Most of your leads will require you to send an initial email. Although the world we live in certainly loves electronic communication, you should know that the real job of selling should always take place on the phone. Your job with the first email is simply to generate interest in a phone call!

Why? Email is a very low-bandwidth, high-latency communication form. Trying to explain all the details of CodeDay, and going through sponsorship options, is a slow and painful process through text. Moreover, it’s very emotionless, while talking with a company on the phone is dramatically more likely to get them excited!

How to Write the First Email

Because your goal with the email is simply to get them on the phone, your first email should be:

• Brief. 4-5 sentences is the recommended target. You don’t need to explain everything about what CodeDay is, and the sponsorship options, you just need to say enough to convince them it’s worth talking more.
• Related. One of the sentences in the email should explain how this relates to their company, such as “I know you’ve sponsored events like this in the past” or “I know you have a product that targets developers.”
• Valuable. Remember, a CodeDay sponsorship should provide some value to them, even if it’s just getting their name out in the community. You’re not just begging for money. Make sure the email focuses on how CodeDay can help them, not what you’re doing or what you want. One-to-two sentences about what CodeDay is/is doing max!
• Upfront. Make a specific ask, which will usually be: “Do you have time in the next week to talk more?”
• Not too upfront. You are trying to get them on the phone, not asking for a sponsorship yet!

Here’s an example email targeting a tech company:

Hi [name],I’m helping put together a coding event for high school/college students in [city] on [date], CodeDay. I know [company name] has a product which is relevant to developers, and I think CodeDay might be a good way to build early buy-in to your technology. Do you have any time in the next week to talk about potential partnerships?

And an example targeting a non-tech company:

Hi [name], I'm helping put together an event to get underrepresented students in [city] excited about computer science. The event is called CodeDay, and will be on [date].

I'm reaching out because I know [company name] has supported similar community events in [city] recently, and I think CodeDay fits in really well with [company name]'s focus on [something]. Do you have any time in the next week for me to share more information about CodeDay with you, and discuss a potential partnership?

<aside> ✍️ Don’t forget these templates are just starting points, you’re encouraged to make this as personalized to both your event and the company as possible!

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This is the secret ingredient: you need to follow up when people don’t reply to an email. Generally, people are more than willing to say “no” when they aren’t interested, so the lack of a response is more an indication that the person is busy than anything else.

Follow-up emails should be short, even more so than the initial email. “Hey, CodeDay is coming up soon so I just wanted to quickly follow up and see if you’re interested in participating this season :)” is about what you’re going for.

Usually, following up every week for the first two weeks, and then after another two weeks is plenty. If someone hasn’t responded after a month, it’s unlikely they’re going to. (Although it has happened, and has resulted in a sponsorship!) You should look for other ways to get in contact with the company (re-read the Who to Approach section for guidance on finding contacts in companies).