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How To Ask For Help in An Email

This document provides 7 steps for effectively asking for help over email: 1. Make the request clear and easy to respond "yes" to without needing clarification. 2. Write an intriguing subject line that avoids generic phrases and grabs attention. 3. Establish your credibility by sharing relevant accomplishments or showing you've followed the recipient's work. 4. Get straight to the point clearly stating what you're asking for within the first 1-3 sentences. 5. Include a deadline if possible to help the recipient prioritize your request. 6. Write in an interesting, personalized manner showing you know who the recipient is. 7. Preview the email on a phone

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322 views3 pages

How To Ask For Help in An Email

This document provides 7 steps for effectively asking for help over email: 1. Make the request clear and easy to respond "yes" to without needing clarification. 2. Write an intriguing subject line that avoids generic phrases and grabs attention. 3. Establish your credibility by sharing relevant accomplishments or showing you've followed the recipient's work. 4. Get straight to the point clearly stating what you're asking for within the first 1-3 sentences. 5. Include a deadline if possible to help the recipient prioritize your request. 6. Write in an interesting, personalized manner showing you know who the recipient is. 7. Preview the email on a phone

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Self-Advocacy Or: How to Ask for Help in an Email 

 
From the Harvard Business Review: 
 
“Ask SMARTly. Many requests are so poorly worded that it’s difficult to respond. A 
well-formulated request is SMART: Specific, Meaningful (why you need it), Action-oriented (ask 
for something to be done), Real (authentic, not made up), and Time-bound (when you need it).  
 
“A SMART request is easier to respond to than one that misses one or more of the five criteria.” 
 
Asking for help from someone you don’t know over email: 

Step 1: Make it easy to say, “Yes.” 


Making it easy to say “Yes!” is objective number one. Emails from people who are interested in 
some sort of knowledge exchange but never clarify how they would like for me to take action are 
not useful. Do they want to have a coffee? Do they want to do a phone call? It’s unclear, which 
means that instead of saying, “Yes!” I have to respond by asking them what they’re asking me for in 
the first place. Or, not respond at all. 
 
If you are asking someone to take the time to ​answer​ you, it should be very clear what you are 
asking for. Look at your email and ask yourself: “Can the recipient say ‘Yes’ without further 
discussion?” If the answer is yes, you’re doing well. If not, you need to redraft. 

Step 2: Write an intriguing subject line.  


Composing a good email subject line is akin to writing a great headline. If you’re cold-emailing 
someone you’ve never met, it’s important to strike a balance between being direct and being 
interesting. 
 
Keep in mind that while it’s always good to be clear, you also don’t want to give anyone a reason to 
dismiss your email before reading it. For that reason, you’ll want to avoid stock or cookie-cutter 
phrases that might get your email lumped in (and glossed over) with others. 
For instance, avoid run-of-the-mill phrases like “speaking opportunity” or “speaking invitation,” 
because they can turn people off before they’ve really assessed my particular question. 

Step 3: Establish your credibility. 


“Why should I care?” is the question hovering in most people’s minds every time they ​open​ an email 
from someone they don’t know. This is why establishing your credibility is crucial. Tell your reader 
why you are different, why you are accomplished, and why they should pay attention to you. 
 
If you don’t have “data points” to share, you can also establish credibility by being a keen observer of 
the person you are contacting; you could tell them how long you’ve followed their work, how you 
enjoyed the last blog post they wrote, etc. As long as it’s not fawning, most people appreciate being 
noticed. 

Step 4: Be concise & get to the point. 


Never assume that someone is going to read your entire email. You should make it clear from the 
get-go exactly what you are asking for. That means clarifying why you’re reaching out in the first 
sentence or two, and no later. 
 
Sometimes everything you need to say can’t be explained in 1-3 sentences. If this is the case for your 
ask, go ahead and say your piece (as concisely as you can) but assume your reader will be skimming 
it. This means using bolding, bullet pointing, and so forth as much as possible. 
 
If it’s necessary to give some backstory prior to the ask, consider breaking out the ask in paragraph 
two with a bolded preface that reads, “The Ask:” If you’re asking for something, there’s no point in 
beating around the bush. Make your objective clear. 

Step 5: Give a deadline if you can. 


People are often shy about including deadlines in emails, especially when cold-emailing. While it’s 
never a good idea to come off as presumptuous, deadlines do matter. In fact, most busy people like 
them.  
 
Bear in mind when you are emailing someone that they are probably also getting tons of emails 
from other people. Most of those emails fall into one of two categories: 1) Things they have to do, 
and 2) Random requests for things that they might like to do, time permitting. Chances are, your 
email falls into group two. Which means it’s really important to do whatever you can to help the 
receiver put the requested task on a timeline and prioritize it. 

Step 6: Be interesting and interested. 


At the most basic level, this means do not ever send anyone a templated email. If you are asking 
someone to take the time and energy to reply to you, make it clear that you actually know who they 
are, so talk to them like you are one human talking to another human. It’s nice to articulate why 
you’re interested in them. It’s also nice to articulate why they should be interested in you.  
 
Try to have a voice and say something funny, meaningful, or thoughtful—preferably all three! 
Step 7: Preview your email on a phone. 
You probably write most of your “ask” emails on a desktop computer. Bear in mind that your 
recipient will be r​ eceiving​ and reading your email on their mobile phone in almost all instances. 
And what looks “digestible” on a desktop computer looks like an epic poem on a mobile phone. 
As per point 4, you may think you have already confirmed that your ​email​ is concise. But is it still 
concise on an iPhone? Once you check, you will probably realize there are a few more things you 
can remove. Edit your email again, and then send. 
 

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