While many people understand the importance of following certain rules when writing a business letter, they often forget these six rules when composing an email message. Follow these steps before you hit “send”:
No matter how pressed for time you are, a simple “Hi, Jane,” is good etiquette and shows friendliness.
Use a subject line that accurately reflects the contents and nature of your email. This will go a long way to ensure that your message is read. For example: “Action Needed: Please approve project budget by 10/1.”
Your recipients will appreciate it if you keep your email short, sweet and to the point, and you’ll increase your chances of getting a timely reply.
Remember, sometimes it’s not what you say but how you say it. It’s much easier to convey tone in person versus in writing. Make sure your tone is polite and friendly.
If you know in advance that you can’t give an email the attention it deserves, give the sender a quick heads-up that you have received their email but haven’t had time to review it yet and will follow up shortly.
Thoroughly proofread your messages by reading them slowly and out loud if you can. Make sure your spelling and grammar are correct. Errors will make you look careless.
Remember: You speak with purpose, so take the time to write with purpose!
Learn more about writing effective emails in this blog post from Dardis Communications.