5 BETTER ALTERNATIVES TO “I HOPE THIS EMAIL FINDS YOU WELL”

Anyone who gets a lot of e-mail is familiar with the classic “I hope you’re doing well” & its related family of phrases. It’s the email equivalent of small talk. And like small talk, this phrase can get a little repetitive if you find yourself relying on it too often.

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As an entrepreneur, editor, and PR professional, I estimate that I’ve sent at least 73,000 business emails over the past twenty years. (A rather conservative estimate, at that.) I’ve seen many an “I hope you’re doing well” cross my inbox. I’ve sent a few, too (we all do, from time lớn time!). Here are my five favorite alternatives khổng lồ the ubiquitous greeting.

1 Nothing at all

The thư điện tử app Boomerang conducted a data study & found that emails between seventy-five and one hundred words in length had the best response rates. Although the response rate diminished slowly after that, talk khổng lồ any busy person and they’ll tell you they prefer emails that are brief và get straight khổng lồ the point. Show that you value the recipient’s time by getting down to lớn business right from the start.

2 Something personal

In my work as an editor, I’ve had people follow me on Twitter or Facebook, commenting on & sharing every article I publish. And, just when I think I’ve somehow earned a fan, I’ll get a letter from them asking me to accept a guest blog post or vì some sort of cross-promotional content swap. I have lớn admit, I admire their dedication lớn getting khổng lồ know me, even if it comes with an ulterior motive. & if they pitch something that reflects the knowledge they’ve gained about my style and the topics I care about, it’s more likely to lớn be something I can use.

If you’re writing a high-stakes thư điện tử that needs khổng lồ get results, it never hurts to vày your homework. You don’t have to lớn stalk someone on social media, but doing a little research can go a long way. Include a sentence or two at the opening of your thư điện tử to show you’re familiar with the recipient’s work, like this:


I read your article about in last week. You hit the nail on the head when you said . . .

There are a couple of caveats here. First, don’t use a personalized opener unless it actually relates to lớn the topic you’re writing about. It would be awkward lớn congratulate someone on the publication of their recent novel if you were writing to offer them a khuyễn mãi giảm giá on life insurance. (Unless maybe they write murder mysteries. There may be a hook there.) and also, don’t make your message too personal. Saying you read an article is one thing, but mentioning the beach vacation photos you saw on Instagram will come off as creepy.

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3 “I know you’re swamped, so I’ll be brief.”

I love this opener. It, và the number of paragraphs in the email I see before me, tells me that the sender values my time & made an effort khổng lồ keep things short and sweet.

There’s just one rule with this opener—if you’re going to lớn use it, you’d better actually be brief. Don’t promise khổng lồ keep it brief & then go on for paragraph after paragraph. The sender may wonder whether you actually know the definition of brief.

4 “We met at ______.”

If you’ve met the recipient before, it never hurts lớn say so. Perhaps you connected briefly at a conference. Even if the recipient seems unlikely khổng lồ remember, the fact that you did remember goes a long way toward establishing a rapport.

Once again, this approach works best if your previous meeting is relevant khổng lồ the topic at hand. If you met at a conference & exchanged words about marketing strategies, & you’re emailing now to lớn ask the recipient to đánh giá your new ứng dụng for marketers, you’re connecting the right dots. That won’t be the case, however, if you’ve only bumped into each other in a coffee shop and exchanged some small talk about the weather.

5 A bit of small talk

If you really think a small talk opener fits your audience best, give it a whirl. But if you’re looking for an alternative to “I hope all is well,” or “I hope you’re doing well,” consider something a little more personal:


How are things in New York? I hope you’re keeping cool during the heat wave.

The more familiar you are with the recipient, even if you know each other only through e-mail exchanges, the better this works.

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In my opinion, the most important rule of thư điện tử communication is this: don’t force it. If you’re trying too hard to lớn be personable or clever, your recipient will almost always see through your attempts. When I write an email, even if it’s for a mass emailing campaign, I’m always thinking of my intended recipient and their persona. I smile as I write (seriously, it’s a little creepy) and write as though I’m having a face-to-face conversation with them.