Emojis became a common element in work chats and shorthand also made its way into office discussions. This relaxed communication among employees (sometimes including bosses) soon filtered into email threads.
Even so, one must remain professional in their business interactions and discussions — especially in their emails. Doing so helps avoid miscommunication and mistakes that could otherwise lead to poor representation of the organization and misunderstanding between co-workers.
With that said, here are six tips to help you write well-crafted professional emails.
Understand Your Purpose and Create an Outline
A professionally written email should be easy to understand. To do this, you must first determine the purpose of your email and the intended action you want the recipient to undertake.
Knowing the motivation of your message will guide you in creating the outline of your email, which you can also use as a template for future messages with similar purposes. Having an outline will help you organize your thoughts and deliver your message more effectively.
Here are the questions you need to answer when creating an outline of your email:
Who is the email for?
What are the purpose and end goal of your email?
What are the main points?
What will prompt the receiver to take action after reading your message?
Do you need to add attachments, images, or hyperlinks?
How do you want the receiver to respond or act (i.e. what is your call-to-action)?
How you greet your recipient sets the tone of your email and affects their impression of you. Ensure that their name is spelled correctly and you use the appropriate salutation.
It’s best to use expressions such as a “Hi” or “Hello” compared to the usual “Dear Sir” or “Dear Madam” greetings. The former is casual yet somewhat professional, making it the ideal choice if you’re unsure who the recipient is or if you want the tone of your email to appear more friendly.
If you use “Hi” or “Hello” followed by their name, it shows that you know who your prospect is. This is important if you’re sending a cold email as part of your marketing campaign.
Avoid using informal expressions like “Hey” or just the name of the receiver if your email is meant for someone in a significant position. You should also steer clear of using their professional role unless necessary.
Go Straight to the Point
Business emails must be concise while covering all the information the recipient needs to know. A short yet informative email is easy to skim through, making it easier for the receiver to respond quickly.
A 2016 Boomerang study found that the ideal word count for an effective email should be between 50 to 125 words. This parameter is short enough to keep your recipient’s attention but long enough that it contains the information you’ll need to convey.
To do so, you can forgo niceties and go straight to the point of what you want to say. You should also follow the outline you created to ensure you’re covering all the bases of your message.
It can be difficult to express the right tone in an email, which could lead to misunderstandings between you and your recipient. One way to prevent this is to think carefully about the words you use and how the receiver would interpret them.
Avoid terms that seem rude, sarcastic, or condescending since your choice of words might convey these tones even if you don’t mean it. You should also never use words that feel isolating or have you come off as unsure of your knowledge about the business.
Aside from maintaining a professional tone, another thing to keep in mind is to frame your email positively. That means avoiding negative phrases and using positive ones in their place. This will result in a favorable response and action from the recipient.
Add a Call to Action and Use the Right Sign-off
If your greeting sets the tone of your email, the last lines ensure a proper closure to your message. It’s where you can tell the recipient what to do next — whether that’s to send you a reply or visit a webpage — and to finalize the overall mood.
This closing body can be made up of one to two sentences that summarize the purpose of your email. With that said, these last lines should be persuasive and emphasize the significance of performing a specific action.
Additionally, you should also use the correct sign-off. “Best,” “Regards,” and “Sincerely” are the standard sign-offs that everyone uses to end their emails. If you want to come off as friendly, you can use other sign-offs such as “Cheers” and “All the Best” to convey this tone.
No matter how good you are at writing emails, you will occasionally make mistakes. That’s why it’s important to proofread your work at least two times to ensure proper grammar and punctuation. Doing so will also help you catch and correct any typographical errors.
What’s more, proofreading your email allows you to uphold clarity and accuracy in your message, making it easier for the recipient to understand. If you’re attaching a file or link, reading through your online correspondence before sending it out ensures you have included it or that you’ve attached the correct document.
Importance of Email Etiquette
How you interact with other people greatly affects your relationship with them, and this stays true in business communication. That’s why it’s important to maintain a level of professionalism when communicating at work.
Following the tips written above will help you achieve that image while nurturing your connection with both your clients and the people you work with.
