Tips for Writing a Professional Email: Skills Series #4

1. Frontload your message

2. Create a strong call to action

3. Consider your audience

4. Consider your secondary audience, ALWAYS

5. Be clear and concise

6. Keep it conversational and courteous

7. Be positive

8. Use action verbs

9. Use white space to your advantage

10. Use bullet points

11. Anticipate reactions

12. Proofread!
    

Emails are the bread and butter of business. Everyone uses them to communicate and sometimes a single email can change your career. Sending the report you worked on for 2 weeks? Putting yourself out there for a promotion? Asking for an extension on a project? Yeah, emails can be a little nerve-wracking to send, and it's hard to get them just right. Business is a language not all of us understand but this is the first step in breaking into business communication. I have gathered 12 tips that I know will set your email apart and help your readers grasp your full message because after all, that's what emails are all about.

The Message:

• Frontload: Put your main message in the 1st or 2nd sentence. Emails are meant to be quick and concise. Any business professional will be the first to tell you that they don't have enough time to wade through fluff when they want to get information. Be direct and state what you need to do as soon as possible in the email. (the first sentence can of course be a greeting or some introductory info).

• Call to action: Because business professionals often don't have time, they scan emails. Put your call to action in clear terms at the end. Want them to respond with information, ask a colleague a question, or mark their calendars? Tell them to do so at the end of your email, it is best when you use specific verbs.

• Consider your audience: This should be done at the beginning of your message brainstorming process. How much do they already know about the topic? How easy will they be to sway? What level of formality should I use? All of these questions can influence how much background information you include, what you spend your time on, and what wording you use. Everyone comes with their unique perspectives and emails come across very differently to different people, so make sure to read your email through your reader's eyes.

• Secondary audience: Ah, the good-old Forward, CC, and BCC buttons. We all know once something hits the internet you can't erase it, the same goes for emails. Your message can be circulated endlessly and any audience can end up seeing it. Additionally, work and school emails can be monitored by domain holders. Secrets aren't safe online, if you have extremely sensitive information, make it a phone call or a letter, not an email. And beyond that, just make sure you aren't insulting anyone or saying something you wouldn't say to the whole company.
  

The Words

• Be positive: Try to avoid using the words; no, unfortunately, afraid to inform you, etc. It's hard sometimes but focus on what CAN be done instead. Bad news is impossible to avoid so instead of dwelling on it, move on to solutions.

• Be concise: Word economics, every word needs to have meaning in your email. Remove phrases that aren't helpful and that are repetitive. There is never a need to write "Today I am writing to inform you/ask you, etc" Just jump straight into informing them or asking them. When your sentences and paragraphs are short and get to the point they are easier to read. Avoid generalizations, and explain to the reader how you can help them, not just the general population, i.e. Our events increase professional connections by 82%, vs. When asked, people who attended our events said they made 6 new connections, that could be you.

• Keep it conversational and courteous: Your overall tone should be professional but be sure to keep it relatively conversational depending on the occasion of the email. Always remember to be courteous, and have patience for who is on the other side of your email, negativity never gets you far.

• Use action verbs: We are going to start vs. we are starting. We have made an estimate vs. we estimate. AGIW is a company with great values vs. AGIW has great values. There are many benefits to reading the posts written by AGIW vs. Reading AGIW's posts has many benefits. Action verbs make your email sound more actionable and present-oriented.

The Formatting

• White space: Emails shouldn't be hard on the eyes. Include lines in between each paragraph and keep paragraphs short.

• Bullet points: If your emails are too long, they won't be read and information won't be retained. Put key information, dates, and numbers in a bulleted list to make them easier to read and scan.

The End

• Anticipate reactions: People will always have something to say about your message, identify any negative or positive reactions beforehand, and brainstorm your response so you are ready. If you can address any potential negative responses in the original email that would be ideal.

• Proofread: I can't say how many emails, Instagram posts, and even blog posts I've sent out with errors even after reading them 3 times. My best advice is to take 5 minutes away from the screen once you are done writing and when you come back with fresh eyes, read your email out loud. If you can, have a second person proofread as well so you get the best results. Don't trust spellcheck alone!

You've made it through your email BootCamp! I hope you gained some helpful insight for your next email message. Go forth with confidence to send that report, ask that tough question, or report an issue!