A new post from the magnanimous, the shaggy, the calypso, Miss Quote. As always she’s here to answer your questions, dispense incalculably valuable literary-romance-etiquette advice, and completely change your life. We introduced her a little while back in case you missed it.
Write to her at missquotewillchangeyourlife@gmail.com.
Question from Yours…
Dear Miss Quote,
I really struggle with salutations on my emails. And sign offs, too. They always seem so fake. Who really says Dear, x? Often I just copy what the sender did if I’m replying. But it never makes me feel authentic and whole. What can I do? How do you open and close your emails?
Yours,
Email signature + logo + headshot + link to book an appointment
Dear Yours,
If you’re applying for a job: Dear [company’s name],
Writing or responding to a friendly email: Hey, girl, hey. Or; hi, ya!
Reaching out to a client: [name],
Don’t over think it my friend. What do you say when you walk into a room? Just think about the different rooms. Hi, doctor’s office. What up, Chase Bank. Hello, beautiful ex-wife, I love what you’ve done with your front porch. See you Wednesday!
You know, the word hi appears 925 times in Emily Dickinson’s poetry and letters combined.
Now, as far as sign offs go, it looks like Yours is embedded within your signature template. I think you should get rid of that immediately. It’s confusing to the reader. Because what if you want to sign off with a sincerely or a truly, and then further down the page the reader sees yours? That switch in tone could really throw them off and in turn drive them to delete, ignore, or worse; archive. Us ladies, we want clean countertops and no more than two pairs of shoes at the back door. You know that painting, The Scream? Apparently Munch painted the sky as he truly saw it, something about volcanic dust and mother-of-pearl clouds. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and a sky is not blue. Take care, thank you, sorry I ruined your evening, miss you, love you, xoxo.
Eternally, in his name, without hesitation, bye for now,
Miss Quote
Send your queries, missives, conundrums, confusions, and delusions to Miss Quote at missquotewillchangeyourlife@gmail.com—and in the meantime, stay critical!
