A company analyzed 5.3 million
emails and discovered what length is most likely to get a response
Adrienne LaFrance, The
Atlantic
Feb. 21, 2016, 3:23 PM
Okay, here’s a little test. See if you can decide which
email is most likely to elicit a response:
1. Hey, I was thinking about you earlier. Do you want to get
pizza?
2. Hey, I’d definitely like to get together next week. Do you want to get pizza?
3. Hey, it would be really great to see you and catch up. Do you want to get pizza?
4. Hey! It would be absolutely wonderful to see you! Do you want to get pizza? I’m so excited!
2. Hey, I’d definitely like to get together next week. Do you want to get pizza?
3. Hey, it would be really great to see you and catch up. Do you want to get pizza?
4. Hey! It would be absolutely wonderful to see you! Do you want to get pizza? I’m so excited!
The correct answer is—drumroll—the second one. It’s
in the Goldilocks zone of email tonality: not too positive, not too negative,
not flat-out neutral. Just right.
That’s according to a new analysis by the email-efficiency
serviceBoomerang.
The company anonymized and aggregated data from more than 5.3 million messages,
and figured out which qualities made an email most likely to prompt a response.
Back to all those pizza emails: The first one was too
neutral. The third one was better than the first one but not as good as the
second one. And the fourth one? Not bad, but not the best. Too enthusiastic is
about as effective as seeming emotionless.
Boomerang found that emails that were slightly positive or
slightly negative were most likely to get responses. Asking a couple of
questions is good, but more than three starts working against you. “Flattery
works, but excessive flattery doesn’t,” they wrote in a blog post about the findings. “We
also don’t advise penning day-ruining screeds.”
So, for instance, if you want to get the attention of a
store manager, Boomerang does not advise an email that ends with, “I hope you
die in agony.” Instead, try: “I had an awful experience at your store today.
The clerk was very rude. Please do something to make it right.”
So, you know, play it cool. But not too cool. Also, no need
to write long. The optimum length for an email is 50 to 125 words.
The Atlantic
======================== For a great satire on email, please see the following: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTgYHHKs0Zwscoop_post=bcaa0440-2548-11e5-c1bd-90b11c3d2b20&__scoop_topic=2455618
===============================================
Good Netiquette And A Green Internet To All!
Special Bulletin - My just released book,
"You're Hired. Super Charge our Email Skills in 60 Minutes! (And Get That Job...)
is now on sales at Amazon.com
Great Reasons for Purchasing Netiquette IQ
·
Get more
email opens. Improve 100% or more.
·
Receive
more responses, interviews, appointments, prospects and sales.
·
Be better
understood.
·
Eliminate
indecision.
·
Avoid
being spammed 100% or more.
·
Have
recipient finish reading your email content.
·
Save time
by reducing questions.
·
Increase
your level of clarity.
·
Improve
you time management with your email.
·
Have
quick access to a wealth of relevant email information.
Enjoy
most of what you need for email in a single book.
=================================
**Important note** - contact our company for very powerful solutions for IPmanagement (IPv4 and IPv6, security, firewall and APT solutions:
www.tabularosa.net
==================================================
Another Special Announcement - Tune in to my radio interview, on Rider University's station, www.1077thebronc.com I discuss my recent book, above on "Your Career Is Calling", hosted by Wanda Ellett.
In addition to this blog, Netiquette IQ
has a website with great
assets which are being added to on a regular basis. I have authored the
premiere book on Netiquette, “Netiquette IQ - A Comprehensive Guide to
Improve,
Enhance and Add Power to Your Email". My new book, “You’re Hired! Super
Charge
Your Email Skills in 60 Minutes. . . And Get That Job!” has just been
published and will be followed by a trilogy of books on Netiquette for
young people. You can view my
profile, reviews of the book and content excerpts at:www.amazon.com/author/paulbabicki
In addition to this blog, I maintain a radio show on BlogtalkRadio and an online newsletter via paper.li.I have established Netiquette discussion groups with Linkedin and Yahoo. I am also a member of the International Business Etiquette and Protocol Group and Minding Manners among others. I regularly consult for the Gerson Lehrman Group, a worldwide network of subject matter experts and I have been contributing to the blogs Everything Email and emailmonday . My work has appeared in numerous publications and I have presented to groups such as The Breakfast Club of NJ and PSG of Mercer County, NJ.
I am the president of Tabula Rosa Systems,
a “best of breed” reseller of products for communications, email,
network management software, security products and professional
services. Also, I am the president of Netiquette IQ. We are currently developing an email IQ rating system, Netiquette IQ, which promotes the fundamentals outlined in my book.
Over the past twenty-five years, I have enjoyed a dynamic and successful career and have attained an extensive background in IT and electronic communications by selling and marketing within the information technology marketplace.Anyone who would like to review the book and have it posted on my blog or website, please contact me paul@netiquetteiq.com.
=============================================================
