As a CEO, I will always have a full inbox! Consequently, I’ve become well acquainted with the practice. I’ve discovered what works and what doesn’t. I’m sure you find yourself emailing people for advice, mentoring, a job. It’s so easy to overlook small, but important, things when writing an email. Did you include a signature? Is your address professional? Did you rely too much on autocorrect? Here are some tips for composing the perfect email!

Be concise.

Please don’t tell me your entire life story — though I’m sure it’s awesome! — get to the point. You’re emailing a very busy person so, try to get to the point as quickly as possible.

Offer Something

Even if it’s meeting for coffee! I love the saying “you can’t make withdraws where you haven’t made deposits.”

Take Action!

Have a very clear action item in your email — Meet for coffee? Answer a few questions? Be clear.

Wait…

At least 30 days before emailing again if you haven’t head back. I know that I (and many friends) do deep inbox clean-ups each month. So if it did get lost, that’s when it might be found.

Spellcheck

There’s nothing worse than reading a request for help with tons of misspellings, and grammar mistakes. Take some extra time to write the note and make sure it’s totally checked before sending!