DISQUS

Instigator Blog: Simple Email Hack: Get Your Questions Answered

  • julien · 2 years ago
    now this is an interesting post! great tips in here dude.
  • francesco mapelli · 2 years ago
    You still have to find a way to be sure the readers will readthe last question...

    sometimes, the first question is the one that get the answer, because often people do not read the entire mail... don't you think?
  • Futuristic · 2 years ago
    Nice tips, you know I thought the first question was the most important, apparently I should put that to the last one.
  • David Airey :: Graphic Designe · 2 years ago
    Francesco, I think the main point is not to ask superflous questions.

    Ben, nice write-up. I often read emails that contain much more info than is necessary.
  • A N Techie · 2 years ago
    I think you need to expand this to what I call the emailing "rule of one":

    "If expecting a response to an email you are sending, you can only talk about *one* subject, or ask *one* question, otherwise the number of answers you get will almost certainly be less than the number of questions you asked."

    So actually the previous posters are right AND the article is right. You should make your most important question both the first and the last question, that is, the *only* question. It's worth sending separate emails if you have more than one question to ask, you stand a much better chance of getting them all answered.
  • Sara · 2 years ago
    Great post. I think it's important generally to think about what it would be like to receive the email you are sending out. Because email is nearly instant, it is often stream-of-whatever-jumped-into-the-rain (read: selfish) and is not simple, clear, or brief enough. Convey quickly what it is you want from the person; don't make them work through your thought process.
  • Sara · 2 years ago
    oops. "rain" should be "brain". proving my own rule...
  • Francis Wu · 2 years ago
    Pretty practical advice. Another tip is to take advantage of lists. Unline questions lost in a paragraph, lists of questions are very scanable.

    Furthermore, because they're pretty structured, you can expect your response to be equally structured. An ordered list of 10 questions should yield 10 answers.
  • Ben Yoskovitz · 2 years ago
    @Sara: I like your approach - send what you'd want to receive. "Do unto others..." right?

    @Francis: No question. Bullet points and numbered lists - that's key in any email.

    Even if it ruins the flow a bit, and seems a bit less personal, I regularly do this. If I want to make a few points in an email, I use a numbered list. Everyone can then reference the numbers later on.

    Thanks for all the comments so far!
  • Wake Up Early · 2 years ago
    In situations like this, if I have a very important question that I need answered, I always send it in a separate email, containing only this one question. That gives me more confidence I'll get the answer :)
    Should be carefuly with this advice though - you do not want to be considered as a spammer :)
  • Palm Coast · 2 years ago
    Definitely some great tips right there, thanks for sharing.
  • eve · 2 years ago
    Goodness! Great tips- I am going to start using them ASAP, I recently received an email back and from reading it, they didn't even READ 3/4 of the email, let alone answer the one question I asked! Thanks!
  • Country Music · 2 years ago
    Excellent advice. i know a lot of times I get frustrated when questions I ask in an email don't get answered. Maybe it's something as simple as reformating my message.
  • Ben Yoskovitz · 2 years ago
    eve -- That's definitely a problem. It happens to me too -- you finally get a response from someone that you really want to hear from, but their response doesn't answer the questions you asked because they didn't really read the email. Very frustrating...
  • Sam · 2 years ago
    This isn't even a hack it's just tips on how to get your stupid email question responded to, thanks for wasting my time, friend.
  • Raymond Popowich · 9 months ago
    Hello,

    This is an interesting opinion. It's actually the opposite of what I would expect. I tend to ask my questions at the beginning of an email and then follow them with details. If I'm asking for help I'll include any troubleshooting steps that I have already tried. Are you a top poster or a bottom poster? Meaning when you reply to an email do you reply above the original email or trim the email down to the relevant information and reply under the original email and questions?

    -Raymond