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Easy Email Tips Pt. 1 - Follow the 24-Rule · The Daily Writer

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to the Smart Business Writing Podcast, the show that helps you share your message, increase your impact, and grow your business through the power of writing.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, before we get into this episode, I want to mention a couple of quick things.
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: Number one, this is the start of an experiment that I'm going to try for a while here on the show, and that is I'm going to start doing five episodes per week instead of three episodes.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_00: Here's the reason why, because I know that sounds kind of crazy to most people.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: Why would you do five episodes per week of the podcast when most shows only do one episode per week?
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_00: Well, here's the reason.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_00: I want this show to be really helpful to you.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: I want to help give you quick wins and quick success, not shortcuts to success necessarily, but I want to help you just to have quick practical wins in your business and in your life.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Because this show isn't just about writing, it's also about mindset and success and productivity and all the things that are connected with just being successful as a business person and as a writer.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_00: And I find that as a listener, whenever I listen to episodes that have a ton of good content, I often feel really overwhelmed by all that good content.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I sometimes honestly just feel a little bit paralyzed.
• 1:16
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I I don't want to come away from a podcast with a list of 25 things that I need to check out or 25 things that I need to do.
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_00: I want to come away with one or two things that I can put into practice today to help me get a win in my life and in my business.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_00: So instead of doing a couple of longer teaching episodes per week plus the interview, I want to do shorter episodes per week, in fact, four short episodes per week, less than 10 minutes each, and then do an interview show on Fridays as well.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: So again, my goal is to be your coach, uh your teacher, your mentor when it comes to business writing.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: And of course, I'm a student here as well.
• 1:54
  SPEAKER_00: I'm learning tons and tons, and you know, the journey is never complete in terms of our learning and our growth and um you know our expansion and all the things that we can learn.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: That being said, though, my goal is to help you, and I think the best way for me to help you is to have shorter episodes that pack a punch and that have clear value and a clear takeaway.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: Plus, I just love short form podcasting.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_00: And I as I was telling somebody just a couple days ago, whenever I was sharing with them my plans for the show, I said, you know, the funny thing is that it's actually easier for me to create four shorter episodes than it is to create two longer episodes.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: And the reason is because you can crank out a short episode pretty fast, but when it comes to crafting a little bit of a longer episode, I find that that takes more time because I have to go more in depth to it.
• 2:45
  SPEAKER_00: So as you're going to see, uh sometimes we're going to be doing a series on this show.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: In fact, this episode is the first part of a four-part series on easy email tips, and I'll get into that more here in just a second.
• 2:57
  SPEAKER_00: Now, the other thing I wanted to mention before I dive into the content here today was that I need your questions.
• 3:03
  SPEAKER_00: I would love for you to ask me some questions about business writing, productivity, success, mindset, habits, and really anything that is related to all the stuff that we talk about here on the Smart Business Writing Show.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: So feel free to send those to me.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_00: You can do that in a variety of ways.
• 3:21
  SPEAKER_00: One way is you can send it to me on Twitter.
• 3:24
  SPEAKER_00: My handle is at Kent Sanders, pretty easy to remember.
• 3:27
  SPEAKER_00: You can also look me up on Facebook, just search for Kent Sanders, and you'll find me pretty easily there.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_00: And probably the easiest way of all is just to shoot me an email.
• 3:37
  SPEAKER_00: And my email address is Kent at KentSanders.net.
• 3:41
  SPEAKER_00: So again, I would love to hear your questions.
• 3:44
  SPEAKER_00: Don't be shy about those.
• 3:46
  SPEAKER_00: Your questions is really what helps me to determine content for the show because I need to know what you're struggling with, what you're wrestling with, and what questions you have.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_00: If I don't have an intelligent answer, I will find somebody who does have an answer.
• 3:59
  SPEAKER_00: So send me those questions.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: They really, really help.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Also, I'll mention you on the show if I use your question.
• 4:04
  SPEAKER_00: So that's kind of fun.
• 4:06
  SPEAKER_00: All right, let's get into today's content.
• 4:09
  SPEAKER_00: I've spent way too much time in the first half of this episode talking about all that stuff, but I wanted to let you know what's going on.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Today is the first episode in a mini-series on easy email tips, and I mentioned that just a minute ago.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: As writers, we don't often think of email as something that we write.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: We think of email as something that we do, something that we just have to get through, something that we have to tick off of our task list, and something that is by nature just unpleasant.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, who wakes up in the morning going, man, I cannot wait to check email today?
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_00: Nobody probably says that.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I totally disagree with the perspective that email has to be painful and has to be unpleasant.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_00: Why do I disagree with that perspective that we so often have?
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_00: It's because email is all about communication.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: And communication is all about relationships with people.
• 4:59
  SPEAKER_00: Every time that we send an email, there's a human being on the other side of that message.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_00: So for that reason, email is actually one of the most important things that we write for our business and our relationships.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_00: We do it so often, we open up Outlook or whatever app you use on your phone or your computer.
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: We do it so often, and it's such a part of modern life that we don't even really think about it anymore.
• 5:23
  SPEAKER_00: So is there a way to take this very routine, mundane thing that we call email and turn it into something that actually improves our relationships and therefore improves our business?
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a way to bring some joy and even a sense of generosity to sending emails?
• 5:39
  SPEAKER_00: Well, I think there is.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_00: And this mini-series on easy email tips is going to take us through four easy tips that will build relationships.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_00: And when I say easy email tips, that's not just marketing speak.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: I truly mean these require very little effort and have a huge plus side to them.
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_00: So with that idea in place that email is all about relationships, let's dive into a great principle, which is follow the 24-hour rule.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_00: And by this I mean respond to personal emails within 24 hours when possible.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: If you do this, if you follow this 24-hour rule when it comes to email, this will immediately set you apart from most other people.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_00: Why is that?
• 6:22
  SPEAKER_00: It's because most people take their sweet time getting back to you over email.
• 6:26
  SPEAKER_00: And also many people just don't bother answering their email.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_00: Again, this all goes back to relationships.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: If somebody sends you an email and you don't reply in a timely manner, that sends a signal to that person that they're not very important.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: And I'll be honest, I've been really impressed with some very successful influencers and authors who reply quickly to personal messages.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_00: I don't want to name them here because I don't want to set up a false expectation for them.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: But you would recognize many of those names if I shared them.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: And whenever I've emailed these several people that I'm thinking about, again, these are people who are huge names in the online business space, people who have books out there and very successful podcasts and businesses and events and all that stuff.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever I've done this, it's not their assistants who are emailing me back.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: I can tell that it's actually them.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_00: And I figure if these really successful entrepreneurs and leaders can do it, then I can do it also.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not saying I do this perfectly all the time, but I really do strive to answer emails within a 24-hour window.
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_00: Now all this begs the question, what happens when you're totally swamped?
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_00: As we writers and professionals often are, what happens when you're totally inundated with tasks, with demands, with life caving in on top of you?
• 7:42
  SPEAKER_00: How can you possibly answer your email in a timely manner when you get into those situations?
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Well, here's what I do.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_00: Whenever I'm in those kinds of situations, and we all are from time to time, I let the other person know that I got their message and that I'm going to reply by a certain time.
• 7:59
  SPEAKER_00: For example, you might say, Hey Susan, I just wanted to let you know that I got your message and I'll be replying to it within the next 48 hours.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: When you do something like that, it lets the person know that you got their message, and I think that they'll respect that.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_00: Everybody knows that life gets crazy, and we typically don't hold it against people whenever they're in a really, really busy time.
• 8:21
  SPEAKER_00: But we do hold it against people whenever they take a really long time to reply, or if they never reply at all.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_00: That kind of habit damages relationships.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_00: But if you just shoot a message to the person saying, hey, I wanted to let you know I got your message, I'll be replying to it within the next two or three days.
• 8:37
  SPEAKER_00: I think that goes a long way toward letting people know that, hey, you're important to me, hey, I respect you, and I'll get back with you in a timely manner.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_00: Again, this all goes back to respecting other people and building and valuing relationships.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_00: And if you just do this one small thing, this immediately sets you apart from other people just by being responsive.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_00: Well, that's my tip for today.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_00: Again, it's very, very simple.
• 9:03
  SPEAKER_00: Follow the 24-hour rule.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_00: This will immediately set you apart and help you to be viewed as a leader and as an influencer by other people.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: I'd love to hear your thoughts on this.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_00: You can shoot me a message on Twitter at Kent Sanders, or also find me on Facebook at Kent Sanders, or you can shoot me an email at Kent at KentSanders.net.
• 9:22
  SPEAKER_00: And by the way, you can find lots more resources for writers and creatives at KentSanders.net.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks so much for listening.
• 9:29
  SPEAKER_00: I really appreciate it.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_00: And until next time, remember that your writing has the power to change people's lives.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'll see you in the next episode.