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What are some specific tips for asking for help or advice via email?
I just read this article on Lifehacker that states the best way to receive help from anyone via email is to follow these steps:
2-3 sentences of honest appreciation. There is a reason you are asking someone for help. They have a lot of experience in that field, worked on a startup/idea related to what you are working on or else. If you do this, it shows them you have thought about why picking them out to ask for help.
1 sentence that states a single, focused question people can give you an answer to.
What tips do you have?
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6 Answers
The best approach is to try to initiate some type of connection before you ask for something. For example, before you reach out, do a search. Are they published? Can you retweet a link to an article or blog post they've written or call out an interview they are quoted in on LinkedIn? Pay it forward for a few weeks. Trade @replies with them on Twitter, comment on their blog posts, etc.
When you do reach out there are three questions you need to answer as succinctly as possible in two brief paragraphs: (1) "What do you want?" "Why me/what's in it for me?" (see above) and (2) "What do you want me to do?" Then in the close, you want to make it extremely easy for them to say no, ex. "I know you're very busy so if you don't have time to do this I totally understand." This way they will think of you first as an advocate rather than as someone who wants to pick their brain for free. This is a very important distinction and a much better investment of time.
One of the things that I have found historically helpful is to include a brief statement regarding the attempts you have already made to resolve the issue and the roadblock you might have hit. Most real experts feel a lot better about helping if you make it clear that the reason you are going to them is a genuine lack of progress, and not an aversion to using your own brain.
In most organizations, the “expert” on a given topic will get several such requests per week. In such cases it is important that you emphasize the fact that you are asking for help and not somebody to do your job for you.
Don't make the question so elementary that the recipient won't take the request seriously.
Unfortunately, forums are full of inane questions and requests that make other participants wonder about the general intelligence of the initiator.
Scale back the praise from what you stated in the question, Catherine. When I get an email opening with a bunch of praise, I smell someone wanting something and I immediately lose interest. You are asking me something, duh you are asking me for a reason, right? The only praise I want to see is that directly related to your question, ie: "I followed your work on the SAMS project data retrieval mess. I have a similar minefield to navigate. Would you mind lending your expertise for about 20 minutes?"
If a specific question is in play, I agree with Art. We are told there are no stupid questions, but that just doesn't hold up when you open your email. I will judge immediately if the questioner appears out of their league and, therefore, a much larger investment than I a ready to commit to.
Together, let's put the fun back into work!
Belldon Colme
belldoncolme@gmail.com
Lets get that email opened - started with a very attractive and catching RE or SUBJECT line - you need to grab your audience from the beginning - get them to even read your email no less respond and/or move it from spam into their in box. So you need your great soundbite that is related to your inquiry and clever enough to get the recipient to want to find out more...
The e-mail has to be to the point. The subject line has to be complete and reflect the purpose of the e-mail. The e-mail should be to the point and short not embellished. If the e-mail thread is more than 3-5 pages then there needs face to face meeting. Never capitalize every word in the e-mail because that is yelling.
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