An essential component of successfully building your professional community is networking. In order to network effectively, it’s inevitable that you will want to reach out to important people over time. These people may be industry experts, executives, best-selling authors or other respected individuals. Regardless, they’re likely busy and can be rather difficult to get in touch with. That aside, they’re interesting people who could greatly benefit you both personally and professionally.
The easiest way to connect is usually through email. In fact, this may be your only option as it is often much easier to locate someone’s email address than cell number. Once you have found their email address, you are faced with the challenge of crafting a message that will get their attention and, hopefully, a response. Given the volume of messages people like this receive, this can be quite difficult.
Here are 3 effective tips for emailing important people to help you out:
- Conduct a little research. Prior to contacting anyone, it is important to know about them. The beginning of your message should convey respect. Make it clear that you took the time to know who they are and what they have done by referencing an achievement.
- Keep it brief and convey gratitude. These individuals likely receive hundreds of messages every day so, to them, brevity is essential. If you’re looking for help with something, be straightforward about it and thank them in advance for any assistance they’re able to provide.
- Seek out contacts in their network. Respected people often have sizable networks. Determine whether you share any connections or if you can get in touch with a reporter or colleague who has spoken them before. Network with this person and perhaps it will lead to an introduction a few months down the line.
Rather than expecting a response, keep in mind how busy they are and choose to be pleasantly surprised if you do receive one. Check out our previous post, Strengthen your Professional Community: How to Compose an Effective Post-Networking Email, for more valuable networking tips. To the employees at Sendio, there are few things more important to your success than your professional community; our role is to keep it secure while promoting productivity and continuity.
