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 We've all been there -- after a long night's networking, we've awoken to the inbox from Hell, overflowing with badly-spelled and just plain wrong e-mails. To make sure you don't fall into this trap (and to spare everyone's sanity) be sure to avoid the following:
1. The "Dear y'all"
Saying "Hi everyone" doesn't get you any points for effort. If you really care about getting in touch, the least you can do is send us an email with our name on it.
2. The hard sell
A follow-up e-mail is far too early to try to gain our business. Take a softer approach -- arrange a few meetups over coffee or drinks first unless we've already made our interest clear. No one goes to networking events to have stuff hard-sold to them.
3. The newsletter from Hell
There's no surer way to turn us off than to bombard us with useless information. Maybe you think we'd be interested in your Chinese language mailing list on upcoming polka parties outside of Shanghai, but it's nice to ask us first. Once we've blocked you from our inbox for spamming, trying to get our business will be an uphill battle.
4. Teh bad speler
Nothing screams unprofessionalism like a barely-legible e-mail. If you're going to write a follow-up e-mail and ask for other people's business, at least make it look professional:
- Make sure you're addressing the recipient in a suitable way. Only my bank calls me "Mr Alex Cureton-Griffiths." Depending on the level of formality, use a title and surname or simply a first name.
- Use a professional e-mail address. Getting mail from
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doesn't fill us with confidence. Try something with your company after the @.
- Be sure what you're writing is grammatically correct, spelled right and in a suitable tone. We don't want to reach for our "teen speak" dictionary to decipher your email.
- Have a clear and useful signature in your e-mail. Smiley faces that flash, bounce and cause epileptic fits are fine only if you're under the age of 13. Otherwise your position, company and contact details will do just fine.
- Proofread, proofread, proofread.
5. The "tell all your friends about me!"
If you're sending us a "nice meeting you" e-mail, then we only met a little while ago. So, the last thing you should do is ask us to refer our trusted friends to you, a stranger. This is especially true if you're a travel agent, financial services advisor or anyone else in a crowded field. We've likely already got friends in your industry, so why would we send business to someone we barely know? On top of everything else, it just makes you look desperate.
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5 Cardinal Sins of Follow-Up E-mails
