Whether you’re planning to Email a top influencer about a collaboration idea or thinking of sending a pitch email to an Angel investor, there’s one important thing you have to keep in mind and that is: these people are very wise on how they spend their time.

They won’t spend the whole day reading and replying to all the emails they’ve received. They have more important things to do. So how do you make them read and reply to your email? Just keep it short, simple and professional.

To help you with your email struggle and save you from any embarrassment, here’s a quick guide made with Visme on the top 21 sentences you should never (ever!) mention in an email.