In a world where everything happens so fast, it can be easy to overlook simple steps that make written emails effective. To make the most of any email platform and to deliver engaging communications, you should consider these “Ten Ways to Write Better Emails.“
1. Know Your Goals.
If you are sending out an email about an organization’s fundraising needs, you would not be also talking to readers about the staff retreat that just happened. If you are trying to communicate to readers that your 2019 pick-up trucks are going on sale, you would not want to mention that you also will be getting in a new line of SUVs the following week. Any email that is worth reading and that produces results is accomplished by remaining focused on goals.
2. Know Your Audience.
In order for your email to get the results you need, audience segmentation is super important. You don’t need to send every email to every person in your contacts list or database. Understanding exactly who you need to communicate to and about what needs to be communicated will help you make your email writing become more effective. Audience targeting will help you with calls to action, and will also help you not send too many emails. Audience identification is key.
3. Ensure An Email Is Needed.
There may be times that an email isn’t necessary. Sometimes an in-person conversation, phone call or text message will suffice. Way until the team meeting to discuss it. Too many emails can bother recipients. Make sure that anytime you send an email; the email will serve to do something that other forms of communication could not accomplish.
4. Ask for Input.
It is always a good idea to ask for input with both personal and work emails. If you are sending out an email reminder about the class reunion, ask the event organizer if they have anything that needs to be included. When you put together a work email, ask members of your team and team members in other departments if there is anything that they believe needs to be included. Don’t bog yourself down trying to get everyone’s input, but take time to make sure your communications reflect everything that needs to be included.
5. Make An Outline.
Before you start typing away, make sure that you have a detailed outline of everything that needs to be placed in your email. Failure to do so could result in your forgetting to include pertinent information. Your outline should be detailed enough to make sure all points are covered, but not so dense that originality and personality do not get conveyed.
6. Use Compelling, Trusted Information.
When you can, always insert into an email any valuable resources or compelling data and statistics. This will help make your email even more credible. Don’t just mention how nice the hotel will be for the family reunion. Insert a hyperlink that directs your family members to photos of the property. If putting together a call to action email at work make sure that you include reasoning for action. Back up that reasoning with information that reinforces the importance of your ask.
7. Go with Graphics, Photos and Videos.
Graphics, photos and videos do many things for an email. First, they break the email up, so that it is not just copy. They also create impressions that are harder for an audience to forget. Graphics, photos and videos can be used to reinforce credibility, spark certain emotions and motivate your audience to take actions. Rely on images to bring any email to life!
8. Create A Draft.
Before you hit that send button, do a draft first. Take the time to make sure that images appear as they should appear, copy is not formatted poorly, grammar and spelling is correct and that details aren’t missing. Send out a test draft email to colleagues, family or friends or even to just yourself. You will be happy that you did. Read the draft aloud, as you view it to make sure it is perfect. If you have to read something more than once, you likely need to edit it.
9. Put Some Eyes on Editing.
It is always important to get someone other than yourself to edit your emails. Just because it sounds great to you does not mean it will always sound great to your audience. Also, chances are if you have read the email several times during the creation of it, you may be tired of viewing it just before you send it. Lean on the advice of others and ask them to give their honest feedback. Don’t take critiques and edits as an indicator of your talent. An extra set of eyes and an openness to edits will help you immensely.
10. Send It at the Perfect Time.
When you send an email, timing is very important. You wouldn’t send a fundraising email on the 8th of the month, when you know that people get paid on the 1st and the 15th. Timing is critical for any good email. It is not just the time of the month, but also the time of day that matters. Many C-level executives go through their inbox before their administrative assistant arrives to work. To nab that in person sales meeting with the company’s CEO, have that email delivered to their inbox before 8 AM. Email platforms will allow you to pick an exact time for an email to be delivered.
The ten aforementioned tips will help anyone write better emails. We hope that you will take the time to implement these ten easy steps into all of of your email communications. While this list is not exclusive, it will most definitely help you write better emails. Happy writing!