# 10 easy ways to make sure people don’t want to read your email

By [Hard Mode First](https://hardmodefirst.xyz) · 2019-01-07

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I spent a good part of this afternoon and evening getting through an email backlog from over the holidays. It seems like many people thought this was a great time of year to send cold emails.

So I thought I’d take a few of my favorites from this batch (along with some other cold emails I’ve received over the years) and create this list.

#### **10 Easy Ways to Make Sure People Don’t Want to Read Your Email**

**#1: Start with the subject: _“Can we network?”_**

I’d be much more intrigued by a more creative approach to getting my attention.

**#2: Kick off your email with the line, “First of all, I want to say that this is not spam.”**

If you have to say that..then I don’t believe you.

**#3: Send a really great email…then copy/paste it to everyone in your office.**

This one still gets me every time. Until it’s forwarded to me 3–4 times.

**#4: Spell the recipient’s name wrong.**

I’m on at least one spam list as _“Bathany”_ Crystal. I’ll promise you right now that Bathany will never respond to your request.

**#5: Send repeated follow-up emails every other day.**

One follow-up email within one week is okay. Maybe _one_ more in a month. But after that, it’s best to try someone else.

**#6: Include an _Anchorman_ gif after the third sentence.**

Even worse if it doesn’t load properly.

**#7: Have zero personalized details in the body of the email.**

Please spend at least 30 seconds reading what we do before you email me.

**#8: Ask a question you can easily find out on your own**

Information like: what our company does, where we are located, whether we are hiring, and what companies are in our portfolio are all very easy to figure out. Do your homework.

**#9: Include vague details about what you do and a sketchy-looking link.**

I’ve been trained \*not\* to click that.

**#10: Kick off with, _“I imagine you’ve heard of me already.”_**

There’s no winning with a line like this.

_All of these were inspired or lifted from real emails I’ve received in the last month. Next time, I’ll dig into my favorite LinkedIn InMail requests…_

_Originally published at_ [_Dry Erase_](http://bethanycrystal.com/blog/2019/01/07/10-easy-ways-to-make-sure-people-dont-want-to-read-your-email/)_._

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*Originally published on [Hard Mode First](https://hardmodefirst.xyz/10-easy-ways-to-make-sure-people-dont-want-to-read-your-email)*