How to write a networking email
When beginning or switching into a career, it can be helpful to network with other professionals in the industry. Networking can help you advance your career and create meaningful and fulfilling relationships. With more employees working from home, online networking has also increased.
When should you network via email?
Networking, whether online or in person, help you build your address book with professional contacts. However, email networking can come in handy for specific situations.
- Contacting strangers you know from the internet
- Following up with connections you’ve met prior
- Connecting with someone you lost touch with
- Requesting informal coffee chats with industry professionals
- You live in a different area from that person
- You want to thank or follow up with the recipient
Email networking can help you manage and maintain these long-distance connections even if you cannot meet in person with someone.
How to write an effective networking email
- Research
- Attention-grabbing subject line
- Mention similarities
- Offer your help
- Close with a call to action (CTA)
Research
If you reach out to someone via email, make sure you put aside some time to research them. It would be pretty embarrassing to email only to find out that the person doesn’t work at a company anymore or has switched job titles. You should also find more information besides their basic employment details. When researching, look for information like past companies they worked at, significant work accomplishments and highlights and even mutual university connections. With this information, you can better tailor and customize your email.
Attention-grabbing subject line
Your recipient could have a jam-packed inbox, so you must stand out. Regardless, if you wrote an outstanding email, it wouldn’t have any effect if your recipient isn’t inclined to read it. A strong subject line should be specific and personalized to identify you as the sender better. Your subject line should answer why the recipient should open your email, especially if you’re cold emailing. Out of all the emails they get in a day, what makes yours worth opening?
Mention similarities
Finding a point of commonality can go a long way in establishing connections and building trust. Mentioning your shared alma matter or similar hobbies and passions is a great talking point to break the ice. The receiver will feel more drawn to you and more likely to accept your proposition if you have some common ground.
Leave a line or two in your email to remind the recipient of your similarities. It doesn’t have to be anything huge. It can be as simple as mentioning your root for the same sports team. Just keep honesty in mind. If you don’t have anything in common, don’t force it!
Offer your help
Don’t immediately jump into asking for favours. You want to connect with this person, not make them feel used. Instead, focus on how you can benefit them. You don’t need to give a whole sales pitch but prove your value. Why should this person want to connect with you?
Close with a call to action (CTA)
The goal of your email is to elicit a response or some sort of action from your recipient. For example, you might close your email requesting an informational interview or to speak at a conference you both RSVP’d to.
Extra tips, on how to write a networking email
Proofread
The many online spellcheckers and grammar checkers make typos hard to forgive. You might think it’s just a spelling error or a missing comma, but it will come across as rushed and unprofessional. You want your receiver to understand you care enough to take the time to write a well-crafted email. A typo-free email leaves a positive impression and highlights your attention to detail.
Keep it brief
Again, this person most likely gets what feels like a million emails daily, so you don’t want to waste their time. If you keep it simple and straight to the point, you will likely receive a positive response. Ultimately you need to include the following 3 things:
- Who you are
- How do you know the receiver
- Why do you want to network with them.
Make it personalized
Just like you shouldn’t with a resume, don’t copy and paste the same email to multiple people. Sending the same duplicated message might be disingenuous and prevent you from forming more personal connections. Even if you’re sending out similar messages, be sure to add an extra line, such as your admiration for a specific achievement of the receiver or congratulating them on a new job.
Use flattery
Now you don’t need to go and prove that you’re a super fan of this person, but a little dose of flattery never hurts. In your introduction, you can mention a particular achievement or major project you admire.
Follow up
All that time you spend researching and crafting network emails will be wasted if you don’t nurture your connections. Once you’ve established a relationship, routinely follow up. If you come across a work opportunity or industry event, you can forward the information to those you think would be interested.
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