Contacts and channels
Writing to someone who does not know you
The first message to a third party decides whether they reply or take it for a scam.
When you ask something of someone who has never heard of you — a supplier's accountant, a client's engineer, a private individual — the message competes with a reasonable instinct: that an email with a link asking for documents looks exactly like a scam.
What makes them reply
| Element | Why | Where to put it |
|---|---|---|
| Who you are, with a recognisable name | "Code Contract" means nothing to them; your company does | In the subject and first line |
| Why you are writing | The contract, the order, the specific site | Second line, with the reference |
| Exactly what you need | A short list, not "the documentation" | Visible without opening anything |
| And by when | Without a date there is no urgency | At the end, with the reason |
Important
The first element decides. A message arriving on behalf of an unknown platform gets deleted; the same message on behalf of the company they work with gets opened. Putting your brand on what they receive is not cosmetics: it is response rate.
What makes them NOT reply
Watch out
If you also ask them to register, create a password or install something, half will not. Supplying documents needs no account: they enter by their link, upload theirs, done. If your message suggests otherwise, you are complicating it for nothing.
When they still do not reply
- 1
Check the status before insisting
Bounced, unopened, or opened by someone else are three different problems.
- 2
Change channel before changing tone
A text saying "I've emailed you" unblocks many situations.
- 3
Call once, and note what they say
A thirty-second call resolves what five emails do not.
- 4
And if the problem is not knowing what to send, show them
One example of what you want beats a description.
Worth knowing
Whoever receives the request pays nothing to supply or sign: no account, no licence, no balance needed. All consumption is on your side, and it is worth saying so when someone asks whether it will cost them.
›Can it be sent from our domain?
Yes, and it considerably improves trust and deliverability.
›What if they say it looks like phishing?
Good sign: those are alert people. Confirm by another route and carry on.
›Are reminders worth sending?
Yes, spaced out. Most people reply to the second, not the first.
A real case
The situation
A company sends document requests and only a third reply.
What you do
- Puts its brand and the order reference in the message
- Adds the concrete list and a date
What you get
First-send response rate rises and chasing stops being the main job.
The situation
You write to somebody who does not know you and they do not reply.
What you do
- Explains who you are and why you are writing
What you get
The email is opened rather than dismissed.
The situation
The email looks automated and lands in junk.
What you do
- Personalises the subject and sender
What you get
The notice reaches the main inbox.
The situation
The recipient doubts whether the link is legitimate.
What you do
- Gives notice beforehand by another route
What you get
The link is opened with confidence.
The situation
Too much is asked for at first contact.
What you do
- Asks for little and explains the rest later
What you get
The first attempt completes.
The situation
Nothing says what happens after replying.
What you do
- Explains the next step in the notice itself
What you get
The recipient knows where they stand.
This article answers
- first message to a new supplier
- recipient thinks it is phishing
- how to request documents from an outsider
- getting people to trust a link we send