Is Your Message Good Enough to Connect Before Coffee?

By Jill Kurtz, Owner, Kurtz Digital StrategyAccording to Adestra and Flagship Research, most people check texts and emails first thing in the morning. That definitely happens at my house.The survey found that of US internet users under 35 and over 55, 61 percent checked email, social media, text messages, and voicemail before breakfast. One in five checked their messages before leaving the house in the morning. Important to note, this behavior applied more strongly to texts and emails than to social media channels.My first takeaway here is that this is just another proof-point that you can understand and anticipate a lot based on your own experiences and behaviors. If you do something, the people you want to connect with online likely do it too; if a message resonates with you, it will likely work with others.More strategically, this confirms for me that getting your email into inboxes early on workdays is a good strategy. Your message has the potential to influence the task list or focus for a given day because you can enter readers’ thinking before they have committed to anything else.But, combining these two takeaways leads me to a word of caution. When I am checking those texts and emails first thing, one goal always on my mind is to clear out the clutter. if a message can be deleted, that’s just what I do. My goal is to winnow down the things I have to deal with when I really start my day.So your message needs to have a great, meaningful subject line and be important enough to help your reader start a successful day. No pressure, right?[author]About the Author: Jill Kurtz founded Kurtz Digital Strategy to help clients see the communication potential of the newest trends and technologies. She is an expert at website strategy and redesign, social media planning, and developing exceptional content. [/author]