--- id: KB-CC-012 url: https://app.codecontract.io/help/contacts-and-channels/writing-to-someone-who-does-not-know-you idioma: en categoria: contactos-canales audiencia: usuario nivel: intermedio actualizado: 2026-08-13 tambienEn: [es] relacionados: [KB-CC-004, KB-TL-003, KB-CC-020] citadoPor: [KB-CL-012, KB-CC-014, KB-CL-016] --- # 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._ **Responde a:** 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 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 **En corto** - A generic subject like "Outstanding documentation". - A link with no explanation of where it leads. - Asking for "the usual" without saying what that is. - And sending it to a generic mailbox hoping someone distributes it. > [!WARNING] > 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. > [!NOTE] > 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. ## Ejemplos **A company sends document requests and only a third reply.** - Puts its brand and the order reference in the message - Adds the concrete list and a date → First-send response rate rises and chasing stops being the main job. **You write to somebody who does not know you and they do not reply.** - Explains who you are and why you are writing → The email is opened rather than dismissed. **The email looks automated and lands in junk.** - Personalises the subject and sender → The notice reaches the main inbox. **The recipient doubts whether the link is legitimate.** - Gives notice beforehand by another route → The link is opened with confidence. **Too much is asked for at first contact.** - Asks for little and explains the rest later → The first attempt completes. **Nothing says what happens after replying.** - Explains the next step in the notice itself → The recipient knows where they stand.