Writing effective emails

In this blog, I’ll be looking at the two main types of emails – emails for internal communication and emails used externally to develop business.

Internal emails

Research shows that, on average, an office worker sends around 40 emails a day – but receives 120 emails a day.

Fifty emails seems to be the optimum number, after which most people have difficulty keeping up.

So ‘email overload’ is the first thing that must be addressed before you can start doing anything else.

Here are some tips on how to get organised and reduce email pressure.

Only check your email at specific times

To avoid being diverted by each incoming email, you should only check your email a few times a day.

This tactic has been shown to produce far less stress than constant monitoring.

Set email rules

Teams should discuss communication guidelines. This is particularly important given the increase in remote working.

There are so many options available, including Zoom, messaging and the telephone.

Once you have agreed on the team’s usage of the different platforms, you should create a shared guidelines document.

Unsubscribe

Unsubscribe from emails that contain newsletters, promotions and non-essential advice, as these can overwhelm your inbox and bury important messages.

All you have to do is use the ‘unsubscribe link’ at the end of the message.

Inbox filters

Many email providers allow you to set up inbox filters or rules to help you categorise emails quickly and easily.

You can automatically put incoming emails into different folders, use colour coding, and prioritise your emails based on the sender.

Clear your inbox

This is a useful exercise, because when we check a crowded inbox, we end up re-reading emails over and over again.

You should act on emails as soon as you have read them.

One excellent approach is to use the ‘4 Ds’ model, where you have four options: do it, delete it, delegate it or defer it.

Each day when you’re finishing work, you should review your deferred tasks and decide whether to act on them or delete them.

Some people aim to achieve Inbox Zero – the clean slate when every email has been archived, delegated, or answered.

Writing effective internal emails

When it comes to writing emails, it will help if you follow these simple rules, which will help ensure your emails get opened and are acted on.

Don’t over-communicate

One of the biggest sources of stress at work is the volume of emails people receive.

Everyone should think carefully before sending an email.

While sending an email costs virtually nothing, the cost to the recipient, is high, in terms of time and attention.

Always ask yourself, ‘Is this email necessary?’

Consider using other channels such as instant messaging or the phone or perhaps a Zoom call – particularly if the subject is likely to need some extended discussion.

Think about subject lines

Your email’s subject line should grab attention and summarise the contents.

If your email is one of a regular series, as a weekly progress report, you can consider including the date in the subject line.

If your message needs a response, you may also want to include a call to action, such as ‘Please reply by 6 August’.

Some subject lines can deliver the message, about, say, a meeting, without the recipient having to open the email. This technique also serves as a reminder every time they check their inbox.

If you can fit your whole message into the subject line, finish with ‘EOM’ (End of Message) to let the recipient know that the subject line is the message.

 Keep messages clear and brief

Emails need to be clear and concise and should contain all the relevant information, with sentences short and to the point.

Use plenty of paragraphs and subheads to make the email look inviting and quick to read.

You should group information in easily digestible packets. For example, objectives, timelines, deadlines and costs.

If you need to cover a number of different topics, consider writing a separate email for each one.

This makes your message clearer and allows your correspondent to reply to one topic at a time – although, depending on circumstances, you could combine several, related points into one email.

Call to action (CTA)

When appropriate, your email can include a CTA in the email subject line.

This will say exactly what you need the recipient to do, and the estimated time it will take.

Keep to one email thread for the same topic

It might seem more orderly to send out separate emails for the same project whenever you have a new idea or follow-up question.

But from the recipient’s point of view, they’re missing the context from the original email thread – and multiple new emails on the same topic can clog their inboxes.

So, in general, stick to the original email chain for any given topic so everyone can refer to the same information.

Lead with the main points

When you’re emailing someone more senior, you may feel you have to explain the reason for the message at the start.

This is unnecessary as the senior person will probably just want to know what your message is so they can deal with it quickly.

Hyperlink whatever possible.

If you’re sharing a link, click Command K on Mac or Control K on Windows to hyperlink the external website or video.

This looks cleaner than a full URL and removes any chance of typos.

Deal with disorganised content

If you receive a disorganised email, you should try and summarise the sender’s main points in your reply.

This helps confirm your understanding, and the recipient will appreciate the extra effort you took to help them organise their thoughts.

Be polite

Avoid informal language, slang, jargon and inappropriate abbreviations unless you know someone really well.

Emoticons can help clarify your intent, but it’s best to use them only with people you know well.

Adding and removing recipients

There are many situations where you have to add someone into the email thread to get their input, or take someone out because their contribution is no longer needed.

A professional, easy way to do this is to add a sentence at the very top of the email clearly showing who you’ve added or taken out.

Proofread

Always review your email for spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes before hitting ‘send’.

It’s worth noting that you can change the ‘undo send’ value to 30 seconds, to give you extra time when you’ve been too hasty with the ‘send’ button.

Writing sales emails

Sales emails need to be specially constructed if they are to convert the recipient to take the action you want.

Here are some useful tips

Keep sales emails short

Long sales emails can cause prospects to delete or ignore.

The key is to write emails that are simple, clear to read and to the point.

Research shows the ideal length of a sales email is between 50 and 125 words.

Before sending a sales email, use a tool like Grammarly to check for errors.

Try viewing your email on a smartphone, since it’s very likely that it could be opened on a mobile device.

Personalise your sales emails

Research also shows that sales emails with personalised subject lines are over 25 per cent more likely to be opened.

Learn something about your prospect’s interests by checking their social media posts.

Search their company name in the news to develop other angles you can include in your email.

Get the structure right

There should be four main sections to your email:

• The subject and the first few sentences should be used to grab attention and promote benefits to the prospect.
• The Value Proposition – is the main point of your email. This should be focused on how you can solve a problem for your prospect. Where possible, include new information about your product or service.
• Testimonials: If you have positive statistics or testimonials, include them to create a more compelling argument. You can also add stories about customer successes.
• Call to Action (CTA) – where you tell the recipient exactly what you want them to do.

A strong CTA must have the following characteristics:

• Action verbs: For sites, such as online stores, strong action verbs include ‘shop’, ‘order’ or ‘buy’.
• Power words: These can generate strong emotional responses in prospects, creating a sense of excitement and urgency, making the prospect want to act on your CTA.
• Reason: Your CTA should tell your prospect what they stand to gain, whether it’s to save money, invest in a specific idea or qualify for a discount.

Break the copy up

Make your sales email as easy as possible to read. Paragraph key pieces of information and use bullet-points – they’re so much easier and quicker to read than text.

Deadlines

Studies show that including deadlines in your sales email increases response. You want to generate some sense of urgency while adding some friendly pressure to ensure the process moves forward. However, don’t make your deadline an ultimatum!

Urgency can be created by using phrases – such as, ‘download now’, ‘last chance’, ‘limited time offer’ – and should be combined with a clearly stated deadline.

Use email trackers

Email trackers can help reveal sales email effectiveness, as well giving an insight into how potential clients handle emails.

Alternatively, you can visit the MailChimp website which has a excellent research on sales email best practice, including the best time to send emails.

Combine with direct mail

You could consider sending an email to make your subscribers aware of your promotion. This could then be followed up with a direct mail campaign.

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