Week 9: Email, LinkedIn and DMs#
Every failure named so far assumed email’s particular constraints. What happens when the same message moves somewhere else?
What this lecture covers#
- why platform changes the rules, not just the delivery method
- what carries across platforms, and what doesn’t
- a composite DM that’s formal in the wrong channel
- adapting a message beyond just trimming it
Different environments, different rules#
- a LinkedIn message gets skimmed inside a feed the reader didn’t choose to open right now
- a DM arrives inside a channel with its own social expectations about response time
- an email arrives in an inbox the reader chose to check
Copying one into another and expecting it to read the same way ignores the environment it now sits in.
Platform changes tone, cadence, and acceptable asks, not just length.
What carries across, what doesn’t#
Not every failure mode transfers unchanged.
Length tolerance is not the same on LinkedIn as in email. A follow-up cadence that’s normal in a DM thread would read as aggressive sent as email.
Predict, then watch#
Before the next slide: predict how a formally-worded cold email will read if sent as a LinkedIn DM instead. Then check.
From: [Sender]
To: [Recipient, sent as a LinkedIn DM]
Subject: Potential opportunity to collaborate
Hi [Name], I hope this message finds you well. I wanted to reach out regarding a potential opportunity to collaborate. Please find my availability below for a call this week.
Sent as a DM, this reads as noticeably more formal than the channel expects, and assumes an inbox the reader chose to check rather than a feed they’re scrolling past.
From: [Sender]
To: [Recipient, sent as a LinkedIn DM]
Hey [Name], building something in [specific area], think it might be relevant to what you’re doing at [Company]. Worth a quick look?
Same ask, adapted to the channel: shorter, no subject line, no “I hope this finds you well,” and phrased the way a message inside a feed actually gets read rather than the way a message inside an inbox does.
The point isn’t three versions of everything#
It’s recognising which failure modes carry across platforms unchanged, and which change shape entirely: tone, cadence, and acceptable asks, not just length.
Look this up#
Find a message you’ve received on LinkedIn or in a DM that reads like it was written for email first. What gives it away?
Recap#
- platform changes how quickly a message gets sized up, which is more than a delivery detail
- content that would pass on email can still fail purely on platform grounds
- adapting a message means checking tone, cadence, and ask, not just trimming it