exclamation points
3. Avoid casual language like “Hey,”
4. Avoid overly formal language like “Sir” or “Madam”
5. Avoid using “To Whom it May Concern”
6. Avoid using times of day, such as “Good morning” or “Good evening”
7. Avoid using “Dear [ Job Title ] ” if possible

How to start an email

There are a few key best practices to keep in mind when composing the beginning of your email:

• Spell any names you use correctly. Misspelling the name of your recipient can make them feel disrespected—if you haven’t taken the time to learn their name, they are unlikely to trust you’ve paid attention to other important details. To ensure your entire email is read with care and to build relationships with your recipients, be sure to spell their name correctly. If you have been emailing back and forth with them, their name is likely already in their email and/or signature. If not, do a bit of research to ensure you’ve got their name right.

Keep it professional. It might be tempting to seem friendly or excited in an email greeting by using a fun greeting, smiley face or exclamation points. Keep in mind that it’s always best to err on the side of professional and minimal.

What to include at the start of your emails

The beginning of your email should contain the following:

1. Greeting

To start an email, you should begin with a greeting. You might do this in a variety of ways depending on your reason for writing and who you’re writing to.

2. Well wishes (optional)

After your greeting, it is optional to include a quick, positive note like “Hope all is well” or “Hope you had a terrific weekend.” This is appropriate if you haven’t written to the recipient for a lengthy amount of time or if you have a close relationship with the recipient. If you know your audience appreciates a concise note with only key information, you might leave this part out.

3. Reason for writing

Then, be sure to include a concise sentence or two about why you are writing. Informing the recipient about the goal of your email can help set the tone for the rest of your correspondence.

Let’s take a closer look at email greetings you might use depending on the email.

Email greeting examples

Here are several examples of greetings you can choose from to start your email. As discussed in the tips above, be sure to select a greeting that applies to your audience and reason for writing:

When writing to one or two recipients:

• Dear [ Name ] ,
• Dear [ Name ] and [ Name ] ,
• Hello [ Name ] ,
• Hi [ Name ] ,
• [ Name ] ,

When writing to three or more recipients:

• Hello everyone,
• [ Group or team name ] ,
• Hi team,
• Hello all,
• Hi there,
• Good morning,
• Good afternoon,
• Good evening,

When you are unsure of the recipient’s name:

• Dear Sir,
• Dear Madam,
• Dear Sir or Madam,
• Hi,
• Hello,
• Dear Hiring Manager,
• Greetings,

Ways to start an email with examples

Here are examples of ways you might start an email in various scenarios applying the tips and methods above.

When applying for a job:

I hope this finds you well. I’m writing in response to your job posting for the Reception Associate position…”

After completing an interview:

Thank you again for taking the time to meet with me about the Accounting Manager position today. I’m following up with the additional information you requested regarding my portfolio…”

When setting up a meeting:

I’m reaching out to set up a meeting about the upcoming project…”

When introducing new team members:

Hello! I’m writing to introduce you to the newest member of our HR team, Helen Farber…”

When accepting a job offer:

Thank you so much for getting back to me. I’m excited to learn about the offer…”

Writing emails is an important part of any job. Be sure to take some time to consider your audience and exactly why you are writing. Doing so can help you construct a clear communication that builds relationships and moves projects forward. Starting your email in a professional manner can create a positive first impression.

We’ve talked about the best ways to end an email; now let’s talk about beginnings.

You might wonder whether it’s really necessary to put much thought into how you begin your emails and other correspondence. If you’ve ever ignored a letter because it began with “To Whom It May Concern,” groaned because your name was misspelled, or wondered if the sender was human or canine because their greeting was so overly enthusiastic, then you know that getting your email salutation right is a big deal. In job search emails, for example, using the wrong greeting could make you seem less competent and even cost you an interview.

Here are the six best ways to begin an email, followed by six you should avoid at all costs.

The Six Best Ways to Start an Email

1 Hi [Name],

In all but the most formal settings, this email greeting is the clear winner. It’s simple, friendly, and direct. If you want a slightly more formal tone, consider replacing hi with hello.

2 Dear [Name],

Although dear can come across as stuffy, it’s appropriate for formal emails. Use it when you’re addressing a person in a position of respect (e.g., Dear Lieutenant Smith) and in formal business missives such as a résumé cover letter.

If the recipient’s gender is unknown, or their name is the least bit ambiguous, use a full name instead:

Dear Terry Jones:

Avoid honorifics that imply marital status such as “Mrs.” Use “Ms.” instead.

3 Greetings,

There are a couple of useful alternatives when you don’t know your recipient’s name or you’re writing to a general email inbox, such as [email protected][company].com. Greetings is one of them. But we also like . . .

4 Hi there,

The advantage of Hi there is that it works well if you’re sending a mass email or using a mail merge feature with customized name fields. You can set up your fields like this:

That way, when you use “there” in the [Name] field, your recipient will see a non-specific greeting: “Hi there.”

5 Hello, or Hello [Name],

This one bridges the gap between the breezy hi and the more formal dear. It’s used less often, though, so be aware that it might stand out, and don’t use it if you want your greeting to be unobtrusive.

6 Hi everyone,

If you’re addressing a group of people, this is the way to go. We prefer it to more abrupt greetings like “All,” or the too gender-specific “Gentlemen” or “Ladies.”

The Six Worst Ways to Start an Email

1 [Misspelled Name],

Don’t misspell your recipient’s name. Ever.

Double-check the spelling of the person’s name and either get it right or omit it and use a generic greeting like Hi there. Although a nonspecific greeting may come off as impersonal, a misspelled name is a red flag that says you’re careless.

2 Dear Sir or Madam,

Have you ever read and responded to a letter that greeted you with Dear Sir or Madam? We’re going to go ahead and guess you haven’t. Not only is this salutation stiff and formal, it shows that you couldn’t be bothered to look up a contact name and address someone specific.

3 To Whom It May Concern,

The same sentiments that apply to Dear Sir or Madam apply here. If your letter opens with To Whom It May Concern, we’re probably going to assume it doesn’t concern us.

4 Hey! or Hey, [Name]!

Reserve this one for your friends and close colleagues. Otherwise, hey is glaringly informal and can even come across as disrespectful. Have you ever felt warmly greeted by someone saying, “Hey, you!”?

5 Happy Friday. Or Welcome to Monday!

If you’re a golden retriever, you might be able to get away with a greeting this exuberant. Otherwise, you’ll come across as trying too hard. Forget the cutesy greetings, or at least save them for the most informal correspondence between you and your close friends.

6 Hi [Nickname],

If you’ve done your research and discovered that your recipient’s name is Michael McTavish, don’t assume familiarity and shorten his name to Mike. However, if he signs his reply with Mike, it’s okay to address him that way in the future. In fact, he might find it a bit peculiar if you decide to stick with the more formal moniker.

9 rules for writing an email that’s easy to answer

Many of us did not learn to write emails in school, yet knowing how to write an email is an invaluable skill in the workplace. This is particularly true for those working in (or looking for) telecommuting jobs. Next to good phone etiquette, there is probably no skill as important as email when it comes to getting–and keeping–a work-at-home job.

A well-written email makes it easy for the recipient to understand and act on its message. In the job search, email may precede or even replace the face-to-face first impression, so proper punctuation and a coherent message is key. And on the job, unclear emails cause confusion and delays. Follow these tips to write effective emails to colleagues, clients, potential clients, hiring managers, and even friends and family.

First, Consider the Message and the Recipient

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Marc Romanelli / Getty Images

An email should start in your mind, not with your fingers on the keyboard. In order to write email effectively, first, consider why are you writing. What kind of response do you want? What message do you wish to impart? If you are requesting information, applying for a job or inquiring about openings, be sure your request for action by the recipient is clear.

Next, consider the point of view of the recipient. What information do they need to take action or understand your message? Give necessary (but not excessive) background information. Also, keep in mind appropriate etiquette for this particular recipient. Emoticons and abbreviations, like OMG or LOL, are not appropriate for job applications and most business email.

Write a Descriptive Email Subject Line

When you write an email, do not write something vague in the subject line like “hi” or “work-at-home jobs” or leave it blank. Emails with this kind of subject line have a good chance of ending up in the recipient’s spam box or simply ignored. If you are applying for a job, put the name of the position in the subject line. If the email is to a colleague, make your subject line a short phrase that sums up the purpose of the message.

Another benefit of writing a descriptive subject line is that it will be easier for you to find in your inbox if you need to search it out later. Something with an email line like “Question” will not be helpful, though.

Greet the Recipient Properly

If you know the name of your recipient but don’t personally know them, greet by using a title, eg. Dear Ms. Brunelli. (Use “Ms.” for women when uncertain whether “Mrs.” or “Miss” is appropriate.) If you are uncertain about gender, simply use the first and last name, i.e. Dear Chris Smith. If you don’t know the person’s name, begin your email with no greeting or use a simple greeting, eg. Hello, Greetings, Dear Manager, etc.

If the email is to a colleague or someone else you know, use the name you would use in person or on the phone.

Use Correct Grammar and Punctuation

It’s very important to use correct grammar in an email. Consciously or subconsciously, readers penalize senders for grammatical errors.

• Run-On Sentences – When you write an email, don’t spare the periods. That small pause gives readers time to take in the words’ meanings. Short sentences allow for more of these tiny pauses. Break up long sentences even when they are not technically run-on sentences.
• Commas – Too few or too many commas can be confusing. Learn to use the comma correctly.
• Subject-Verb Agreement – Sentences with this type of error are red flags for employers seeking candidates with good communication skills. Review rules for subject-verb agreement.

Check Spelling and Capitalization

Use a spell checker, but don’t rely on it. A spell checker won’t catch “they” for “the” or “there” for “their,” and this type of error indicates carelessness. Do not use texting abbreviations such as “u” for “you” or “tho” for “though.”

Use correct capitalization. Most people know to capitalize the beginning of the sentence and proper nouns, but many fail to do so in emails. Show that you don’t mind taking that extra fraction of a second to hit the shift key. On the other hand, too many capital letters can distract the reader. Avoid writing phrases in all caps (which many interpret as the equivalent of screaming in person) as well as capitalizing, just for emphasis, the first letter of words that are not at the beginning of a sentence or proper nouns.

Use Simple Formatting in Email

Remember that email programs all display differently. What looks perfectly aligned on your screen may run together on someone else’s. For this reason, avoid pasting a highly formatted word-processing document, like a resume or cover letter, in an email. Use documents that are written in plain text format.

Make paragraphs short. Like periods, paragraph breaks give the reader’s eye a rest. Someone reading email on a cell phone will benefit from short paragraphs. But be careful to still follow basic rules regarding paragraphs.

Be Concise

Meandering emails that bury the point get tabled and eventually forgotten. Or worse, they may be misunderstood. Make your purpose clear, using concise language.

• Eliminate Wordiness– Write with active verbs. “Jack sent me the forms” uses an active verb. “The forms were sent to me by Jack” is passive. The passive form only uses a few more words, but it adds up. More than that, it requires readers to rearrange the ideas in their heads.
• Stick to the Point – Resist the temptation to add extraneous information or ideas. Save these for another email.
• Use Bullet Points– These allow your reader to use visual clues to take in what’s important. But if in doubt about how bullets will display, use asterisks or hyphens to create bullets.

Sign Email Appropriately

If your email defaults to a standard signature, be sure it is appropriate for the particular email you are sending. Signatures with political statements or the names and ages of your children are fine for personal email, but for work use a less personal signature. Depending on your job and your employer, you may still personalize your email signature with a quote. Choose something non-controversial. If you are inquiring about a job, use your signature to give appropriate contact information without any quotes or extra personalization.

Reread/Rethink Before Hitting Send

Check for spelling and punctuation errors before you hit send. If you find an error in an email for a job application, fix it, then reread again before you hit send. But also reread for content. If your email is long, think about ways to make it more concise. And if your email is controversial or was written in anger, hit save not send. Come back to it a few hours or a day later and see if you still want to send it.

This may sound like a lot to do before sending an email, but if you are sending effective emails and are more efficiently organizing your email, you will find you actually have more time not less.

What Everyone Should Know Before Emailing Staff and Colleagues

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• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

Despite the popularity of texting and social media, email remains the most common form of written communication in the business world—and the most commonly abused. Too often, email messages snap, growl, and bark—as if being concise meant that you had to sound bossy. Not so.

Consider this email message recently sent to all staff members on a large university campus:

It is time to renew your faculty/staff parking decals. New decals are required by Nov. 1. Parking Rules and Regulations require that all vehicles driven on campus must display the current decal.

Slapping a “Hi!” in front of this message doesn’t solve the problem. It only adds a false air of chumminess.

Instead, consider how much nicer and shorter—and probably more effective—the email would be if we simply added a “please” and addressed the reader directly:

Please renew your faculty/staff parking decals by November 1.

Of course, if the author of the email had truly kept readers in mind, they might have included another useful tidbit: a clue as to how and where to renew the decals. Using the email about the parking decals as an example, try incorporating these tips into your own writing for better, clearer, more effective emails:

The Windows 10 search feature seems pretty simple, but it can be even more effective. Here are some ways to control your searches and find things faster.

Finding a specific app, file, or setting buried in the depths of Windows 10 can be challenging. If you’re having trouble tracking down specific items across the Start menu, File Explorer, and Windows Settings menu, use the search feature. Windows 10 offers a powerful and flexible search tool that can help you find exactly what you want, no matter where it is.

With the Windows 10 search tool, you can conduct narrow searches to find specific items such as apps from the Start menu, music from File Explorer, and preferences from the Settings menu.

You can run web searches directly from the search box without first having to open your browser. The tool even gives you easy access to the apps and files you use most frequently.

This search feature was once closely tied to Cortana, but the Windows 10 May 2019 Update split the two apart. Windows 10 search also has its own settings screen where you can customize your experience.

With the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, Windows Search is now integrated into the search function in File Explorer. That means you can type or select a keyword in the search field, and File Explorer suggests files based on your search term. Now, let’s check out how to use the search tool.

Update Windows

Starting Your Search

Run a Search

Search by Categories

The search menu consists of several categories, including Apps, Documents, Email, Web, and—from the More drop-down menu—Folders, Music, People, Photos, Settings, and Video. Click a category to filter the results.

When you’re searching for a specific software program, you can click Apps to narrow the search field. Looking for a document related to your search term? Select the heading for Documents. If you’re seeking an email connected with your search term, select the heading for Email.

You can even search for a website or specific web page under the Web tab. The search window shows you direct results in the right pane and related searches in the left pane. Click on one of the searches and you’re directed to a Bing page.

Type Categories

Manage Search in Taskbar

Search in Files Explorer

Change Search Settings

Control Search History

Control Search Privacy

Exclude Files and Folders

How to Speed up Windows 10

Further Reading

• How to Protect Your Microsoft Word Documents
• How to Check Your Laptop Battery Health in Windows 10
• How to Factory Reset Windows 10
• How to Take Screenshots in Windows 10
• More in Windows 10

Windows 10 Reviews

• Microsoft Windows 10
• Microsoft Windows 8.1

About Lance Whitney

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• More from Lance Whitney

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The Windows 10 search feature seems pretty simple, but it can be even more effective. Here are some ways to control your searches and find things faster.

Finding a specific app, file, or setting buried in the depths of Windows 10 can be challenging. If you’re having trouble tracking down specific items across the Start menu, File Explorer, and Windows Settings menu, use the search feature. Windows 10 offers a powerful and flexible search tool that can help you find exactly what you want, no matter where it is.

With the Windows 10 search tool, you can conduct narrow searches to find specific items such as apps from the Start menu, music from File Explorer, and preferences from the Settings menu.

You can run web searches directly from the search box without first having to open your browser. The tool even gives you easy access to the apps and files you use most frequently.

This search feature was once closely tied to Cortana, but the Windows 10 May 2019 Update split the two apart. Windows 10 search also has its own settings screen where you can customize your experience.

With the Windows 10 November 2019 Update, Windows Search is now integrated into the search function in File Explorer. That means you can type or select a keyword in the search field, and File Explorer suggests files based on your search term. Now, let’s check out how to use the search tool.

Update Windows

Starting Your Search

Run a Search

Search by Categories

The search menu consists of several categories, including Apps, Documents, Email, Web, and—from the More drop-down menu—Folders, Music, People, Photos, Settings, and Video. Click a category to filter the results.

When you’re searching for a specific software program, you can click Apps to narrow the search field. Looking for a document related to your search term? Select the heading for Documents. If you’re seeking an email connected with your search term, select the heading for Email.

You can even search for a website or specific web page under the Web tab. The search window shows you direct results in the right pane and related searches in the left pane. Click on one of the searches and you’re directed to a Bing page.

If you want to get ahead in today’s competitive business world, you have to continually expand your network. Whether you’re looking for a new job or just hoping to make some strong contacts for the future, you should always be on the lookout for opportunities to connect with fellow professionals. While a warm introduction from a mutual contact is usually your best bet, it’s not always possible. Sometimes, you have to take matters into your own hands. Sending a cold networking email is one way to reach out and introduce yourself to someone you’d like to meet.

Basically, a cold networking email is just an unsolicited message inviting someone to connect. You may send it via LinkedIn message or via regular email.

Unfortunately, electronic messaging is a difficult medium for building a new relationship. Most people have overflowing email inboxes and LinkedIn messages can be easy to overlook—especially when they come from someone you don’t know.

So, how do you craft a cold networking email that actually gets results? Here are some key points to keep in mind.

Identify the Right People

You don’t want to blanket your message all over town without any rhyme or reason—that’s just spam. Instead, you want to be intentional about who you reach out to. LinkedIn is your best resource for finding new potential contacts. You can search by organization, location, title and more. Who you will want to connect with depends on your goals. Perhaps you want to connect with someone in a company where you’re considering submitting an application. Or maybe you want to meet someone who is more experienced in your field, or someone who works in a field you’re considering transitioning to. Whoever you’re looking for, you can find them on LinkedIn—if you’re willing to invest the time to research.

Also read: The Top 5 Networking Mistakes to Avoid Like the Plague | Networking for Success Series

Keep It Short

When crafting your cold networking email, keep it short. No one wants to read pages and pages of introductory text. In fact, they won’t read it. They’ll delete it. If you want your message to actually get read, it has to be concise and to-the-point. If you spend more than two sentences explaining who you are and why you’re contacting them, you’ve already lost their attention.

For example, your opening might look something like this:

“Hi Bob,
As a fellow financial planner in the Denver area, I noticed we share a complementary clientele, as well as a few other interests. I wanted to introduce myself in the hopes that this might be a mutually beneficial connection.”

Ask for What You Want

Don’t beat around the bush regarding your goal. If you want to have a meeting with this person, ask for it. However, remember that people are busy. It’s probably best to first request a very brief (15 minute) phone call instead. Just be specific; don’t be wishy-washy about it. Offer to work around their schedule to make it as convenient as possible.

For example, your request might look something like this:

“I’m curious if you’d be interested in getting to know one another in a quick 15-minute phone call on Thursday or Friday of this week. Are you available?”

Also read: How to Write A Cold Email For A Job Inquiry That No One Can Turn Down

What’s in It for Them?

Why would this person want to meet with you? What will entice them to stop what they’re doing and spend 15 minutes (or even an hour) getting to know you, a virtual stranger? Spell it out for them. If they can’t see the value of making a connection with you, they will very likely ignore your message. It’s nothing personal; they’re just prioritizing, and you’re not a priority.

Explain what you hope to accomplish in the meeting (or phone call) and that you’re eager to learn more about them/their business and how you can help them meet their goals. This shows that you’re interested in it being a two-way discussion, and that it should be mutually beneficial.

For example, your value proposition might look something like this:

“I’d love to learn more about the great things happening in your business, and possibly explore some opportunities for supporting one another. I’m always looking for strong referral partners and it appears your firm offers some services that might be of interest to my clients.”

Don’t Be Salesy

Finally, remember that this is an invitation to connect with a person, not a sales letter. Don’t try to jazz it up with “powerful” questions or intense lingo. Every week, I receive 10 (or more) messages on LinkedIn from different folks who want to know if I am making enough money in my business, or if I want more traffic to my website, or if I want hundreds of new hot leads!!

These messages are easy to ignore because they’re not personal and they’re totally off-putting.

The goal of a cold networking email is to start a relationship. The best way to do that is by being authentic and intentional in your outreach. Find the right people and approach them with an honest, simple request that is valuable for you both. You’ll be surprised at how many people take you up on your offer.