As endurance coaching is a passion but also a business, business related emailing is one of the operational tasks. The ability to write a good email is essential but not everyone has mastered this skill. Here are ways to be excellent at email communication.
I get quite a few emails on a daily basis, and prior to UESCA, when managing corporate fitness centers, I unfortunately received even more.
While burdensome at times, the one thing that I learned from receiving all these emails is that there is a lot that you can tell from an email, regardless of the subject matter.
When to (and not to) Write an Email
There are a lot of great things about email, and there are also a lot of not-so-great things about email. Let’s start with the great things – it’s fast, efficient and provides proof of dialogue between parties.
In the not-so-great column, at the end of the day, an email is just a bunch of words. There are no facial expressions, changes in voice tone, body language, etc… As such, when it is important to have some or all of the above ‘human’ aspects involved in communication, email is likely not the preferred method.
What Does Your Email Say About You?
At UESCA and at my prior management jobs, I used email as the first screening ‘tool’ to filter out candidates. Were there spelling/grammar errors? Were slang words used? Were the questions that I asked answered?
While not being able to construct a professional email does not necessarily equate to being a bad coach or employee, it does likely send the receiver of the email a bad vibe. Whether that vibe is unprofessional, uneducated or just lazy – it’s not a vibe that you want to convey.
Leave Nothing up to Interpretation
This one is a biggie! It’s very easy to leave out important context in an email. This often happens because the sender assumes that the recipient knows something that they don’t. Or, often it occurs because the sender didn’t properly get all of their ideas out on paper before sending the email.
When sending a detail-heavy email, I usually write down all the key points that I want to include on a piece of paper and cross them off one-by-one as I type them in the email. This greatly reduces the chance that I left a key piece of information out of the email.
Reread
This section likely should be the first thing on the list as in many ways, it is the most important aspect of writing a ‘good’ email. Rereading an email is of utmost importance as there is almost a 100% certainty that you will find at least one edit that improves upon the original email.
A Second Perspective
I’m very fortunate to be able to run emails by Cindy, my business partner, on a regular basis. While I’ll sometimes get a ‘Perfect, looks great!’ response, more often than not, she will have some suggested edits. For this, I am very grateful!
I’ll often write what I believe was a perfect email until I get Cindy’s feedback and I then realize that I could have worded some sections better, or added more context, or perhaps, deleted an entire section. While not everyone reading this post will have a ‘Cindy,’ I encourage you to find someone who you believe can provide valuable feedback to your emails and when you’re writing an important one, send it their way.
You Get One Shot
Depending on the scenario and the intent of the email, you may only get one chance to elicit a reply from the recipient. As an example, let’s say that you are cold emailing an editor of a popular running magazine about becoming a contributor. For starters, you have to appreciate that the editor likely gets 100’s of emails for the exact same reason. Therefore, you email has to be on point and damn near perfect to elicit a response and ideally, a positive one. As a side bar, there are also a lot of other preparatory things that should be done prior to reaching out to an editor, but that’s for another blog post!
What is the End Goal? Be Strategic.
Are you sending a cold email to try to establish a connection? Perhaps you’re following up on a coaching inquiry and want to ensure you get the sale. Or maybe you’re emailing a connection at a local running store about presenting at their monthly meeting.
Whatever the goal of the email, you must tailor your verbiage, ‘tone,’ and context of the email accordingly.
Be Wary of the Length
Like myself, most people get a lot of emails a day, both professional and personal. In some cases, people get 100’s of emails a day that they have to sift through. To maximize the chance that your email is read… and read in its entirety, you have to be mindful of the length of your email.
Unless it calls for a longer email, I try to keep my emails to no more than three paragraphs (2-4 sentences per paragraph). This is especially the case with cold emails or follow up emails that I haven’t gotten a response to. The format is pretty simple. The first paragraph is a short introduction of myself and why I’m writing the email. The second paragraph elaborates on why I’m writing the email and the last paragraph summarizes the email along with a specific call to action, if any.
Be Nice
As noted above, you don’t have the advantage of facial expressions or tone of voice in an email. Therefore, all you’ve got are your words. However, you can still effectively express your feelings and set an appropriate tone for the email with solely words.
In my opinion, kindness is one of the most important things to convey in an email – even if you’re expressing dissatisfaction.
As an example, if I were looking for a coach and reached out to two referred coaches, both of whom were equally qualified and the same rate… and received replies from both, but one email came off as friendly and professional and the other as purely transactional, I would choose the friendly email coach.
Summary
Like it or not, we live in a world ruled by email. As such, you likely fire off 10’s or 100’s of them a day. While it might be acceptable to send off short and impersonal emails at your 9-5 job, when dealing with athletes and prospective professional collaborators, you need more of a personal touch. Because at the end of the day, if coaching isn’t personal, what is it?
