Writing Effective Emails

Earlier this month we introduced the topic of how to use email to communicate effectively in the work place. In this final piece of our two-part series we highlight the details of what makes an email more likely to be read and responded to appropriately. 

Developing Effective Email Subject Lines
The Subject Line of an email is like the headline of a newspaper article. Recipients scan it quickly to see if it is something they are interested in reading or not. In a cluttered Inbox, it is one way readers have to eliminate emails they doubt they will be interested in spending more time on.

So how can you develop a Subject Line that is likely to help your email make the cut?

• Avoid overly salesy phrases
• Don’t use all caps and exclamation points
• Mail Chimp found three phrases in particular that had negative open rates: “help”, “% off” and “reminder”
• Subject lines that ask a question perform well
• Keep it short and sweet with no more than 50 characters
• Clarity matters more than creativity
• Descriptive headlines are opened more often than personalized ones

Email Messaging that Gets Noticed
If you find people ignoring your emails or not responding in the way you had hoped, it’s time to take a hard look at your email message. Here are a few pointers to help you evaluate just how effective the body of your emails is:

• Keep each email focused on one point
• If you have several unrelated messages to convey send separate emails
• Check and double check for spelling errors
• Clearly state what you want them to do in your closing lines
• If the information is time sensitive be sure to give recipients a deadline
• Use a positive tone
• Use bullet points whenever possible

Finally, if you want people to respond promptly and appropriately to your email messages, be sure you do so with theirs. People will be more inclined to communicate with you if they know you will return the favor.

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