“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” — Mark Twain
I write on this blog because I can write to think. I can write as a stream of consciousness. But at the same time, it is just that. It’s long.
But when it comes to reaching out and getting a stranger’s attention, there’s beauty in brevity. 200 characters. If you can’t get the attention of someone you don’t know in 200 characters. Hell, even 100 characters. Then no pitch deck, no long blurb ever will. Just because a house has more square footage doesn’t mean you’ll stop and visit the house.
People are busy. Investors are busy. Recruiters are busy. The world’s smartest, brightest, most ambitious are busy. A great cold message can go further than almost any warm intro can. Most people are just not good at writing them. They’re too verbose. (Caveat, a lot of my outreaches are too, but I highlight the 20 words they need to pay attention to in that email. And they may not all be in the same sentence.)
To be fair, LinkedIn Premium is really the Trojan Horse for this short piece. Keep exercising the cold outreach muscle.
I still do it every week. And so far, the response rates to ones I handcraft are better than what AI can write for me. The platform of outreach may vary. Question I always think about is where are the people I’m reaching out to spending a lot of attention, but there’s just that slight deficit of inbound information. Sometimes, it’s literally a messenger pigeon.
Photo by William Warby on Unsplash
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The views expressed on this blogpost are for informational purposes only. None of the views expressed herein constitute legal, investment, business, or tax advice. Any allusions or references to funds or companies are for illustrative purposes only, and should not be relied upon as investment recommendations. Consult a professional investment advisor prior to making any investment decisions.