Writing Clear Email Updates

If you're embarking on a big initiative in 2025, be it professional or personal, I strongly recommend sending a monthly update (even if you're literally just emailing yourself). Here's the exact structure I've used for a few years: Context I send a monthly update to Ethena's investors. While I'm contractually obligated to do this, it's a phenomenal exercise because I'm forced to zoom out and assess progress. The monthly cadence is perfect because it's enough time for there to be something significant to say, but not so frequent that it becomes a burden. Structure 1. The TLDR/summary. No more than 3 bullet points summarizing what I think the biggest developments are. This is fuzzy and based totally on my intuition. 2. The metrics. These *have* to be the same metrics every month. I report on 8 key metrics and if I ever change a metric, I force myself to explain why I'm changing, say, how we calculate gross dollar retention. This builds accountability. 3. Team updates. It always sounds corny, but people will make or break your goal. While this is obviously true in business, I'd argue it's true even in personal goal setting. Want to get fit? You'll need to find the right coach. So I write what's going well (and not), and what open roles we have. 4. Biggest challenge. 2-3 sentences on whatever is hardest. 5. Asks. I ask my investors for help every single month. 6. Thanks. I thank everyone who did something in the past month. This is really important! It builds gratitude and people like being seen for their contributions. One last thing I do before I send an update is I read my previous month's. It helps me to see the through line and also, it's nice to see progress so concretely. I hope you read all the things/lift all the weights/accomplish whatever it is you're excited to tackle in 2025! And LMK if you think my update is missing something.

50% of emails get ignored. 📩 Here’s how you get a response – every time. Most messages sent to busy leaders get ignored because they: 👎 Are poorly structured 👎 Too long  👎 Not clear enough Exceptional communicators: ✅ Skip the fluff  ✅ Don’t rely on jargon ✅ Deliver their point – fast. After writing 4 books and coaching 300+ CEOs on strategic communication, I’ve developed a simple framework top leaders swear by: 1 – Your Subject Line Is Your Message Before writing anything, ask: ➡️ What’s the one thing they need to remember? ➡️ What’s the one action they should take? If neither is clear, don’t hit send yet. 2 – Start With the Outcome Busy people don’t want a textbook — they want conclusions. 💡 Open with your key point, not a pleasantry. ❌ “Hope you’re doing well! I wanted to share…” ✅ “Update: [Insert key takeaway].” 3 – Delete Soft Language Leaders don’t hedge. ✂️ Remove words like “just,” “I think,” or “wanted to flag.” ✅ “Let’s proceed.” ✅ “Revenue is up 20%.” 4 – Be Direct, Not Dismissive Confidence ≠ coldness. 🚫 “Following up again, I think this could work…” ✅ “Let’s move forward with this option. Thoughts?” 5 – Include a Clear Ask ❌ “Let me know if this makes sense.” ✅ “Can you approve by EOD Thursday?” 6 – Sign Off Like a Human Close with clarity and warmth. ❌ “Looking forward to hearing back.” ✅ “Thanks for considering – keen to hear your view.” - - - - ♻️ Repost to help others and follow Oliver Aust for more. ♟️ Want to become a top 1% communicator? Reach out here: https://lnkd.in/eRy_qSUq

For the last two years, every week i've written a report that updates our investors on our weekly progress. You may think a weekly report is a bit excessive. But I write the report more for me than for them. Why? Regardless if you have investors or not, give this ago. It will do these three things for you: 1. Intuitive feel on whats going on in your business 2. Clear thinking: problems seem to solve themselves when you write about them 3. Clear Direction: know where you're heading at all times. Comment "Investors" and I'll send the template with comments and examples. Here's the breakdown of what I write: -- CEO SUMMARY This is mostly a vibe check, how we're feeling, how we're thinking about current challenges, ideas we have and opportunities we want to explore. Some weeks it's really short and I just say "all is well, not much to add this week, see progress below." Some weeks startups are just a daily grind when not much really happens. METRICS • MRR (% change) • Customers • OutBound • Demos • Churn KEY ASK • Anything you need/want help with from investors TEAM / HIRING • Any changes to team members. Recruiting or thinking about bring in to help with certain projects/tasks. FUNDING UPDATE • Conversations/meetings with other investors • Feedback • Any grants / incentives HIGHLIGHTS • Sales and Marketing: 2-3 things • Operations and Support: 2-3 things • Product: 2-3 things LOWLIGHTS / SCARY THINGS • What's keeping you up at night? 1-2 things WHATS UP NEXT • Three things we're focused on for the next week FINANCIAL UPDATE • Total Full Time Employees (FTEs): Last Months Revenue:  a. Revenue Forecast: b. COGs Forecast: c. OpEx Forecast: Are you on track to meet the monthly forecast: (Y / N, Explanation if N) for:  a. Revenue: b. COGs: c. OpEx: CASH ANALYSIS a. Unrestricted Cash on Hand: b. Debt: c. Insolvency Date (cash burn plan assuming no revenue after paying off debt):  d. Cash burn for last two weeks vs forecast ($yy): e. Average weekly cash burn: f. Any changes to cash flow forecast next three months with an explanation it changes: This typically takes me 30 minutes to complete on a Saturday morning and I do it when I reconcile Xero each week. Hope this helps! Follow me for more founder and startup advice.

🎯How to Nail Your Monthly Shareholder Updates I receive a lot of shareholder updates. The poor ones have several pages of text, with no discernible KPIs or shifting priorities from month to month ❌  🚀 You want to keep your investors engaged without drowning them in data. Here’s a possible structure: 1.     Big Picture: Start with a quick snapshot. Are you ahead, behind, or on track? What’s driving momentum? 📌 Example: “We are X% towards our year-end goal, tracking for our biggest quarter yet (£XXk in net new ARR). Growth is accelerating due to X” 2.     Revenue: Be clear about targets vs. actuals. Keep this high level but also make it easy to see trends 📌 Example: • Revenue: £2.15M vs. £2.6M target (YE target: £3.6M) • Growth: 95% YTD, +10% MoM • ARR: £1.7M signed, £2.05M incl. booked 3.     Go-To-Market (GTM): Break this down by key channels: Inbound, Outbound, Partnerships. What’s working? What needs fixing? 📌 Example: • Inbound: 40% of this quarter’s revenue. Lead-to-close rate improved from 30% → 40% in 3 months. • Outbound: 30% of revenue but slower deal cycles. Focus is shifting to larger ACV deals. • Partnerships: 30% of revenue. Expanded number of partners by X. 4.     Product: Show how your product is evolving. Any major releases? What’s driving customer impact? 5.     Customer Success: Retention is as important as acquisition. Show how you’re supporting and expanding accounts. 📌 Example: ✅ Onboarding → streamlined into a production line. ✅ CSMs → focused on account growth & renewals, not support. ✅ Support → Work ongoing to improve internal tooling for better automation. 6.   Wins:  🎉 Call out major deals, hires, or strategic moves that unlock future growth. 📌 Example: ✅ Closed pilot with X (£70k ARR potential). ✅ Hired new VP of Engineering and Head of CS 7.     Challenges: Be transparent. Investors don’t expect perfection, but they do expect clarity. 📌 Example: ❌ Cancelled X contract (£50k ARR write-off) due to delinquency issues. Lesson: stronger ICP qualification needed. ❌ Outbound still lags vs. inbound: shifting focus to bigger deals but need faster cycles. 8.     Financials:  🏦 Give investors a pulse check. Burn, cash balance, and runway matter. 📌 Example: • Bank Balance: £1.6M • Net Burn: £120K/month • Runway: 13 months 9. What’s Next? End with 3-5 priorities (and ask for help here if needed). 📌 Example: 🔜 Beat Year-End targets. 🔜 Build pipeline for a strong Q1. 🔜 Intros to X, Y, Z corporates very much welcomed 🙏 🔥 Why This Works: I like this format as it is clear and structured, allowing readers to digest quickly and also giving them the ability to compare to previous updates. It celebrates the wins and highlights potential risks as well as setting expectations as to where the business is heading. Thoughts? 🤔 #shareholderupdates  

Silence is deadlier than bugs in IT. So here's my 5-part framework to keep clients happy. In IT, people think the biggest sin is missing a deadline. It’s not. It’s disappearing. No update. No email. No, "this might take longer than planned." Silence turns small delays into big problems. • It breeds assumptions • Assumptions turn into frustration • Frustration kills trust I’ve seen projects slip by two months, and the client still walked away happy. Not because the work was perfect. But because every week, they knew exactly what was going on. And people in IT know problems happen. • Servers crash • Timelines shift • Code breaks But communication is the difference between a frustrated client and a loyal one. And silence kills faster than any missed deadline ever will. Now, if you want my communication framework, here's what I recommend to people: 1// Set Communication Expectations Upfront • Define channels: 2–3 preferred methods (email for formal updates, Slack for quick questions, weekly calls for big discussions) • Set response times: “Emails within 24 hours, urgent issues within 4 hours” • Create update schedules: Weekly reports, bi-weekly demos, or milestone check-ins, but make it consistent 2// Be Proactive In Communication • Update before you’re asked, even “everything’s on track” matters • Flag problems early: “This might take an extra day because of X” • Explain the “why” behind updates and changes 3// Translate Technical into Human • Avoid jargon overload • Use analogies: “Like traffic on a highway - too many requests are slowing it down” • Focus on impact: “Making the app load 50% faster for your users” 4// Build Trust Through Transparency • Own the problems: “Here’s what went wrong and here’s our fix” • Provide realistic timelines, under-promise, over-deliver • Show your work: Screenshots, videos, or live demos 5// Listen as Much as You Talk • Ask clarifying questions • Acknowledge concerns • Adapt your style to the client And beyond this, here's what else I recommend you can do: a) This Week: • Define communication channels and response times • Create a simple weekly update template (3 bullet points) • Choose a project management tool with client visibility b) This Month: • Share client communication guidelines with your team • Practice explaining services without jargon • Set up automated project updates c) This Quarter: • Survey clients on communication preferences • Train your team on best practices • Build protocols into onboarding Ultimately, the best IT founders don’t just build great products. They build great relationships. And relationships are built on great communication. Start treating communication as seriously as you treat your code. Your clients will notice the difference. --- ✍ Tell me below: When was the last time proactive communication saved you from a client blow-up?

Stop telling on yourself by trying to use big fancy words and complicated explanations. Using big words to sound smart makes you sound less smart. Sales reps think using complex language makes them look professional. They throw around industry jargon and technical terms to prove they know their stuff. But research shows emails written at a third grade reading level get 36% higher response rates than emails with complex language. Your prospects aren't impressed by your vocabulary. They're scanning your email for 3 to 4 seconds trying to decide if it's worth their time. When they see complicated language, their brain registers it as extra work. Complex language creates barriers. It confuses prospects, makes your message harder to digest, and causes frustration. Clear, simple copy helps prospects quickly grasp your message. Clarity is what drives action. I personally aim to write emails at a fifth grade comprehension level. This isn't talking down to anyone. It means using clear language that's easy to understand, even if someone is skimming on their phone between meetings. Make your message so clear that prospects immediately understand the benefits you're offering and feel confident taking the next step. They respond because you made it easy for them to engage. Simple stands out in sales copywriting. 📌 What's one piece of jargon you need to cut from your outreach?

Updating your boss shouldn't just be routine. It's an opportunity for you to spotlight your value. Pro tip: Less is more. Focus your updates on what truly matters to your boss. This sharpens your message and shows your strategic insight. Sample script: "I wanted to share an update on my latest report for X project. It has been progressing well in [A, B and C] areas. That said, I've hit a roadblock on this particular part because of X. I've attempted to do Y and Z, which have helped partially, but we're not quite there yet. Could we brainstorm some additional options to ensure we stay on track for our deadline?" Effective updates are more than just sharing information. They're about making a lasting impression and building your credibility. 👉 For more tips on how to effectively communicate updates to your boss, check out my latest LinkedIn newsletter. #growth #communication #confidence

One of my first jobs in private markets involved phoning clients to tell them their investment was now worth something like 20p in the pound. And unlikely to be liquid for a long time to come. My job was to call ahead of the valuation reports landing, so the news came with a voice attached — context, honesty, and room for questions. Were investors disappointed? Of course. But they knew early-stage investing carries this risk. What they remembered was that someone had been proactive, picked up the phone, and dealt with their questions openly. I built some of my best investor relationships from those calls. And it taught me a lesson I've carried ever since: the update you least want to send is the most valuable one you'll ever write. Yet watch what too many founders actually do — Miss a quarter's targets? Update goes unsent. Key hire falls through? "I'll mention it next month." Runway getting tight? Radio silence. But look at it from the other side of the table. Your investors have seen dozens of companies hit rough patches. A bad quarter doesn't shock them. What unsettles them is not hearing it from you — because silence forces them to fill the gap with assumptions. And their assumptions are always worse than your reality. Worse: when the problem finally surfaces months later, the question is no longer "how do we fix this?" It's "why am I only hearing about this now?" That's not a metrics conversation. That's a trust conversation. And by then, it's often too late for them to actually help. Compare that with the founder who calls the bad quarter early. A challenge plus a plan reads as competence. The founders who communicate through the hard stretches are the ones who get the intro, the bridge, the benefit of the doubt. So if you're sitting on an update you don't want to send - send it this week. No lipstick on the pig — state the problem, state your plan, ask for the specific help you need. Even better? Pick up the phone. What's the hardest update you've ever sent — and what happened next?

Have you ever sent an email and instantly wished you could take it back? Priya did. Fresh out of college, two weeks into her first job, she sent a department-wide email with the subject line “URGENT NEED YOUR HELP!!!” The CEO was copied too. That one email changed how people saw her. But it also became the start of her biggest learning curve. In three months, she went from being the intern everyone pitied to the team member trusted with client communication. Here is what she learned about writing professional emails that actually work: 1. Tone matters. All caps and too many exclamation marks do not show urgency. They show panic. How you write is how people hear you. 2. Attach before you write. Add the file first, then type your message. It is the simplest way to avoid the classic mistake of forgetting the attachment. 3. Check before hitting Reply All. One careless click can embarrass you in front of the entire company. Always double-check who is receiving your message. 4. Write clear subject lines. “Need your input by 3 PM today” is better than “Hello.” Be specific. It helps others prioritise and respond faster. 5. Proofread every word. Names, dates, and grammar reflect your attention to detail. Read your email aloud. If it sounds wrong, it probably is. 6. Keep it short. Most professionals skim. Make your point in the first few lines. Use short paragraphs or bullet points. 7. Be polite but firm. “Could you please” gets better results than “You missed the deadline.” It is not about being soft. It is about being professional. Priya did not just learn to write better emails. She learned how clarity builds trust and how respect earns attention. Every email you send either strengthens your reputation or weakens it. The next time you hit send, remember this. Your words carry your voice even when you are not in the room. ♻️ If this resonated with you, please share it with others in your network.

I once spent an hour crafting the perfect legal update for several executives. It had clear language. Solid structure. Anticipated every question. One exec called me to ask what the email said because he "didn't have time to read it" but sensed it was important. That stung. But here's what I learned: It wasn't a me problem. People weren't ignoring my emails because they thought I wasn't smart. It was a format problem. A language problem. A framing problem. And all of that is fixable. Most legal updates fail because they're written as if the audience is other lawyers. But your readers aren't lawyers. They don't care about enforcement trends or how cleverly you structured a clause. They want to know: • Does this impact me or my team? • Do I need to do anything? • What's at risk if we don't act? If your update doesn't answer those questions up top—in language they understand—it's getting skipped. Here's what changed everything for me: **Label your updates.** Use simple, bolded headers: - "Action Required" - "Needs Input" - "For Awareness Only" **Lead with the takeaway.** Don't bury the point. Start with: "We need to update our vendor contracts by Q3 to stay compliant, or risk X." **Mirror their language.** If execs talk about "revenue risk," use that. If they care about timelines, highlight the deadline. **Structure for skimming.** Short paragraphs. Bullet points. Bold text. Make it easy to absorb while walking between meetings. **End with next steps.** Even if it's just "No action needed; keeping you in the loop." When you write legal updates this way, everything shifts. You get more responses. You build trust. You speed up decision-making. And most importantly, you help the business move forward. Because if they can't understand what you're saying, they definitely won't act on it. What's your biggest challenge when communicating legal priorities to non-lawyers?