Tips to writing better and effective emails

Category : Career and Skills Development | Sub Category : Posted on 2021-07-29 13:09:42

According to statista 306.4 billions were sent and received every single day in 2020 and this number is going up every single day. In this world of emails, how do you make sure you are emailing like a pro. In this article we talk about tips on how to write and send better and effective emails.

Do not abuse the word “URGENT”

This is urgent, I need it back asap, it is super important because it is in all caps. To be honest, when someone sees “urgent” in an email subject their heart starts to race, they think about urgent things. If you overuse the word urgent, you run the risk of people taking you less seriously when it’s actually urgent down the line.

If your email is longer than three paragraphs, STOP

Long emails are really tempting to just archive or ignore or delete. Super long emails also create something you would call “psychological guilt.” If you spent two hours writing a small novel in your email people would feel bad replying with only two sentences. So they don’t reply at all, they literally ignore it in their inbox until it’s no longer relevant. You should have rather called them because maybe that email should have been a call in the first place. If it’s longer than two paragraphs, consider calling, it’s easier for both of you.

Be polite

People often think that emails can be less formal than traditional letters. But the messages you send are a reflection of your own professionalism, values, and attention to detail, so a certain level of formality is needed.

Unless you're on good terms with someone, avoid informal language, slang, jargon, and inappropriate abbreviations. Emoticons can be useful for clarifying your intent, but it's best to use them only with people you know well. Close your message with "Regards," "Yours sincerely," or "All the best," depending on the situation. Recipients may decide to print emails and share them with others, so always be polite.

Use a hierarchy of facts

This is a super advanced tip for exception email skills. Always put the most important idea up-top. At best, people skim their emails, at the worst they don’t finish reading them. Don’t bury your lead, if you have a big question or a big idea, put it right at the up-top. You have a better chance of someone reading it. Remember, get your bigger idea out as soon as possible.

Add the address last

Have you ever sent an email too soon? Or yes. Here is a big rookie mistake. You open an email and start from the top to the subject, message. Wrong, always add the address last. You never know when that pesky send button gets a life of its own. Remember, subject first, address.

End on a call to action

At the end of an email, you have two choices. Reply or ignore, as a sender you always want your recipient to reply. The best way to increase your response rate is to always end your email on a call to action. If you really want to get fancy, you can even bold it. what ‘s the one thing you need them to do? Reply, answer a question, file a paper, call a client? Tell them and be clear. End on the action to make it easy for them to do what you need.

Proofreading

Finally, before you hit "send," take a moment to review your email for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. Your email messages are as much a part of your professional image as the clothes you wear, so it looks bad to send out a message that contains typos.

As you proofread, pay careful attention to the length of your email. People are more likely to read short, concise emails than long, rambling ones, so make sure that your emails are as short as possible, without excluding necessary information.