Email Templates I was rewatching the 1999 movie Cruel Intentions with Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Ryan Phillippe, and in one conversation between his character Sebastian and Sarah’s character Kathryn, he said, “Emails are for geeks.” It’s almost laughable to think about that statement ten years later; boy, was Sebastian wrong! If you’re not spending most of your time communicating electronically, then you’re probably missing out on building your social capital. And because most people receive numerous emails every hour, correspondence can be a tricky thing. You want to craft and send messages that will stand out and inspire the recipients to respond. Here are a few sample templates to use when reaching out to people; please make them your own! Reaching Out / First Contact Reaching out to a stranger can be tough, but remember you are your best advocate and the only way to get in front of your goals is to put yourself out there. Here is a sample template requesting a meeting: Hi, Irma, I hope this message finds you well. My name is Minda Harts, and I’m a social impact entrepreneur helping the next generation of women of color advance in the workplace. I created a digital career education platform company called The Memo that helps hundreds of black and brown women prepare for their seat at the table via our career boot camps. I also have a podcast called Secure the Seat. And next spring my debut nonfiction book, The Memo, which discusses what it’s like to “lean in” as a woman of color in the workplace, will be published by Hachette Book Group. I live in NYC and have been spending more time in the LA area while working on my book. I am inspired by the work that you do in your community and would love the opportunity to connect with you and brainstorm on ways I might be able to support women of color in LA or find out if you know anyone who might be interested in my work. Would you be available for an initial phone meeting the first week of June? Thank you for your consideration. With gratitude,
Xx Follow Up After you’ve had your meeting, you want to make sure you follow up on the items that you discussed. Below you will see a sample email that I sent twenty-four hours after a meeting. I made it easy for them to copy and paste or forward items along. Please make things easy on the person that offers to help you out. Hi, Kevin, So good to catch up with you this week. Thank you for always making time for me—it means more than you know. I left feeling like I could keep the train moving forward. Below are the follow-up items we discussed. I know you have tons on your plate; feel free to make introductions when you can. Also, I attached our Women of Resilience Awards sponsorship deck. ABC Company and The Memo Event: A dialogue between black men and women. I think we should plan for the summer or fall of 2018. I see this being a well-curated panel discussion between black men and black women in which we center our talking points around topics that we can discuss in a meaningful way—to help us bridge the gap, and to provide solid, actionable steps that each person can leave with to be better advocates. #fortheculture I think it would be cool to have panelists like James Doe, Cindy Doe, Asa Doe, and Beverly Doe from your community. I see it even being broken into a couple of panels. Maybe a half-day luncheon. Just brainstorming. Foundation Intros: American Express Foundation Ford Foundation Introductions to Black Women: Jane Doe Dina Doe Carla Doe Anita Doe A blurb about me and The Memo to pass along: Minda Harts is a social impact entrepreneur helping the next generation of women of color advance in the workplace. She created a digital career education platform company called The Memo that helps hundreds of black and brown women prepare for their seat at the table via their career boot camps. Next spring she will debut her nonfiction book, The Memo, which discusses what it’s like to “lean in” as a woman of color in the workplace and will be published by Hachette Book Group. Her Press Kit (clickable link). Thank you, Xx Touching Base / Reconnecting Here is a template to help you reconnect with someone you haven’t been in touch with for some time. I think it’s a good best practice to touch base with people you want to keep in the loop about your work and not drop off their radar. Hi, Michael, How are you? I hope this email finds you well. A little over a year ago, our mutual friend Gabe introduced us. You were so kind to connect with me and learn about my business The Memo. I wanted to give you an update. 1) The Memo is doing well. We have some case studies that show success among some of our members. 2) We have received press coverage in Forbes, HuffPost, The Guardian, NBC News, and Black Enterprise magazine. 3) We received an Angel Investment (seed capital). Thank you for your support and encouragement. Over the last year, I am becoming a new voice in the conversation around advancing women of color in the workplace. I have hustled like crazy since we last spoke, yet there is still a lot of ground to cover. I wanted you to know I am still moving forward. I hope to have you speak to our members in the near future. Have a great summer! With gratitude, Xx PS: Wonder Woman was awesome! Thank-You Messages Never forget to thank someone who made a connection for you and also make them aware that you are going to meet or had the meeting with the person they introduced you to. This is a pro tip in relationship building. Keeping them in the loop signals that you can be trusted with their social capital. Here is a simple yet impactful thank-you message: Hey, Jalen, Hope you are well. Congrats again on your baby girl. Just wanted to let you know I am meeting with Larry in Chicago next Wednesday. Thank you for making that connection. Have a good night. Xx Introducing Contact and Connections The new normal in introducing people to one another is that both people must opt in beforehand. You don’t want to assume that someone wants to make the connection. And as well-intentioned as you might be in connecting two cool people, you first want to separately ask each person if it’s okay to make the introduction. Once they have both agreed, then you make the introduction. Personally, I am not bothered by people who make connections between me and someone they think I should know, yet you should be aware of the new etiquette of double opt-in introductions. Here are two samples after the double opt-in introduction was made: Intro 1: Minda, Janet is the brilliant lady behind the ABC Women T-shirts you see everywhere (which benefit a number of fantastic female-focused causes). And Minda is the founder of The Memo, the career site that focuses on woc. I was telling Janet about The Memo and thought you two should know each other. Go forth and take over the world. Xo Intro 2: Minda, Please meet my friend Kasey. She’s currently at CNN (based in NYC) after spending some time at the LA Times and Atlantic Media Company, among other places. As “folks in media” go, she’s among the most well regarded in terms of using digital for storytelling and also for her efforts to diversify newsrooms. Kasey, as noted, I met Minda Harts and learned about her org, The Memo, as a coach in the CivicX Accelerator put on by Points of Light. Her work struck me as both necessary and super practical, which gives me optimism for their impact moving forward. I’m pretty sure you can take it from here, but if I can be of any further help, don’t hesitate in reaching out. To paraphrase Kanye, you’re both dope and you do dope (ish). Hugs, Xx Pitching Your Brand Many of you are building your brand and looking to garner press or increase your speaking engagements. Often, this requires you to pitch yourself to media outlets or conferences. Here is a sample pitch: Hi, PR Company, My name is Minda Harts, and I founded The Memo, a digital career platform that helps put more women of color in the C-Suite. In my X years in corporate America, I found that career development is not created equal and career advancement advice often over-represents the experiences of white women climbing the ladder. I felt as though many of the career platforms like , , and , to name a few, focused on providing one-size-fits-all solutions for women. On October 17 there was an article on your platform titled . The article discussed the challenges we face but didn’t offer tangible tools to combat them. Who is going to break the “black” glass ceiling? Who is going to be our Sheryl Sandberg and help lead the cavalry for black and brown women to lean in and not out because our employers are not investing in our development? If we all leave to start our own companies, there won’t be anyone inside these companies that look like us—some of us should stay and create change! I started my company because I wanted to help solve this problem, to provide tools built for us, by us. With less than 4 percent of women of color in the C-Suite of Fortune 500 companies, I realized we need mechanisms in place to help advance and retain women of color. We launched our career products in the summer of 2016 and have over ___ women of color on our platform and growing. They are investing in themselves, and now we are offering our digital products to companies so they can invest in the retention and advancement of their diverse talent. I want women of color to know there are tables with their names on them, and The Memo is here to help. Please find additional information about me and a short video here (clickable link). After reading your recent articles on black women in the workplace, I thought this pitch would be appropriate. Thank you for your time, and I hope to hear from you in the future. With gratitude, Xx Professional Development Conferences Many of us are looking to build our network and connect with like-minded women. I would suggest investing in yourself by attending one or two conferences a year to stay in the loop and build your network. Side note: Your company or organization might have a professional development stipend to help assist you with attending one or more of these annual conferences. Black Enterprise Women of Power Summit ColorComm Forbes Women Summit National Urban League Conference National Association of Black Journalists Professional Development Platforms In addition to occasional professional development conferences, you might need weekly, monthly, or quarterly trainings and a community of women to help you stay accountable to your career development trajectory. Another part of investing in yourself is investing in courses and a community to help you grow. Think of your career like a streaming platform: you might not use your streaming service every day, but it’s there when you need it. I suggest utilizing career development platforms to help you stay ready and supported during the wins and the obstacles. The Memo, www.myweeklymemo.com Ellevate, www.ellevate.com Black Career Women’s Network, www.bcwnetwork.com/ The Latinista, www.thelatinista.com The Cru, www.findyourcru.com Career Coaches Often, I hear women say they can’t afford a career coach, but soon after they will run over to their favorite Nike location and buy the new cross-trainer shoes and a hoodie to match. Many of us have not been educated about or introduced to the power of a career coach. Most of the top executives have hired a career coach to help them get to the next level. How badly do you want to level up? Here are the names of three career coaches to help you reach that next level. Arquella Hargrove offers three-month, six-month, and twelve-month coaching packages to help you become the leader you were meant to be. Learn more about Arquella at http://arquellahargrove.com. Kanika Tolver specializes in career pivots and how to find a job that’s the right fit for you. Learn more about Kanika at https://kanikatolver.com. Tiffany F. Southerland helps her clients get clear about their personal and professional strengths and how to leverage those strengths. To connect with Tiffany go to http://www.fourcornerscoach.com. Podcasts If you hadn’t guessed, I love to invest in myself. I use resources that require a monetary investment and that are easy to access. When I don’t have enough money to invest in a career coach or buy a new webinar, I listen to career-related and inspirational podcasts. Here are six podcasts that are part of my weekly career development routine. I hope you will add them to your lineup and share with others: Secure the Seat, hosted by Minda Harts Trailblazer’s Podcast, hosted by Stephen A. Hart Beyond the Business Suit, hosted by Kailei Carr The Great Girlfriends, hosted by Sybil Amuti and Brandice Daniel Le Vital Corp Salon, hosted by Kara Snyder Schoolin’ Life, hosted by Ashley and Marcy Diversity and Inclusion The Factuality Game is a ninety-minute crash course on structural inequality in America. Go to www.factualitythegame.com. Multicultural Insights provides multicultural market research and strategy at https://www.mc-insights.com. The Women of Color Equity Initiative In the fall of 2018, I launched The Women of Color Equity Initiative. I am continuously thinking about ways to bridge the gap between entry-level roles and management roles. Around 11 percent of women of color hold a managerial position, less than 8 percent hold a senior managerial role, and less than 4 percent are in the C-Suite. Given the high number of educated women of color in the United States, there’s no logical reason why women of color do not occupy more of these roles. Each week, I have companies reach out to me and ask if I know a woman of color who might be interested in a particular position, and now I want companies to be able to connect with you directly!
