9 Tips To Help You Write More Powerful Emails

Home
>
Email Marketing
>
9 Tips To Help You Write More Powerful Emails

9 Tips To Help You Write More Powerful Emails

1. Make the effort to learn about the etiquette (these days known as "netiquette") involved in writing emails. There are loads of good reference websites and books about the internet which will tell you the basics. I know it might seem a bit precious to attach so much importance to social niceties when the internet is basically very informal. However, whether we like it or not many people do take online etiquette very seriously. So if you're writing emails for business, you should assume that your recipient may well be one of those...

2. Never send and preferably don't even try to write an email if you're angry, upset, drunk, or otherwise not in total control. If you have a heated conversation with someone on the telephone you can sometimes fudge things over. But with emails, once you hit "send" whatever you've written is there, carved in tablets of stone, for as long as the recipient wants to glare at it. The old adage about "counting to ten" before responding couldn't be more true here. Only send angry emails if you can handle, or really don't care about, the recipient's resultant feelings!

3. One thing that you may not think of is that it can be useful to consider carefully the time you send your emails. To begin with it's always a good idea to avoid sending emails that coincide with the Monday morning rush and Friday afternoon lethargy. In addition, I've occasionally found that emails sent to companies over the weekend end up getting lost in cyberspace. And on a rather more subtle level, if your recipients see that you're sending emails on a Sunday morning or late at night, they may feel they can interrupt you for a business talk at the same times. Although you may think it's cool to impress a client that you work all hours, your partner won't when the same client calls you on the phone at midnight.

4. Because almost everyone at some time or another has been infected with a computer virus, people are understandably wary of attachments. I never send attachments to anyone I don't know very well, and equally never open attachments unless they're from people I know well. And then, some contemporary viruses and worms clone themselves on to genuine email names and addresses, so even an email purporting to be from someone you know might just be infected. When in doubt append text to the body of your email message, or contact the recipient beforehand and make sure they're happy to receive it as an attachment.

5. Layout of emails is something few people pay attention to, especially if (like me) their system uses text only. However even with simple text a sensible layout can make the whole thing more readable. Above all, you should avoid writing emails that sprawl all the way across the screen. Those are very hard to read and to be able to see everything properly as text, your reader may have to fiddle about changing fonts. The safest format to use consists of lines no more than 65 characters long. That fits, works everywhere and makes the email much easier on the eye.

6. Your subject line should focus on what's in it for the reader so it grabs their attention. You'll find that the best way to do that is to include some sort of benefit. For example, if you're writing an email about a downwardly-revised project budget, instead of saying "Project X -- revised costs" say "Project X -- costs reduced by XX%"). If there isn't a genuine benefit to use, try to make it interesting and intriguing anyway. Also, avoid the words most hated by spam filters like "free," "subscribe," etc.

7. Online writing has to be kept concise and clear, largely because the screen is a particularly unfriendly reading medium for most people's eyes. If only for that reason the KISS principle (Keep It Short & Simple) is useful. With emails you need to get straight to the point and keep to it. Someone who receives dozens of emails per day doesn't have time to wade through a lot of preamble. By making your point concisely you'll stand the greatest possible chance of avoiding the undignified fate of being deleted.

8. As far as writing style is concerned, here more than with any other medium it's very, very helpful to write as people speak. In addition, it will make your email clearer and more concise if you leave out all but essential adjectives and adverbs. Keep your sentences short, and only ever include one main idea or thought per sentence. Paragraphs shouldn't consist of more than 6 sentences max -- fewer if possible. And if you list more than a couple of items, use bullet points.

9. If you write emails for business, make good use of the signature facility that goes after your name. It's surprising just how many people fail to use that facility properly - yet it's an excellent opportunity for you to put across a few words of promotion. Because the email signature appears at the end, your recipients are not likely to be irritated by it. In fact provided that it contains useful contact information it will be seen as a helpful addition to your message. And even if your email is text only you can still make it look reasonably smart.

Canadian-born Suzan St Maur is an international business writer and author based in the United Kingdom. In addition to her consultancy work for clients in Europe, the USA, Canada and Australia, she contributes articles to more than 150 business websites and publications worldwide, and has written eleven published books. Her latest eBooks, "The MAMBA Way To Make Your Words Sell" and "Get Yourself Published" and available as PDF downloads from BookShaker.com.

T o subscribe to her free biweekly business writing tips eZine, TIPZ from SUZE, click here.

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Geithner likely treasury pick; Clinton 'on track' (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama intends to name Timothy Geithner, president of the New York Federal Reserve, as his treasury secretary to confront the nation's intense economic turmoil, senior Democratic officials said Friday.

Obama keeps low profile in auto rescue talks (AP)

AP - While President-elect Barack Obama publicly sidelined himself during congressional debate over an auto industry bailout this week, he and his top aides quietly prodded congressional leaders to find a solution to rescue struggling automakers.

Neb. lawmakers OK age limit for safe-haven law (AP)

AP - Gov. Dave Heineman signed into law Friday a bill adding a 30-day age limit to a safe-haven law that allowed 35 children including teenagers as old as 17 to be abandoned at state hospitals. The law, approved hours earlier by the Legislature in a 45-3 vote, goes into effect Saturday, and makes Nebraska the 14th state with a 30-day age cap. It had been the only state with a safe-haven law without an age limit.

Germany drops attempt to ban Scientology (AP)

AP - Germany is dropping its pursuit of a ban on Scientology after finding insufficient evidence of illegal activity, security officials said Friday.

Gates would like to add US forces in Afghanistan (AP)

AP - Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday he would like to add significant U.S. forces to the war in Afghanistan before national elections scheduled for next year, and that grim depictions of backsliding in the seven-year-old war are "far too pessimistic."

Fla. teen commits suicide with live Web audience (AP)

AP - A college student committed suicide by taking a drug overdose in front of a live webcam as some computer users egged him on, others tried to talk him out of it, and another messaged OMG in horror when it became clear it was no joke. Some watchers contacted the Web site to notify police, but by the time officers entered Abraham Biggs' home a scene also captured on the Internet it was too late.

Year later, baby ordered back to adoptive parents (AP)

AP - The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday ordered a year-old boy back into the home of an adoptive couple who had to give him up months ago after not telling the biological family the woman was pregnant.

Lavish 1,800 year-old bronze chariot unearthed in Bulgaria (AP)

AP - Archaeologists have unearthed an elaborately decorated 1,800-year-old chariot sheathed in bronze at an ancient Thracian tomb in southeastern Bulgaria, the head of the excavation said Friday. "The lavishly ornamented four-wheel chariot dates back to the end of the second century A.D.," Veselin Ignatov told The Associated Press in a telephone interview from the site, near the southeastern village of Karanovo.

Suspect arrested for greasy imprints in Neb. town (AP)

AP - Police have arrested a man suspected of leaving greasy, graphic imprints on the windows of stores, churches and schools in a small Nebraska town. A 35-year-old man was caught in the act by police early Wednesday morning, Cherry County Attorney Eric Scott said Friday. The man hasn't been charged yet, but authorities believe he is the vandal some townsfolk have dubbed the "Butt Bandit."

Knicks set themselves up for 2010 with 2 deals (AP)

AP - The New York Knicks traded Zach Randolph and Jamal Crawford in separate deals Friday, parting with their two top scorers to free up coveted salary-cap space for the summer of 2010. Crawford was sent to Golden State for forward Al Harrington. Hours later, Randolph was shipped to the Los Angeles Clippers along with reserve guard Mardy Collins for Cuttino Mobley and Tim Thomas.

Obama moves to pick Timothy Geithner for Treasury (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama on Friday moved toward nominating Timothy Geithner as Treasury secretary and charging the respected head of the New York Federal Reserve with helping pull the United States out of an economic nosedive.

Obama may consider Lawrence Summers as Fed chief: Democrat (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama may consider Lawrence Summers as a successor to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, whose term expires in January 2010, a Democratic source told Reuters on Friday.

Citigroup talking to govt as shares dive: source (Reuters)

Reuters - Citigroup Inc has begun talks with the U.S. government as its plummeting share price raises doubts about the bank's ability to survive, a person familiar with the matter said.

GM cuts output, jets as U.S. demands turnaround plans (Reuters)

Reuters - Detroit automakers began work on turnaround plans demanded by Congress in return for $25 billion in aid as General Motors Corp said it would cut production more and give up two of its controversial corporate jets.

Wall Street stages late rally on Geithner news (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. stocks stormed higher in a late rally on Friday to cap another volatile week as investors welcomed reports that President-elect Barack Obama has chosen his point person to combat the U.S. economic crisis, instilling confidence about the administration's ability to take action.

U.S. eyes "surge" of over 20,000 for Afghanistan (Reuters)

Reuters - The Pentagon is considering a plan to send more than 20,000 troops to Afghanistan over the next 12 to 18 months to help safeguard elections and quell rising Taliban violence, officials said on Friday.

Bush, Hu discuss North Korea ahead of APEC summit (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. President George W. Bush held talks on ending North Korea's nuclear program with Chinese leader Hu Jintao on Friday, the first in a series of meetings U.S. officials hope will lead to a renewal of six-party talks by early December.

Iran rejects U.S. reports it has basis for atom bomb (Reuters)

Reuters - Iran rejected Friday U.S. reports it had enriched enough uranium to make an atom bomb, saying this would require steps it had ruled out like ejecting U.N. inspectors and leaving the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Bush bows out, China assertive at APEC summit (AFP)

AFP - US President George W. Bush began Friday his last scheduled foreign trip, meeting the leader of increasingly important China ahead of a summit aimed at containing a spiraling financial crisis.

Congo demands stronger mandate for UN troops (AFP)

AFP - Congo demanded a stronger mandate for UN troops in the conflict-torn east Friday, while residents of a squalid refugee camp said government soldiers killed a woman during a looting spree.

9 Tips To Help You Write More Powerful Emails

Email Marketing Email Marketing