Please Just Tell Me What You Want!

The web industry moves really fast and there is always a lot to do – time is precious. Many of us get dozens – sometimes even hundreds – of emails a day.

As such it can be quite frustrating to get emails from people who introduce themselves and say they want to talk to you – and then don’t tell me what they want.

Recently I have been contacted by two independent companies – both wanting to talk about one of my old video games (Bubble Blitz). In both cases they have introduced themselves and said they want to talk about it, I replied with “hello, how can I help” and they have gone on to try to set up phone calls to explain.

So this is at least three emails sent and I still don’t know what they want.

Below are some rules I think these business people should follow to ensure their email gets the best possible response.

1. Tailor the communication method to the person you are contacting. As a web geek I am quite introverted and so the phone is not my favoured method of communication.
2. Show benefits. Neither of the people who have contacted me have explained what I will gain from their proposition. If you’re going to cold contact with a business proposition then make sure the first contact shows some form of benefit – else I probably won’t reply.
3. Remember we’re not all business people. I sometimes call myself a ‘part time entrepreneur’ but really I am just a person who enjoys creating things.
4. Remember that we’re probably not in the same time zone. The first person who contacted me about Bubble Blitz emailed me, I replied, and then I went to bed (since it was past midnight GMT). They then replied again – and when I didn’t reply (since I was asleep) they proceeded to phone my place of work. This was totally inappropriate.
5. Be brief and respect my time. Please, just tell me what you want.

Was it good/ useful/ a load of old rubbish? Let me know on Mastodon, or BlueSky (or Twitter X if you must).

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