How to email a busy person (including my exact script)

Hi Reader,

This week, we’re going to examine how the subtle things we do — the emails we send, the ads we see every day — influence us. 

I'm including a number of fun challenges so you can be the expert.

Here's an easy one to start. Great ads speak directly to a reader. They make people want a product, not just tell them the cheapest way to get it. 

Let’s take a look at an example. Here’s the homepage for a barbershop in Brooklyn:

Nice photo. Good-looking guy with good-looking hair getting a beard trim. I wouldn’t be surprised if they served him a whiskey when he walked in here. 

This hits home. It makes me want it. (In fact, I’d probably be willing to set aside price, and focus on the cut.)

This is what so many others miss when they start thinking about marketing themselves or their business. They instinctively begin talking about discounts and price, as if that’s the only lever they have. It’s like walking up to someone you want to meet and saying, “BUT I’M A REALLY NICE GUY! I CAN TAKE YOU OUT TO A NICE DINNER! HAVE YOU BEEN TO MASA? IT’S SO GOOD. EXPENSIVE, YEAH, BUT I COULD TAKE CARE OF YOU.”

Ugh. Such a turnoff.

These differences can be subtle but have a big impact.

Effective communication is about meeting your audience where they are, being playful, and being candid about what you want, as well as what you can offer. 

And you do not have to mention price upfront!

I know it seems obvious. But if you pay attention, this simple idea can change your life.

For example, say you needed to email an important person out of the blue.

Maybe it's a hiring manager at a company you're interested in working for. Maybe it's someone you'd like to get advice from.

This is trickier than you might think. I know people who’ve tried to schedule a call with a busy person, and after repeated back-and-forth scheduling emails, the busy person simply gave up and said, “Sorry, I just don’t have time.” 

Your goal is to minimize the back and forth and make it easy for the busy person to find time to talk to you. 

Here are five important things to keep in mind when you write the email: 

1. You (the lower-status person who wants to talk to the busy person) should initiate the call, but provide your phone number in case they want to speak to you right now 

By the way, don’t get offended by my use of the phrase “lower-status.” Let’s be candid: If you want something from someone else, in this situation, you are lower status. 

Whether it’s less famous, less wealthy, less successful, less important, or less busy, that’s just the way it is. Remember, YOU want something from THEM. It’s important to recognize this and work around the busy person’s schedule.

2. Don’t make them think

You can’t ask them to work around your schedule, but at the same time, you want to make it easy for them to say “yes.” Don’t make them come up with a bunch of times that work. Instead, offer them a couple of different options for times that would work for the call. That respects their schedule and leaves the final decision in their hands, but doesn’t require a lot of thought.

3. Send the email when they’re the most likely to read it

You wouldn’t believe how many people email complex questions to a busy person on a Friday afternoon.

Why? Why would you send something requiring lots of work to someone on their way out for a weekend? 

The answer: “Oh … I didn’t think about that.” 

If you don’t think about the busy person, you lose. 

To maximize your chance of getting a response, email a busy person when they’re most likely to read and process it. 

In other words: 

Instead, think when they’re most receptive. Maybe at lunch? Maybe Sunday night when they’re prepping for their week?

4. Check your formatting 

Bad formatting can scuttle even the most helpful, interesting email. 

Use paragraph breaks and bullet points liberally to make your email easy to read. 

For VIP emails, I like to send myself a test to make sure it’s readable and any URLs are clickable. 

5. Use correct grammar and spelling 

Lazy typos signal laziness. Use proper punctuation and capitalization. 

Don’t use lower case “i”s or texting abbreviations. An email should be more polished than a text message. 

Always proofread your email. Let the reader focus on your well-crafted message, not the fact that you still do not know the difference between “its” and “it’s.” 

You would think I wouldn’t need to say this, but I do. 

If you keep all of those in mind, you’ve got a great shot at getting a positive response, but let me give you an example of these principles in action.

Let’s say a college student (low status) needs to email the CEO of a business (high status). A great email would look like this:

There are a couple of things I want to call your attention to in this email.

1. The writer quickly introduces their referral and affiliation. If you have a connection to the busy person, always put it right upfront.
2. For the purposes of this email, the pitch is irrelevant. Be specific that you have a reason for emailing, but keep it brief. The point of this email is coordinating the phone call.
3. Always specify a short time period. A busy person is less likely to object to a minimal time commitment to a total stranger.
4. Offer them a few choices, and try to provide one all-day option, as well as two narrowly defined times. The “after 1pm” suggestions help busy people cope with the paradox of choice.
5. Explicitly acknowledge that they are higher status and politely offer to honor their schedule.
6. Give the busy person the option of what to do. Sometimes, busy people will just call you right when they receive the email if they have a few minutes.

(Interested in learning more? I wrote a whole article on crafting emails VIPs will actually respond to.) 

With a couple of tweaks, this email can be used to email any busy person in any situation.

So today I have a challenge for you: Think of one person you could send this to today to build a relationship that would help your career, your hobbies, or your business. Bonus points if you actually email them and tell me how they respond.