How to write a customer e-mail

I sent the link to Seth Godin's post Bits are free to a bunch of people I work with last week. I told them I thought it was brilliant.

Of course, it's brilliant largely through contrast. So many e-mails are a waste of everyone's time - yours and your customers.

So what is good about Seth's suggested e-mail? First of all, it sounds as if it is coming from a person rather than a corporation. When it comes from a human voice it sounds as if it is intended for a human listener. I think most customers "tune out" (read delete) e-mails that have that anemic corporate tone most business e-mails have.

The second thing that makes this a good e-mail, and equally important, is it takes a negative and makes it a positive. He uses the e-mail as an opportunity to maintain a relationship with the customer and set the stage for what could be another sale.

As opposed to a lame effort at covering your behind.

One of the questions I always ask myself when writing or editing an e-mail intended for a customer is, "Would I read this?" In most cases, the answer is no. So that's when I start rewriting it until it is something that I would read. What's the point of communication that does not communicate? And what kind of return are you going to get on that?