The Key to Creating Effective Emails

Email is a widely used tool for business communications and the average office worker receives over 80 emails every day. Therefore, we must create effective emails to be noticed above the bunch. 

However, how can you avoid your emails from causing tension and confusion, being ignored, or sent to the spam folder? And how can you write emails that get the results you want?

Many of us are unaware that the answer to this solution is simply to have the correct content. However, this is easier said than done since the strategy can be complicated. This article looks at strategies you can use to ensure that your use of email is clear, effective, and successful.

1. Don't over communicate by email.

One of the biggest sources of stress at work is the sheer volume of emails that people receive. So, before you begin writing an email, ask yourself: "Is this really necessary?” You should even think about using the phone to deal with questions or queries that are likely to need a bit of discussion. From this you will find that your emails become more effective when you use the space and time for importance, rather than unnecessary content.

Also, email is not as secure as you might want it to be, particularly as people may forward emails without thinking to delete the conversation history. So avoid sharing sensitive or personal information in an email to avoid it being read by many other people. 

2. Plan

Having a content strategy for your emails is a great idea to pursue in order to avoid last-minute scrambles of “getting an email out”. Scheduling email campaigns ahead of time will make it easier for marketers to look at the bigger picture and produce a plan for seasonal events or promos. This way you can ensure a great deal of attention and time is put towards the email, leaving no room for accidental error. You will find that emails become more effective when they have been clearly thought out. 

If you know your audience, you can use it to your advantage by planning how to target them with all the relevant information.  

3. Find a balance

Of course, having a good plan like discussed above also means finding a balance. Every email you send doesn’t have to be promoting or selling an item. For example, if you write a company blog, you could share recent posts and offer advice on specific subjects. This will not only keep your customers interested and satisfied, but it will also connect with your customers on a personal level. Therefore, you can guarantee your recipients will open your email over all of the other mail they have. 

4. Make good use of subject lines

Your readers are constantly receiving emails during the day, so as marketers we need to keep in mind that what we deliver must not only have great content, but have an engaging subject line otherwise there is a risk it won’t capture enough attention to be opened. 

A blank subject line is more likely to be ignored or overlooked as “spam”. Using recurring capital letters and other unnecessary symbols will also increase the chance of your email not being opened. Be sure to always choose a couple of well thought out words to use for your subject line which sums up the email they are about to read. 

5. Keep messages clear and brief

Emails need to be a short as possible with brief sentences which get to the point quite quickly. The body of the email should highlight the main subject with all the relevant information, also avoiding any excess information that isn’t needed. If your email contains one paragraph full of information, you will simply lose the reader’s attention and it will be less effective for them – leaving them to ignore the information you have sent (whether important or not).

Therefore, if your email needs quite a bit of content then consider using numbered paragraphs or bullet points to form a structure to the email, rather than just typing it all out in one big chunk. This will be easier to read and your recipient can respond to each point at a time.

6. Be polite

People often believe that formality can be lost within emails, however, the messages you send are a reflection of your own professional attitude, values and attention to detail so being formal is needed. Informal language and slang can be inappropriate, although many people use emoticons and jargon with recipients they know well. 

Closing your message with “Kind Regards” or “All the best” are popular options, and it ends the email on a positive and polite note. It is always good to remember that recipients may choose to print some emails or forward them to others, so always be polite to retain your professional persona.

7. Check your tone

Sensing someone’s feelings is much easier when meeting someone in person because we can physically see it. However, through email it becomes much more difficult to distinguish their vocal tone, hence why sometimes messages can be misunderstood. Your choice of words, sentence length and punctuation are all interpreted by the reader so it is essential you phrase your words correctly to avoid any confusion.

8. Proof-read

Finally, before you hit that “send” button, take a few moments to review your email for any mistakes. Your email messages are as much a part of your professional image as the clothes you wear, so if you have spelling and punctuation mistakes in your message then it doesn’t particularly look good. 

Pay close attention to the length of your email as well to ensure all necessary information is presented in as little text as possible because people are more likely to read short and concise emails.