When we think of writing for business, we often think only of proposals, reports, tenders and letters; formal communications that require planning and filing. We are often almost cavalier in our approach to the most commonly used written touchpoint in business, the email. Some of us write and receive hundreds of emails every day, paying little attention to their preparation let alone checking them for basic spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors.
Yet email is as permanent as any other written medium we use in business. This fact has come back to haunt many a company and individual.
Email, although a form of written communication, is certainly a close cousin to verbal communication but with one big difference.
We generally write emails quickly and can get a response within seconds, just as we do with verbal communication. Speed, availability and connectivity make email very appealing in today’s 24/7 business environment. Many of us have become so relaxed with our on-line personas that we prefer to communicate from behind a PC screen rather than in face to face or telephone conversations.
However when we communicate face to face, we are able to gather and interpret non-verbal cues to make sure that we have understood the conversation correctly. Various well documented studies put the impact of these non-verbal cues anywhere between 70% and 93% on our understanding of a message.
Email, like all written communication, doesn’t enjoy the same non-verbal backup messaging system to help clarify the meaning of messages. The words used in an email are critically important. They need to be intentional, precise, and complete.
The reach and richness of information we now share in our web enabled world is exceptional. However, given the permanency of emails, we need to look at the types of information we are willing to share on the cyber-highway as well as any unintended consequences of such transparency. Some information is simply best shared face to face or in a confidential environment.
Most of us use email at home and at work. Usage is so common that it is easy to lose sight of the fact that, in a business environment, all your emails are in fact business communication. It is as if they are written on your company’s letterhead. It is your company’s image and reputation that is at risk from a casual or careless remark. The recent instance of the nonchalant internal exchanges between two BP executives in the USA well illustrates this risk.
Most of us vary our email writing style to the situation and the audience. Audience analysis can be quite complex in the email medium. Given the ease with which an email can be forwarded, an email to one recipient can actually be received by an extended audience. So it is just not the addressed recipient that you have to think about, but who else they might pass the message onto. Of course this is also one of the strengths of email. You can manipulate the content of your email to ensure that your initial contact will forward the email on to the person you actually want to reach.
You also need to look at your own voice or business title in this written exchange. In what capacity are you writing this email? Is it as an employee or a colleague? Am I the managing director, a customer, or a third party stakeholder?
The Subject Line of an email is usually the first thing we write. These few short words will determine the fate of your email so are critical to its success. Your Subject Line needs to be precise, complete, accurate and catchy. That doesn’t mean that every Subject Line has to be creative; Creativity for creativity's sake won't connect with your audience. Address specific points of relevance that capture your reader's attention with language that is simple, direct and clear. Think of the Subject Line as an editorial banner. This is not the spot to wax lyrical with complicated prose or erudite words.
Research has indicated that people best “digest” a Subject Line of 35 characters or less. As 27 to 35 characters is the maximum that appears in the normal Inbox view, sticking to this number or less ensures that your Subject Line will appear in its entirety.
The Subject Line determines if your email will be opened and when; it determines whether your email will be forwarded or saved. Poorly constructed subject lines may doom your email to a very short life span at best, and delete or spam at worst.
The Subject Line is growing in importance as more and more people open emails via hand held devices. Some recent Gartner research suggests that 70% of emails will be opened this way by 2015. Given the size of the print on these devices, recipients are really going to have to be “captured” by your Subject Line to continue to read.
This is also technically important to your email as certain words in the Subject Line will doom it to sudden death. All the major search engines automatically determine the fate of your email if certain words appear in the Subject Line.
The rules around ISP mail filtering are intentionally obscure. However basic research reveals that at least 100 words including seemingly innocent words such as amazing, compare and opportunity are no go zones along with any word that relates to sex, pornography, cures or medication. Extra punctuation marks in the Subject Line will also doom your email to “greylisting”.
B2B mail faces further challenges. Corporate mail servers are more likely to require rigid compliance with technical best-practices, including the words in your Subject Line.
Whether you write your Subject Line first or last always review it before you press Send. Double check that it really does summarise your main message and that the spelling is correct. The Subject Line has no automatic spell check so if in any doubt cut (Ctrl X) and paste (Ctrl V) into the main message to proof.
In the main body of your email include a greeting. Given the proximity of emails to verbal communication, think about how you would normally approach an interaction. Yes, email is a truncated written channel so the small talk needs to be abbreviated but a greeting is a common courtesy. Including the name of your intended recipient is not only good etiquette and a display of respect; it also presents immediate assurance that the email has reached the intended person.
Writing emails is similar to writing editorials. Use an inverted-pyramid organization for sentence and paragraph structure i.e. the most important information comes first, at the top, and above the "fold" i.e. in the first two or three lines. This is also important for mobile device readers.
For the same reason, don’t use graphics in emails. Apart from many servers not liking them (think SPAM again), they are impossible when you are trying to read emails on a mobile device.
We all suffer from email overload so keep your email content brief. People don't read emails; they scan them. An email isn’t a “thought sounding board”; it is to elicit the required response from the recipient. Messages that have several recipients in the “To” can spread responsibility too thin so if you absolutely must send an email to multiple recipients be clear about what you want each one to do. The “Reply All” function is hopelessly mis-used. Use "Reply All" only if you need "ALL" to reply back to you
Use short sentences based on the strong subject-verb-object format. Bullet points and subheadings are valuable tools to use in emails to help people understand your message more quickly. All the normal grammar, punctuation and spelling rules apply to email. Be appropriate in your use of capital letters; an email all in capitals is the equivalent of shouting.
Just as you would proof any other written material, emails need proofing. Spell check is automatic option in the main body of an email; there are no excuses for poorly spelt emails. Check the address in your "To" line to be sure it is correct
Logos and stationery are carefully selected to complement a business brand or identity. Since email is used in business situations, it should maintain that standard of presentation. Include your logo, title, and contact information in business emails.
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