

The Most Successful E-mail I Ever Wrote - sivers
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2012/05/31/the-most-successful-e-mail-i-ever-wrote/

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SoftwareMaven
The trick is to do these things without coming off artificial. If Microsoft or
Apple tried this, it would backfire, though Apple could do many things MS
can't because of their known focus on the end user.

Memorable and authentic is a win. Memorable and fake is poison. Unmemorable is
the dead pool.

~~~
BHSPitMonkey
The weird thing is that today I could far more easily believe Microsoft doing
something like this than Apple. When I think of how present-day Apple conducts
itself, I think of cleanliness and sterility all the way. Microsoft, on the
other hand, has been trying to be a bit more "goofy" since around Windows 7.

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xyzzyz
Ah, Derek Sivers. He is a very inspiring person, I really recommend reading
his website. I particularly loved his piece about the person who was his
inspiration, Kimo Williams[1]. I regret I haven't stumbled upon this earlier,
before I realized the lesson myself.

[1] - <http://sivers.org/kimo>

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acoyfellow
I see "standing out" as being nothing more than the most extreme version of
yourself.

This guy brought out a nice side of his personality with that e-mail, and his
personality is seemingly very great. I'm glad this worked for him, I wonder
what other spaces could apply this "personal touch" trick?

~~~
JacobAldridge
I do this with my 'Out of Office' messages. I personalise them to the reason
for my absence, and normally throw in something quirky - very much in line
with my personal and business positioning. The responses I receive are
amazing!

Here's my most recent example, to explain it better:

 _I am currently in Belgium on leave, and will return on Wednesday 9 May. I
will respond to your email, if appropriate, next week - if your message is
urgent, please contact ...

If the rest of your day was planned based on my response, then you now have
some time on your hands. Here are three time-filling ideas, based on my trip:

1) Watch the film In Bruges, while I am actually in Bruges. We'll both have a
great time - me, alas, without Ralph Fiennes

2) I will be in Antwerp, host of the 1920 Summer Olympics. It will be the 7th
Olympic Host City I have visited - spend some time counting how many you have
seen.

3) I will be visiting the European Parliament in Brussels. If you really need
to fill some time, please solve the Eurozone crisis (and remember to write
down your answer).

Until next week..._

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maxgaudin
That email is epic in a world of robotic bland auto-responses. If a real
person isn't going to write me an email at least make it interesting.

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jwblackwell
Key takeaway: The devil is in the detail.

[http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/05/this-is-all-your-
ap...](http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/2012/05/this-is-all-your-app-is-a-
collection-of-tiny-details.html)

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vlad
That's an excerpt from Derek's (great) book, Anything You Want.
<http://sivers.org/ayw> .

~~~
mva
Great book, loved him being open / honest in the book.

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aidos
I've just looked through my old emails from cdbaby I can see that when I
received that email in 2007 I instantly forwarded it to several friends. It
clearly worked.

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dilap
I would be annoyed if I got this email present-day, but in the past, in a
world of online retailers trying to seem "authentic" or "legitimate" by being
excessively formal, it would have been a breath of fresh air.

That the tone of your correspondence (and the little things in general)
_matter_ is a timeless message.

But what exactly that tone should be is a constantly shifting matter of
style/perception.

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maggit
Related: It is an absolutely fantastic journey through fun forms and emails to
go shopping at <http://topatoco.com/>

~~~
Lewton
The first time I bought something from topatoco I talked about them to all of
my friends because of the hilarious emails they sent

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freshnote
This email, again? You guys must be new around here.

Seriously. The email isn't that big of a deal. If this amazes you in any way,
get outside more.

~~~
getsat

      >Implying other people are new
      >Having a green username
    

I seriously hope you guys don't do this.

