I Answer Every Email I Get, Do You?

25 March 2008 Written By: Jim KukralComments: Comments

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I answer every email I get. Mostly. What I mean is, every real email I get from a real person with a real request… gets answered. It may take me a week or longer to get to it, but I get to it. Today’s video (below) is all about email overload and your brand.

Bottom line is, if you are going to put yourself out there and ask people to email you, you’re going to have to make sure you answer those emails. If you don’t, your brand is going to suffer. Be honest, you’ve emailed someone before and they never responded, then you emailed again and nothing. Deep down inside you think that person is too busy to respond to you, or doesn’t care, and that effects their brand in your head, it just does.

I worry that in several years I’m not going to be able to keep up with the current pace of emails I get that need answering. I have no idea how Gary V does it, or Mike Arrington, or Mark Cuban, well, Cuban says here how he does it, and so does Mike. I’ve talked to Gary about it before, and what he said he does is answer them when he’s flying, then hits send all when he lands, smart.

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  • Jim,

    I completely agree. Last year, several publications ran my article, "e-mail Sabotage: Killing Your Brand softly." Answer those e-mails or prepare for brand diminishment.

    Lewis Green's last blog post..Forget TV, Hulu Instead
  • Yep, I agree Lewis. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.
  • Great post, Jim. I don't care who you are in the blogging world, if you can't answer an email you are in the wrong profession. Kick over to web content writing or some other area if you can't interact with your readers in the most basic of ways.

    Good form!

    Bob Younce at the Writing Journey's last blog post..Intermission - Why I am the Next Authority Blogger
  • zoe
    how about "The Lightening Show" for the name? lol

    z

    zoe's last blog post..Season Finale of Jericho
  • And you do answer every email you get. Even from little ol' me. I agree completely too BTW. If we are going to encourage our clients, customers or prospective clients to use email, we better make damn sure we answer them.

    Grant D Griffiths's last blog post..Where to Connect with Grant - Home Office Warrior
  • Bob, we're on the same page!

    Zoe... I think that's too close to the Thunder show. I wouldn't describe myself as thunder or lightening either :)

    Grant, I sure do, and you're proof! i agree!
  • I sense you want to have a name for the show that includes something with a "power word" of phrase in it to convey more excitement. Give it some second thought. The Daily Flip is a great name. And now that it's getting some "traction" you might benefit by staying consistent to your original message contained in it. The "Daily" is informative and the "Flip" has the subtle relationship with your method of making the show while it also matches your personal style. Please take that the right way. I mean that in the positive sense.

    Anyway, Gary has a thunderous personality as can be witnessed by the amount of energy he puts into each show. It does not convey anything about wine. So, he's transcended that with great content, and it's understandable where the "thunder" is. A name like The Daily Flip give you more width of content choice and has the appeal of not being perceived as too serious. My vote is to stay with consistency and not be concerned your missing out on something that can be a short term value in the long-run for some.

    Of course all personal emails must be answered. If the volume becomes overwhelming; changes in time of reply, size of response, and personalization become understood by the majority.

    Keep inspiring courage. Your good at it. And I'm sure I'm not the only one who sometimes thinks you're talking right at me; Pushing me closer each day.

    -Thanks Jim
  • Danny, thanks. I think the Thunder show for Gary is the unofficial name. So that's what I'm really looking for, is the "fun" name for the Daily Flip, which I'm going to keep. Good thoughts though.

    Thanks for the comments! I'm here to push! Get on it!
  • The Ranked Hard team answers every email it gets, no matter how painful. Bradley Smart converts them to talking audio files and then listens to them through his headphones as he sleeps. It ensures he never misses an email.
  • Ranked Hard, that is awesome. Nice work Bradley.
  • Hahah, I'll tell him you appreciate his effort.

    Ranked Hard: SEO Comic's last blog post..Cutt Her Some Slack
  • I spoke with a potential client today who told me she had put our company on the short list because we called her back the next day after sending us an email. She said that was a big plus for us. I got lucky because I usually don't call clients back so quickly. It was a nice reminder that a quick response (not an autoresponder) can be the best thing for your brand and client conversions.
  • Maybe give your readers/listeners some guidelines on what type of questions you like to receive. Maybe ask them to use a specific subject lines to better organize your inbox and your ability to respond quickly. Maybe be honest that you do get overwhelmed by email and ask them, if possible, to keep their questions specific, or to limit how often they contact you, etc., Just a thought......

    Love your show. Glad you intend to keep the Daily Flip name, it does work.

    Helen Hoefele's last blog post..Life's Interesting Little Stories
  • Shell, Yep, the call back always helps.

    @Helen, Those are good tips too.

    Jim Kukral's last blog post..Never Price Yourself Too Low
  • Jim,

    I answer every email as well. If I don't, my competition will and I lose out. All everyone wants is just a reply or at least an acknowledgment of their question/situation. Treat others as you want to be treated!

    Respectfully,
    The Upfront Mortgage Broker
    Joe Bartolotta

    PS. I have heard some bad reviews about the flip (on the internet of course), but it seems like you are completely sold on them. Can you give me any downsides to the video recorder?
  • Downside to the Flip? Honestly, nothing major. The record button can stick sometimes. I'm a power user of the thing so I should know. I love it. Easy! www.buytheflip.com.
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