How to Write an Effective Email: 13 Pro Tips for Writing Emails (2023)

Have you ever had to fuss sending an email? We also.

Writing compelling professional emails is a superpower that most professionals would love to have. Email is the most common form of professional communication, and sending the wrong email can make or break your career.

This article provides some tips you can use to improve the overall quality of your email. Once you apply these simple strategies to your writing, you can email anyone with confidence and get rid of post-send anxiety.

But first, let's talk about your goals. What purpose do you want your email to serve?

Define your email goals.

Write effective emails

How to write an effective email

1. Use a professional email address.

2. Have a catchy subject line.

3. Start with an appropriate greeting.

4. Have a strong eye-catcher.

5. Keep your message concise.

6. Be consistent with your source.

7. Check the tone of your message.

8. Write a simple conclusion.

9. Use a professional signature

10. Use the CC and BCC fields with care.

11. Schedule your emails.

12. Do a final spelling and grammar check.

13. Schedule a follow-up reminder.

Tips on writing emails for international teams

Imagine receiving the email you are writing.

Write while you speak.

Get the right email etiquette for every work situation.

Define your email goals.

Writing an email is like preparing a meal. Just like a chef must carefully select and prepare ingredients to create a delicious dish, you must choose your words carefully and organize your thoughts to craft a clear and effective email.

Before you start writing your email, it can be helpful to first define your email goals. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What goal do you want to achieve with this email?

• What are the key points you want the reader to understand?

• How can you make these points clear to your readers in a concise way?

  (Video) 8 Email Etiquette Tips - How to Write Better Emails at Work

• What is the appropriate email etiquette or tone for this recipient?

Defining these elements can help you write fast, effective, and engaging emails.

Think about the last time you received a misspelled email. You may have to read it several times to understand it. The message then starts a long chain of emails that could have been avoided if the first email had been timed correctly.

Therefore, we recommend that you first take the time to plan your communication goals. This will help you, the sender, act as a strong communicator and save the reader time.

Once you have defined your goals, you can start creating the email. Let us begin.

Write effective emails

Writing an effective email depends on many factors:

1. You have to get the recipient to open the email.
2. Your email should make the desired impression on the reader while successfully conveying the intended message.
3. It should prompt the recipient to take the desired action.

Errors at any point can jeopardize the effectiveness of the email. How can you avoid this? let's go diving

1. Use a professional email address.

The first thing the recipient sees is your email address. The first impression counts. Emailing a hiring manager with Cutiepie245@gmail.com could give them the wrong impression of you and create prejudice against you. Always make sure you are sending professional email from a professional email address.

2. Have a catchy subject line.

Subject lines can make or break the success of your email. It is often the deciding factor in whether someone opens your email.

Unfortunately, many people struggle with this part.

Check out this example.

That particular subject line (a real-life example, btw) is vague, indirect, and gives me no clue as to the content of the email.

The result? I can remove it or ignore it completely.

Here's a better option.

It's descriptive, specific, and tells me this is an introduction.

Subject lines are especially important when you're communicating with someone for the first time. The recipient doesn't know who you are and can only judge you by the subject line.

Even if you send emails internally within your company, it pays to write a good subject line so your recipient has an idea of ​​what to expect. Like any busy person, your teammates receive a lot of email every day and would certainly appreciate the extra effort of a meaningful subject line.

So how do you write agood subject line?

Be clear, direct and describe the content of your email. Don't be afraid to fill out the entire subject line. Here are some great onesSubject line examples.

• [Action Required] Monthly Marketing Meeting
• FYI/Informative
• Request for [insert here]
• [Reminder] Survey to Fill Out | It takes 2 minutes
• [Name] suggested that I contact you
• I'll be in town next Tuesday. Are you available?

When sending a promotional email, avoid misleading subject lines like:

• AGES:
• ADVANCE PAYMENT:
• Urgent
• order confirmation
• meter reading

There's no need to resort to sneaky tricks or clickbait headlines just to induce an open. They make recipients feel like they're being scammed and scammed, according to one litmus investigation. You lose trust and could end up in spam.

You want to associate positive feelings with your email, not anger and disappointment.

If you're sending promotional emails or newsletters, we recommend testing different subject lines to see what works best for your audience. This can help you fine-tune your email strategy and improve your results over time.

3. Start with an appropriate greeting.

In order to start the e-mail, you must start with an appropriate greeting. The greeting consists of two components: the greeting and the opening sentence.

The appropriate greeting really depends on the situation. If you're writing a formal email to a bank or government agency, it's best to start with "Dear [X]."

If you're emailing someone you know or working in a casual environment, it's okay to use "Hello [name]" or "Hello [name]".

There's also "To Whom It May Concern" if you're sending an email to a group email and you're not sure who will read it.

One thing to avoid is using non-gender and non-inclusive terms like "hello everyone" and "sir/ma'am/ma'am". in your greeting

To help you with that, here is a list of greetings to use in your emails.

• dear name]
• [Name]
• good morning afternoon
• Hi Team
• NO
• Hallo

Pro tip:If you're emailing someone for the first time, we recommend personalizing the email by addressing the recipient by their name. Also, include specific details about your company and be sure to introduce yourself.

It shows that you have researched and are genuinely interested. It can also help you build a relationship with them and set the tone for future interactions.

4. Have a strong eye-catcher.

Once you've removed the greeting, you're ready to start your email.

While the subject line determines whether your email was opened, your opening sentence determines whether your email was read to the end.

Author and business coach Daniel Pink recommends applying the “20 second rule” when writing emails. This means you should try to get your main point across in the first 20 seconds of the email, as most people will spend that long reading it.

If it's an introduction, you can start with something that you know will interest the recipient. You can find out by doing a little research on their social media profiles. Maybe they tweeted something interesting or recently posted something on LinkedIn for you to check out.

This will help you build rapport and show that you're not sending generic email to a group of people.

Of course, this is not necessary if you are sending an e-mail to a colleague or acquaintance. Instead, provide some sort of context so they know what's going on.

Start with a colleague with the “why”.

Nobody has the time (or patience) to guess what an email is about. The sooner you answer the "why," the faster you'll get their attention.

Short tip:If you're sending sales emails and need inspiration on exactly what to say, read onFree email templates from HubSpot. This tool gives you access to a library of built-in templates designed for each stage of the customer journey.

5. Keep your message concise.

According to a study, we send and receive around 319 billion emails worldwide every dayPolitically.

This statistic makes one thing very clear: we spend a lot of time reading email. Because of this, many people simply scroll through emails to get the gist of the message and move on to the next.

With this in mind, you want to improve the readability and searchability of your emails. This includes:

• Keep paragraphs short.
• Add bookmarks.
• Using visual aids to structure the text.
• Use formatting tools like bold or italics to draw the reader's attention to important points.
• Use active language and avoid jargon or technical terms that the reader may not be familiar with.

Nobody anxiously waits for a three-page essay to land in their inbox. Think of it this way: What is the most important thing from your email? Is there a specific action you want the recipient to take?

From there, compose your email and as you reread, make sure that every line you add helps you achieve that goal. If not, remove it.

If you have a lot of information to pack into an email, it's probably best to suggest a phone call or meet up. You can use thisfree meeting toolto schedule your meetings faster.

6. Be consistent with your source.

If I receive such an email, I either delete it immediately or assume it is a scam.

This is an example of what not to do. The email uses multiple fonts, different font sizes, and different colors. As a result, the eye doesn't know where to go and it's a bit overwhelming.

Also, the message gets lost because your recipient is too distracted with all these elements fighting for their attention.

So the rule of thumb is: stick to a single source. If you plan to use a secondary, use it sparingly. Follow the same rule for color.

If you're using a non-English keyboard, your fonts might not display correctly on the other person's device. Instead, use web-safe email sources such as:

• arial
• Post.
• Georgia.
• Helvetica.
• Lucida Sans.
• Tahoma.
• Times New Roman.
• Trebuchet MS.
• verdana

In fact, this is exactly the list that Gmail provides.

This ensures that your recipient will receive your message in a normal font regardless of their device or operating system.

7. Check the tone of your message.

Tone is an essential element of a professional email. It's always helpful to start your email on a friendly, positive note. Here are some examples:

• "Nice to meet you at [Event X]."
• "I hope you had a great weekend."
• "Thank you for your contributions today at [Meeting X]."

However, you should also avoid overusing elements like exclamation marks and emojis, which can come across as unprofessional to certain audiences. Knowing the seriousness of the content and the person you are addressing is important to set the tone of your email.

For example, you use different tones for a thank you email after a final meeting versus a status update for a colleague.

By reading your email before you send it, you can ensure that the tone of voice used is appropriate for your message and intended audience.

8. Write a simple conclusion.

Once you've finalized your email content, it's time to close it.

You don't have to dress it up, just keep your closure simple and to the point.

So none of that.

Instead, stick to the tried and tested safe closing lines and you should be good.

Below you can select some of the most common closing lines.

• carefully
• Your
• Better
• Your
• warm wishes
• Your
• good wishes
• Gracias
• Cautious

Make sure you use a strong call-to-action (CTA) to clearly convey what you want the recipient to do next. This can be scheduling a call, filling out a form, or visiting a specific website.

9. Use a professional signature

Try adding a professional signature to the end of your email. Use an email signature that states your full name, your position and the company you work for. You can add your company website and social media links.

For example, see the email signature below.

Be sure to use simple signatures if the first email turns into a long thread.

If you're emailing a colleague, you should probably skip the company website and social media. You can simplify this by saving 2-3 signature templates and using the most relevant ones in the emails you send.

10. Use the CC and BCC fields with care.

As more people are added to an email chain, it can become more complex and complicated to navigate. Remember proper etiquette when using the CC and BCC fields in an email. Here's a quick reminder:

• If you want a contact to view and reply to an email, use the CC field.
• If you're sending an email that doesn't require a reply to a large list, use the BCC field.
• You can also use BCC if you feel the recipient shouldn't participate in future conversations.

When using these fields, the most important thing to consider is their relevance for the recipient. You want to make sure the right stakeholders have the information they need without overwhelming them with email communications.

11. Schedule your emails.

A Sleep Advisor surveyfound that approximately 54% of Americans check their work email immediately or within an hour of waking up.

Another study by Litmus on the state of email engagement in the United Statessupports that. In fact, the most popular time to read email is in the morning. Opening fees start around 6am. PM, but typically peaks between 9AM and 5PM. M. and noon local time.

With this information, you can follow one of two strategies: send your email in the morning when you know they'll be up, or wait for a less busy time.

For one, there's a risk of burying your email if you send it in the morning. However, if you wait later, your email may never open.

It takes trial and error to figure out what works best when emailing your team.

If you're emailing someone in a different state or country, consider time zones. Noon could be 7:00 p.m. for you. M. for another person. So keep in mind who your recipient is and when they would be most receptive to your email.

Pro tip:You can use oursfree email scheduling toolto ensure your emails are sent at the right time.

12. Do a final spelling and grammar check.

you are almost there Don't get confused in the final sprint.

Imagine spending time crafting a perfect message, only to ignore it because the email is riddled with spelling and grammatical errors.

When you're done composing your email, copy and paste it into Microsoft Word or Google Docs for a quick grammar, wording, and spelling check.

Alternatively, you can also use free checkers such asgrammaticalto automate the drawing process.

image source

Then read the message aloud to make sure the sentences aren't too long, clunky, or robotic. Want your email copy to ring?human.

All of these tips help the reader focus on your message, not the other elements of your email.

Pro tip:Change the Undo Send option to 30 seconds. We tend to notice our mistakes seconds after the email has already been sent. Increasing the undo send time helps eliminate the possibility of sending an invalid email.

This is a default setting that you can change in all email applications. Instead of the default timeframe, you can upgrade to 30 seconds to minimize risk.

13. Schedule a follow-up reminder.

A careful follow-up email can help get your email read. Working professionals are often too busy juggling a multitude of meetings, deadlines, and commitments. It's not uncommon to forget to reply to an email promptly.

However, don't follow too soon. Unless the message is urgent, wait a few days.

Tips on writing emails for international teams

Most people won't tell you this, but creating a good email starts before you've even written a single word. It starts with your mindset.

When you're in the right frame of mind, you can write effective emails that communicate and persuade.

Sounds logical... but how do you get in the "right mood"? Well, there are two options: put yourself in the recipient's shoes and write while you speak.

More on that below.

Imagine receiving the email you are writing.

Have you ever received an email that was so wordy you couldn't even finish reading it, let alone think about replying to it? Or did it contain a completely irrelevant suggestion?

One of the biggest problems with writing an email is the lack of empathy for the recipient. Ask yourself these questions:

• Why am I emailing this person?
• Is this the right contact given what I'm trying to achieve?
• Is my message clear and direct?
• Would it be better to discuss this in a meeting?
• Does every line help or hinder my goal?

This is especially important when you're emailing someone, but it's still valuable when communicating with a colleague.

Write while you speak.

If you're not a native English speaker, it's normal to need to be more formal when writing your email.

However, this results in emails that areAlsoappearing formal and awkward or rigid. For example:

Native English speakers write more informally. Your writing sounds like one person speaking to another.

Here's a quick grammar tip that will always help you sound more native: Write aactive voiceand avoid thosepassive voice.

An "active voice" shows that a subject is performing the verb's action. Example: "Marilyn sent the letter."

In contrast, the "passive" shows that the verb is influenced by the subject. In this case "The letter was sent by Marilyn."

Instead of saying, "Your feedback is greatly appreciated," try "Your feedback would be greatly appreciated." Instead of typing "Your request has been received", try "I have received your request".

Notice how active writing sounds more human.

Writing an email is like a conversation. Just as you would consider the tone in a face-to-face conversation, you should consider the tone and style of your emails to ensure they are respectful and appropriate to the recipient.

Get the right email etiquette for every work situation

Different work situations require different types of correspondence. Yes, all other rules still apply, but every situation is different.

Let's say you've applied for a job and want to send a follow-up email after the interview. How you do that?

First, personalize the email by addressing the recipient by their first name, then express your appreciation for their time, emphasize your interest in the position, and ask about the next steps in the hiring process. For example:

Dear [interviewer name],

I hope you are having a good day. Thank you again for the interview opportunity for [position] at [company name]. It was a pleasure to meet you and the team.

I'm following to see if there's any news on [title] from my interview on [date]. I'm very excited for the opportunity. If you need more information please let me know.

Thank you again for your time and consideration. I hope to hear from you soon!

Your,

[Your name]

This scheme works very well after an interview. However, the format would change for a different request. For example, you would use a different tone when asking your boss for time off.

Be sure to familiarize yourself with the pros.Email Etiquetteto help you create the perfect message every time.

Writing an email shouldn't be daunting. If you follow these simple tips, more messages will be read. You will soon gain a reputation for being the best communicator on the job.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published in July 2018 and has been updated for completeness.