On Harnessing E-mail

On Harnessing E-mail,

For more information, visit: 37 Tips for Writing Emails that Get Opened, Read, and Clicked

It's the digital mouthpiece and communications work-horse: the E-mail

I like that phone calls have moved into a realm of near-intimacy. We've become passive in our engagements, leaning on texts and e-mails to properly formulate our arguments and our identities for our recipients. So when a call is made, it's serious.

We, as rising self-starters, can use this to our advantage and distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world by reaching out with a warm and hearty hello (and follow it up with "now where the hell's the shotlist?!")

For everyone else though, we still have work to do. An e-mail can either be an impersonal excuse for not finding the contact valuable enough to invest a human moment with, or you can take the time, as I do, to write with faith and concern to your wider audience or extended network.

It is unlikely you can spend the time on the phone communicating value to everyone when the expectations for meaningful conversation don't sync up with the incoming call. A beer or a funny text or a meaningful letter take precedent. We like our anonymity. We like our distance. But it doesn't mean we don't appreciate being thought of in a way worthy of the personal investment.

[DISCLAIMER: I'm an English major, and probably setting myself up for grief, but I like a good letter]

In this copyblogger post, some valuable common sense becomes easy points for practice for all your communication needs; be it your address in a casting call, your followup with that producer, the invitation for a screening event, and so forth.

Be yourself, be engaged, be concise but not lazy, and by all means open up a little to your contacts. For all you know it's a breath of fresh air for them and their reason for a closer look.

Let's get what we came for,
C.M. Sanchez III