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A real time mode of communication, email beats snail mail hollow in delivering messages speedily. Emails are less expensive to send too, which is a major advantage. However, the ease of sending emails tends to lead to overflowing inboxes, which in turn usually limits responses to “expected” or “outstanding” communication. Here are some tips to help write emails that stand out, and get replied to:
1. Don’t leave out the essential ingredients
Email has become the accepted mode for official communication. It enhances communication without taking away from it. So Naina Rastogi Siwach, General Manager, Madison Public Relations, says, “Effective emails have all the ingredients of official letters: a subject, a formal greeting, a focused message and an appropriate signature.”
2. Make a good first impression with a clear subject
The sender’s name and subject of an email are the first things to come to the recipient’s notice. Of these two, the subject has great potential to attract the receiver’s interest.
“A good subject is brief—at most four to five words—and clearly conveys what the email body is about. Avoid writing complete sentences in the subject line,” suggests Rahul Mehra, CEO, AWL India.
Sometimes, the conversation changes in the space of a single mail trail. A good communicator would amend the subject to reflect the new topic.
3. Be brief
Brevity and clarity are the keys to an effective email—“more so nowadays when execs check mails on their smartphones,” opines Mehra.
Clarity implies letting the recipient know what action to take or if the message is just informative (FYI),” says Deepak Shetty, Senior Director, HR, Philips Innovation Campus, Bengaluru.
Best, use bullet points to spell out the message.
If the email is justifiably long, Mehra suggests starting with a summary to help the recipient decide whether to continue to read or mark the mail for later reading.
Attachments are best avoided as they entail extra work and bandwidth. Hyperlinks are more convenient and email-size friendly.
4. Address the email accurately
Address the email (To) to the person expected to act on the message. Use CC and BCC judiciously and appropriately.
“Mark others on the email only if they really need to know,” says Shetty.
Remember, everyone’s responsibility is nobody’s responsibility. Incorrectly addressing an email can cause stress for everyone involved and delay a response, cautions Mehra.
5. Mind your language
Keep it formal. Abbreviations and emojis are informal; they have no place in business correspondence. Also, there is no replacement to good language. Check your spelling and grammar.
6. Write in good time
Emails that follow up a meeting or are sent in response to incoming communication have value only if they ensue promptly.
“It is a good practice to reply messages within 24 hours, unless you are on leave. Messages marked urgent should be replied immediately,” says Shetty.
“It is a good practice to acknowledge incoming emails,” adds Rastogi Siwach. If responding with the details requested is likely to take time, give the sender an approximate timeline to hear back from you.
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