Poll: When writing to an agency, how many lines (inc. greetings) do your emails usually have?
Auteur du fil: ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
ProZ.com Staff
COLLABORATEUR DU SITE
Jul 5, 2021

This forum topic is for the discussion of the poll question "When writing to an agency, how many lines (inc. greetings) do your emails usually have?".

View the poll results »



Jean AMEGBLE
 
Mario Freitas
Mario Freitas  Identity Verified
Brésil
Local time: 23:44
Membre (2014)
anglais vers portugais
+ ...
Did you count Jul 5, 2021

So many answers to these numbers. Did anyone actually open some emails to count the lines?
I have no idea, but each email to each client is significantly different, according to what they proposed and asked for, of course.


Josephine Cassar
Philip Lees
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Anaïs Duval
Christiane Feldmann-Leben
expressisverbis
Yetta Jensen Bogarde
 
Stepan Konev
Stepan Konev  Identity Verified
Russie
Local time: 05:44
anglais vers russe
It depends on your device screen layout Jul 6, 2021

Same text can occupy 50 lines when I use my smartphone or 3 lines when I use a wide screen. I use three wide screen monitors and if I expand the email window through all of them, 1 line can be enough.

Jean Dimitriadis
Barbara Carrara
Philip Lees
Anaïs Duval
Edith van der Have
Christiane Feldmann-Leben
expressisverbis
 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Grèce
Local time: 05:44
grec vers anglais
Nomination Jul 6, 2021

I nominate this question for the "Stupidest poll question of the decade" award.

It looks like something generated by a poorly programmed AI, based on a random selection of key words.


Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Anja Hajek
Christine Andersen
Irene McClure
Alexandra Speirs
Anaïs Duval
 
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 03:44
Membre (2007)
anglais vers portugais
+ ...
Other (as many as necessary) Jul 6, 2021

It depends on the agency (over the years I have become more informal with some them), on the reason I’m writing (obviously I’ll be quite formal if I’m requesting an overdue payment than just confirming a quote or a deadline) and also on the language (European Portuguese is quite formal).

P.S. What about direct clients? Will it be tomorrow’s quick poll?


[Edited at 2021-07-06 06:52 GMT]


Christine Andersen
Philip Lees
Anaïs Duval
Barbara Carrara
expressisverbis
Muriel Vasconcellos
Mario Freitas
 
Philip Lees
Philip Lees  Identity Verified
Grèce
Local time: 05:44
grec vers anglais
Another poll idea Jul 6, 2021

Teresa Borges wrote:
P.S. What about direct clients? Will it be tomorrow’s quick poll?


What is the average word length in the emails you send to agencies?
  • >5 letters
  • 3-5 letters
  • 1-2 letters
  • <1 letter


Anaïs Duval
Barbara Carrara
expressisverbis
Kay Denney
Jorge Payan
Mario Freitas
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Danemark
Local time: 04:44
Membre (2003)
danois vers anglais
+ ...
As many as it takes Jul 6, 2021

Anything from:

Dear PM
Thanks

Best wishes
Christine
(How many lines is that? This is even more elastic than 'how many words?)

... to several pages of discussion, attachments and weblinks.


Philip Lees
Christiane Feldmann-Leben
Barbara Carrara
expressisverbis
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Michele Fauble
Muriel Vasconcellos
 
Anaïs Duval
Anaïs Duval
France
Local time: 04:44
anglais vers français
The question is vague Jul 6, 2021

It can go from around 3 to 5 paragraphs when contacting them for the first time to just one or two lines when working with them and answering yes regarding my availability for a project.

expressisverbis
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
 
Christopher Schröder
Christopher Schröder
Royaume-Uni
Membre (2011)
suédois vers anglais
+ ...
Two Jul 6, 2021

Yes/Next week/No, sorry/Here it comes
Chris


Barbara Carrara
expressisverbis
Maria Teresa Borges de Almeida
Ines Radionovas-Lagoutte, PhD
Kay Denney
Michael Harris
 
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL
Giovanni Guarnieri MITI, MIL  Identity Verified
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 03:44
Membre (2004)
anglais vers italien
What? Jul 6, 2021

Who thinks of these silly surveys? This must be the stupidest of all.

Barbara Carrara
expressisverbis
Rui Domingues
Josephine Cassar
Kevin Fulton
Susanna Martoni
Robert Forstag
 
Francisco Chagas
Francisco Chagas  Identity Verified
Royaume-Uni
Local time: 03:44
Membre (2019)
anglais vers portugais
+ ...
None Jul 6, 2021

I make sure to assert my dominance by simply sending blank emails--although I may include a gleeful (or not so gleeful) emoji on the subject line.

Christopher Schröder
Liena Vijupe
Philip Lees
 
Kay Denney
Kay Denney  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 04:44
français vers anglais
. Jul 6, 2021

Christine Andersen wrote:

... to several pages of discussion, attachments and weblinks.


If I have several pages worth of questions or whatever, they go in a word document that the client can then answer directly in.
Or I'll add my questions as comments in the word document for the client to answer using Track Changes.

I keep my emails short and sweet and to the point, because it's rarely the PM I'm writing to who'll actually be answering my questions.


 
Robert Rietvelt
Robert Rietvelt  Identity Verified
Local time: 04:44
Membre (2006)
espagnol vers néerlandais
+ ...
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? Jul 6, 2021

What kind of question is this? Do you really expect a sensible reply?

expressisverbis
 


To report site rules violations or get help, contact a site moderator:

Modérateur(s) de ce forum
Jared Tabor[Call to this topic]

You can also contact site staff by submitting a support request »

Poll: When writing to an agency, how many lines (inc. greetings) do your emails usually have?






Wordfast Pro
Translation Memory Software for Any Platform

Exclusive discount for ProZ.com users! Save over 13% when purchasing Wordfast Pro through ProZ.com. Wordfast is the world's #1 provider of platform-independent Translation Memory software. Consistently ranked the most user-friendly and highest value

Buy now! »
Anycount & Translation Office 3000
Translation Office 3000

Translation Office 3000 is an advanced accounting tool for freelance translators and small agencies. TO3000 easily and seamlessly integrates with the business life of professional freelance translators.

More info »