By following these simple rules, you’ll learn how to write an email that makes the recipient take notice says Rizwan Ahmed CPA.
Email is still one of the most effective business tools, but it must be used correctly. When executed properly, email can save time and money even as it increases productivity. When it’s done badly or sloppily enough, however, email can have just the opposite effect–wasting time and money while slowing down your business by decreasing productivity.
Here are six tips for writing an email that gets results:
1) Keep It Short and To the Point
If you’re sending a long-winded message via email instead of picking up the phone or going to see someone directly, you’re just wasting your time and other people’s.
Always try to keep your email as short as possible. If an email can’t be read in under a minute or a screenful of text, chances are it will either get ignored or forgotten about before it’s even been fully digested.
If you need to write more than one paragraph, make sure each one is very short and covers only one main point. By keeping your emails concise, you’ll increase the likelihood that the recipient will actually read them all the way through and take notice of what you’ve written.
2) Use A Clear Subject Line and Title
Make sure that whatever subject line and title you use is appropriate for the content of the email. If you try to be cute or clever, chances are your recipient won’t even open the message, let alone take notice of what’s actually written inside says Rizwan Ahmed CPA.
An email with a subject line that says “urgent” but doesn’t specify. Why should be deleted without a second thought–it’s not going to contain anything that couldn’t wait until morning anyway. Similarly, an empty title is just as useless as one that reads “hi”, so avoid both at all costs.
3) Create an Effective Introduction and Conclusion
If you’re going to make sure you get noticed by keeping your emails short and using clear titles and subject lines. It makes sense to spend a little more time thinking about how they begin and end.
Your introduction should tell the recipient why you’re emailing them. While your conclusion should sum up what’s been said in a way that makes it clear how to take action.
For example, if I’m writing an email to say “I have some information for you” or “I’ve attached your invoice”, my introduction might read: “Here are all the things I promised”. It tells the recipient exactly what they’ll find when they open their inbox. And gets away from the boring subject line of “Info” or “Invoice”.
If my introduction is too long-winded, however, like “Hope you’re having a great day! Just wanted to let you know that I’ve attached all of your invoices for May and I’ve included a PDF of my latest report”. The email is likely to go unread.
4) Don’t Be Afraid To Make a Request; Start By Saying What You Want
If you’re actually trying to get something done, now might be a good time to mention that. Especially if what you want can be neatly summarized in five or six words explains Rizwan Ahmed CPA.
Rather than saying “I need some information from you as soon as possible” (which isn’t bad. But sounds like we could both benefit from a little urgency), one might say. “Can you send me your tax estimate by the end of today?”
It’s much less wordy and still manages to make it clear why action needs to be taken and when.
5) Always Proofread
There’s nothing worse than opening an email to find out that it was written in complete gibberish. Not only is it embarrassing for you, but your recipient will probably have no idea. What the message means and why they’re meant to care.
The solution? Double-check that everything makes sense when you’ve finished writing your email before sending it off. If you can’t read what you’ve written without any confusion. Chances are good that other people won’t be able to either.
6) Don’t Email Everyone You Can Think Of Just Because You Can
Most people would prefer not to receive random emails from colleagues or contacts. Which they haven’t explicitly agreed to take messages in the first place–especially. If they contain a lot of information or ask for something says Rizwan Ahmed CPA.
If you want to send a message to a group of people, make sure that the email is related to their work. And that you know it will be appropriate for them to receive–not just convenient for you.
Conclusion:
As always, if your recipient doesn’t open or respond to your message within two weeks. Try sending it again in case there was some kind of mistake with the way it got delivered the first time around.