Writing Effective E-Mails

Tip 1: Make the Subject Line clear and concise

When someone scans through a new email, the only thing he/she initially reads is the subject line. This helps the recipient to decide whether to open, forward, file, or trash a message. So make sure:The Subject clearly summarizes your e-mails intentions. Keep it short - you never know how wide the text display on the person's email reader is - long subject lines will get truncated. Don't ever send an email with an empty subject line. Don't have the subject as "Hi" or "Hello there" unless the purpose of your email is to simply say hello.

Tip 2: Use an appropriate greeting

The first line of your email should be a greeting, followed by an empty line and then your message body. If it is the first time you are emailing somebody, "Hi (name)," should be preferred. Using "Dear (name)," is too stuffy and awkward. Salutations are tricky, especially if you are crossing cultures. Frequently, titles are different for men and women, and you may not be able to tell which you are addressing. The family name is first in some cultures and last in others. Make sure you have got all this right before you proceed with the email. E.g.: It is safer to use "Ms." instead of "Miss" or "Mrs." unless you know the preference of the woman in question.

Tip 3: The Page Layout

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Usually people find it hard to read words on a computer screen than on paper. To make your email easy to read :Use Shorter Paragraphs - Consider breaking up paragraphs to only a few sentences a piece. That way the readers can easily see new paragraphs as they end and begin. They don't have to scroll. Use Less Words - Long sentences are not appropriate for most email, especially business e-mail. Keep your sentences to a maximum of 12-15 words. Keep it Short - A good rule of thumb is to keep everything on one "page" or one "screen." In most cases this means about 20-30 lines. Provide blank lines between each paragraph.

Tip 4: Formatting

Put all important details at the top of the email body (or even better, in the Subject line). Don't bury a key piece of information in a large paragraph and expect a busy person to extract it upon first reading. The larger the paragraph (and the more paragraphs there are), the more likely are the chances of the reader missing a particular point you are trying to make.

Keep the rest of the email short (8 sentences max.). After you've made your main point, the rest of the sentences in your email should provide additional supporting information.

Your goal is to have the person read your email and hopefully respond to it within a short time period, so keep your e-mail as short as possible to make it easier for your reader to comprehend.

Tip 5: Keep the message focused and readable.

Often recipients only read partway through a long message, hit "reply" as soon as they have something to contribute, and forget to keep reading. This is part of human nature. If your e-mail contains multiple messages that are only loosely related, in order to avoid the risk that your reader will reply only to the first item that grabs his or her fancy, you could number your points to ensure they are all read. The final sentence - Either provide something concrete to reply to or make it clear that a reply is not necessary. E.g.: "Please let me know what appointment times work best for you." or "I look forward to seeing you tomorrow at 1pm in my office."

Tip 6: Use Appropriate Language

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Do not use:(a) Smilies. E.g.: :-), :-( etc. (b) Abbreviations. E.g.: BTW for by the way, LOL for "laughing out loud," etc. (c) Non-standard punctuation and spellings (like that found in instant messaging or chat rooms). E.g.: gimme (give me), tht (that), dificlt (difficult), vil (will), etc.

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All-caps means shouting. Regardless of your intentions, people will interpret this as your being aggressive. Use active instead of passive. Try to use the active voice of a verb wherever possible. For instance, 'We will take care of your request today', sounds better than 'Your request will be taken care of today'.

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Tip 7: Proof-read

If you are sending a message that will be read by a client, or someone higher up on the chain of command (a superior or a manager, for instance), or if you're about to mass-mail dozens or thousands of people, take an extra minute or two before you hit "send". Poor spelling and grammar show a lack of attention to detail and sends the wrong message about yourself and how you do business. By reading your e-mail over before you send it you can catch and correct all sorts of mistakes before they get to the recipient and possibly create a bad impression . Spell checker won't catch every mistake, at the very least it will catch a few typos.

Tip 8: Use the "To:" and "Cc:" fields appropriately

Usually it is implied that if you have included someone in the "To:" field, then he/she is an intended recipient and should reply if required.

If someone is in the "Cc:" field, then the email is merely an FYI ('for your information') for him/her, and he/she is not expected to reply.
If you want a particular person to reply to a specific part of your email, make that clear (e.g., "Sarah, could you forward me last week's budget?"), or if you want everyone to reply, you can say something like "I would appreciate everyone's feedback about my ideas." When an email has more than one recipient, there is the danger of nobody replying because everyone thinks that someone else has already replied. That is why "Reply to All" might be a good idea to show that you have already replied so that somebody else does not later duplicate the information you have just provided.

 DOs

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Write an informative subject line. Be courteous. Put the key point of your message up front. Be brief. Make it easy for the reader to reply yes or no or give a short answer. End well with an appropriate next step. Wait and check before pressing 'send' Proof-read. Make yourself look good online because your email can be forwarded to anyone or everyone else in the company or anywhere. Respond promptly.

 DONT

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Don't leave the Subject Line blank. Don't use all capital letters. Don't use emoticons or abbreviations. Don't send without checking for mistakes. Dont assume that people have time to read your entire message. Dont think that an e-mail is good for everything. Dont write an e-mail when you are rushed.

Thank You