8 Ways To Write More Effective Emails

Writing effective emails is easier said than done. With the average office worker receiving a flood of emails every day, knowing how to write powerful emails is essential to being a productive communicator. Emails that are engaging and professional are more likely to be read and responded to. 

If you want to hone your email communication skills, pay attention to these eight ways to turn your good emails into great emails.

Proofreading is taken for granted. We've all been guilty of sending emails with errors, typos or confusing language. Oftentimes using a spell checker alone doesn't cut it; you could've left out words or used the wrong words. Taking the time to reread and edit your emails before you hit send avoids confusion.

There's nothing worse than an email that causes several more emails because of missed words or typos. These mistakes can undercut your message. 

For example, if you send a congratulatory email to a colleague that says, "Congrads on your new pormotion!" your colleague may appreciate the sentiment. But if they notice the typos, it takes away from what you're trying to convey.

Depending on your relationship with them, it could give them the impression that you don’t care enough about their promotion to edit what you're saying.

Before sending your email, you need a catchy title that makes people want to read it. Subject lines are often an afterthought but making good use of them could mean your email is opened sooner.

You should use a subject line that wraps up the goal of the email and also draws the reader in. Putting a little thought behind the title of your email sets the tone for what's to come.

After you've delivered your message, consider including a call to action. A call to action tells the reader what to do next. In a marketing email, you may see a link that says something like "Start saving today" or "Order now."

While professional communication shouldn't be this pushy, it does give your reader direction. A call to action that says "Please reply by the end of the day" conveys urgency. If it's less urgent, you can say "Please follow up with me by next week."

Along with calling the reader to action, setting a deadline gives the reader a timeline.

Conveying the right tone of voice is a huge skill. When you're composing a professional email, you need to shape the tone to fit your audience.

Make your emails direct by leading with verbs. Trim down sentences to make them pop. Avoid using phrases like "I think we should do this..." and just say "We should do this..." Remember that your opinion is important and directness, especially in business emails, is often valued.

You need to balance directness with humanity, however. If you're too direct, it can be read as aggressive and off-putting. This is not an effective way to communicate, because while you'll get your point across, you're doing it in a negative way. Emails with an aggressive tone do not motivate the recipient.

For example, these two emails communicate the same thing, but which one is more effective?

Team,

Turn this quickly and do it right. A lot is riding on this project and I cannot afford a slip-up.

-Ron

OR

Hey team,

We’ve had tight deadlines before and we deliver. I know this is a big ask but I also know we’ll land it.

-Ron

The first email has a demanding and condescending tone. The second one still communicates the importance of delivering on the project, but in a motivating and uniting way.

Along with tone, use proper email etiquette. This means using such pleasantries as a brief introduction and a salutation or signoff.

For professional emails, this also means avoiding emojis/emoticons, all-caps statements, memes and using too many exclamation points. You want your colleagues, leaders and other teams to take you seriously, which means using the right email etiquette.

That doesn't mean all your workplace communication needs to be stiff and serious. Especially in work-from-home situations without a lot of face-to-face interaction, GIFs and emojis portray your personality.

But, you should keep them to chats and lighthearted communication, and not use them in important emails.

Make use of bullet points to get your major points across. Instead of a dense paragraph, use bullet points to pull out the information, making it easier for the reader to digest.

Drawing out these essential points also makes your email more direct. Bullet points are a great tool to organize your thoughts.

When using bullet points, keep in mind the power of three. This is the concept that using three points is the best way to convey a message. Three points feels more complete and thoughtful than two points.

Once you get above three, the information is less easy to understand and retain. Keeping your bullets to three key points will help you land the information. Extra points can be covered at a later date.

Like bullet points, formatting your email with paragraph breaks makes it easier to read. Try adding in an empty line every two to three sentences, as well as leaving a singular sentence to send a point.

Space makes your writing less daunting than a block of text. It allows the reader's eyes to move down the screen more quickly, digesting your email in less time.

No one likes opening an email that’s full of lengthy sentences and jargon, especially if you're buried with dozens of other emails. Take the time to cut down what you're saying to the core takeaways. When writing the email, set a goal. With a goal, you can get into the email, state your points and wrap it up.

Keep your audience in mind to prevent confusion. You do not want to use terms or acronyms that people are unfamiliar with. If you're writing to people on different teams with different specialties, or new team members or interns, convey your message simply and concisely.

If you send out a recurring email update covering specific topics, build a template for yourself. Even a simple outline can help you create these emails in less time.

Tweak the template to make it more engaging, including images and graphs that back up the information you're presenting. Establishing a template that you send on a frequent basis creates continuity.

Readers will recognize the email from its formatting and layout. A well-designed template will also help you build your brand internally, meaning, you'll stand out in a large company.

Honing your writing skills is key to writing effective emails. Send emails that are clear, motivating and professional. Proofread your writing, check your tone of voice and format your writing to make it easier to read.

With a little thought and effort, your emails will be more effective, making them more likely to be read and responded to.