Phone calls cost me money (if on a mobile phone) and usually interrupt whatever I was doing. I lose my focus and it really takes me a while to get the productivity train rolling again.
This is why I love email. Emails allow the person who received it to answer it at their convenience; not yours. You also have a running history of all the emails you sent in the past. Ever try to recall the exact words you used in a phone conversation you had last week? I surely wouldn’t be able to remember.
All Emails Are Not Created Equal
Every now and then I’ll get an email that makes me cringe. For this reason, here are my top five rules for email etiquette.
- NO CAPS!
In the email world, using caps is like you are standing nose to nose with someone you wish to speak with, and screaming to them at the top of your lungs. Imagine that for a second; I’ll wait. Don’t ever use all caps. Ever.
- Use bold sparingly.
Bolding is caps ugly cousin. I don’t tend to see this very often, but for the mere fact that I have seen it will force it to be mentioned as numero dos. That doesn’t mean that bold doesn’t have it’s place, however.
You’ll only want to use bold when you want the attention of your email to be focused at a specific point. When in question, just leave bolding out of the equation.
- Watch your tone.
There are certain words that are hard to express in an email, simply because of the demeanor in which it’s normally delivered. Think of how you would say the word “obviously” in both a nice tone, and then a sarcastic one.
When the world reads your emails, realize that tone is highly subjective to the person reading it. Some may think it’s nice (usually you’re the only one), and then everyone might think you’re being a smart-alic. Be careful with your tone.
- Avoid long emails.
Short, sweet, and to the the point. There are plenty of people in this world that love to read books, but I assure you that there are plenty that don’t. Don’t assume they want to take all day to read your email.
Answer their question, and if you are trying to convert a lead; stay into curiosity. Ask another question back to entice a fruitful conversation that builds a long lasting relationship.
- Drop those snazzy email templates.
When you recieve an email with images from someone you don’t know, most likely your email software (I use Gmail) will block those images from being loaded. You explicity have to tell it to load the pictures.
If you’re working with someone that doesn’t know you (a new lead), then your email may end up without your template images; so why bother?
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4 Comments on "5 Things to Avoid When Writing Emails"
Great tips ! I think these are really great tips that one should consider while writing e-mail. I liked specillay 1st and 4th.
Nice tips for people who send hundreds of mails but don’t bother to follow these
Steve,
fantastic tips. I think you have nailed it. I would add 2 of my own, which I think people often do not think about.
- Be careful about making it look too slick. Don’t be too informal, but you really want the e-mail to have a feel that you personally wrote it for just that one person. I always recommend plain text for e-mails. Reasons are twofold. Statistics show that plain text e-mails are 2x more likely to get thru spam filters. That’s basically what you are saying for you #5. But I would add that you really need a full signature line – name, phone number address and all of that. Again, you will get thru spam filters more easily if you have your contact info. And, you probably want the person you are e-mailing to feel free to call you if it is more convenient.
- I would also recommend that you always put in a PS into your e-mail. Statistically, people real the PS more often than any other part of the e-mail except the subject. I guess people figure that you are going to put something jucy in the PS. And I think you should – if you are sending a form letter – add something personal in the PS. If there’s a call for action – that’s the place you want to put it. Do you have a pearl of wisdom? Put it there.
Scott Schmitz
RealOrganized, Inc.
Real Estate Software
PS There’s nothing that will turn people off more than a generic e-mil with a lot of people CCed or which is addressed to some generic person. Make sure you say Dear Sally…
Amazing tips. I like your tips and it’s really helpful and effective. Thanks for sharing knowledge.