Inside the Inbox of… Yianni Konstantopoulos

In a series we’re calling ‘Inside the Inbox of…’ we’re asking industry leaders to let us delve into their most private of places… their emails!

Today we’re exploring the inbox of Yianni Konstantopoulos, Group Managing Director, Social@Ogilvy.

I will start by saying that email is in many ways the most important tool an organisation has in its arsenal. It is also its most important asset, so finding the proper balance of how often to email your constituents is just as critical as having a really clear rationale as to why to be emailing them in the first place.

The days of an email newsletter are slowly dying and the most innovative organisations use email as a huge lever to gain insight on their audience, while also driving real actions.

INBOX STATUS:

6 unread (I try very hard to clear the inbox at the beginning of each day.)
4 drafts
7 flagged

1) What’s the top priority in your inbox at the moment?

Hiring. Our team is growing very quickly and we want to attract, retain, and establish relationships with the best talent. It is hard to do and there are lots of emails in my inbox working to sort it out.

2) What newsletters are you signed up to?

I subscribe to a few different newsletters, but each of them are automatically filtered into a folder. I try to check that folder once or twice a week. Otherwise, I’d just drown in email. In fact, I just recently used Unroll.me to go through a pretty big email-list cleanse and to remove myself from all of the random things that I had subscribed to. I presently subscribe to the Social@Ogilvy newsletter that I helped our team establish 12 months ago; as well as ones from Forbes, Entrepreneur.com, Business Insider. I also try to stay up to date with a few really innovative firms and am actively reading up on what Uber, AirBNB, GoPro, and Vox Media are doing.

3) Which kind of emails gets instantly deleted?

Unsolicited emails from people that I don’t know and the random emails that somehow get through my filters. Similarly, any email that I know has been sent because my address has been sold to a marketer. I just got an email from The North Face announcing an end of season sale. I wouldn’t be too bothered by this typically, except for the fact that I am a HUGE Patagonia fan (I like their sustainability efforts more) and nearly always get their gear. And I know for a fact that I never signed up for their list.

4) Which kinds of email do you most love to receive?

A reconnection email. From an old client or colleague or classmate that I haven’t heard from in a while. It is great to see how even a short time allows for people to achieve a great deal. Someone who heard me speak at a conference 4 years ago emailed me directly to share how something I had referenced then (and I couldn’t even remember what it was) had motivated them to embark on getting their MBA. Nearly 4 years later they are done that program and working in a really exciting field. It was pretty cool to hear their story.

5) What do you think you’ll be discussing over email in six months time?

I think we’ll still be discussing the importance of email. In spite of the fact that we are paying more and more attention to data, mobile, and hyper-local content, the best place to deliver all of this amazingness is in inboxes. And getting through via an email is a much more difficult thing to do.

6) How long does it usually take you to respond?

I try to reply to anyone who has emailed me within a day. Even if I end up replying very late in the evening or very early in the morning the next day, no email should be simply ignored.

7) When do you stop replying to emails?

When it is clear that whatever actions requested/required in the chain have been accomplished.