Reading (Between The Lines Of) An Email

Certain phrases really should be re-thought.  I received an email yesterday that started with "You’re receiving this email because you’re one of the most active [political action group] members in your area".  To me that sounds similar to "You could already be a winner!" or, slightly worse, those emails that go straight to my bin or trash folder and begin with "hi handsome", usually purporting to be from the woman with the yellow breeches or whatever colour and style of trousers they happen to be that day.  People are always wanting something from you when they begin like that.  This email was no different.  It would actually have been a better email had it simply not begun with that sentence.  Just cut it out completely.  Okay, they want something but just cut out the flattery.  No need to butter me up by telling me how active I am.  And since I tend to overanalyse things, it distracts me.  Most active?  Me?  I might have signed some online petitions and contacted my MP a couple of times, but I am not sure how that qualifies me as "one of the most active members" in this area.  Unless almost everyone else is completely apathetic.  There is that possibility, I suppose.

But I digress.  Possibly emails like this are done to a template and no one has thought very much about how they actually read.  Or perhaps they read just fine to whoever wrote them originally.  Sometimes things do sound fine in your head.  The idea of "say it in your head first before saying it out loud" doesn't always work.  It can still sound okay in your head.  So possibly with emails like this, someone thought that it was a reasonable thing to say.  And someone else might even have agreed.  But it still has that overtone in my mind, that suggestion of "I/We want something from you and here it comes".  Shame really, because that is the only point at which the email falls down.  Okay, yes, they do want something from me.  That is the point of the email.  But making it obvious from that initial phrase puts me on the defensive.  "Uh oh.  They're flattering me.  What are they after?"  Suspicious straight away.  Without that phrase, there would have been more of a gentle lead up to what they wanted and I would be more likely to be responsive.  Maybe I should give email writing classes?