We are in an era in which we communicate more and more. And the Internet is largely responsible.
Although there are countless ways to communicate, writing is the most used in the virtual world. But if it is not of good quality, if you have many, for example, it can create some confusion.
For this reason, it is important that you know how to write an email, the most used channel in corporate media, to avoid misinterpretations.
In addition, email is an excellent channel of communication with customers.
Whether it is those who choose to receive your newsletter or those who register in one of your company’s newsletters, you are responsible for establishing good communication with everyone.
That is why we want to present you with some suggestions that will be valuable when communicating through this channel.
For example, very long and confusing texts can cause wrong interpretations and hinder your day to day life or that of your business.
To take the proper precautions, we are going to show you 13 suggestions for you to learn how to write objective and clear emails, and, who knows, decisive for you.
Shall we start?
General tips for writing an email
Like almost any communication channel, the most important thing is to understand who your interlocutor is. To be more didactic, we divide the text into:
- General tips;
- Suggestions for personal email;
- Tips for professional and sales email.
Now that we explain our methodology, we are going to introduce you to the suggestions.
1. Structure your email in advance
When writing an email, you should organize your ideas before you start.
Create the famous “beginning, middle, and end” sequence: an introduction to the subject you want to discuss, its development, and the conclusion.
Do it, first, by distributing topics of what you want to write about. So, develop a paragraph – but try to keep it short! – on each topic.
This will make it easy to detail your idea and make people understand what you want.
And if you expect a response to your email, create an opportunity or call.
For example:
- requesting a response ;
- entering a question;
- stating that you need the answer to continue the topic.
Going back to the structuring of your text, always check how it is formatted:
- use only one font and one size;
- mark in bold only what you think is worth highlighting and avoid using colors as much as possible, unless they make sense to express your idea.
- never use uppercase text.
2. Keep it short
Always remember that the people who are going to read your text surely have other things to do besides checking the input box. Therefore, be objective.
In a very long text there are more chances to deviate from the central issue. The recipient may not fully understand your purpose and you waste time having to explain what you want, once again.
If you really do have a big email to write, try using topics that succinctly explore what you need to say at each point you need to cover. Write a maximum of two paragraphs for each.
Remember that when you are responding to an email: if the person asked you something, you should reply.
Nothing to put too much information, because this can create more chances that your interlocutor does not understand the answer, or that you seem confused. Once again and to make it very clear: remember to use objectivity!
3. Write the subject after finishing the email
Since email inboxes are always full, a subject fulfills the difficult mission of standing out from the crowd and convincing the recipient to read it.
Therefore, make it direct and without room for false interpretation.
You should fill in the subject line after you finish your text. You must synthesize all the content in a sentence and make it the subject of the message.
The fact of leaving it for after writing your entire message, can lead you to leave that part blank, be careful!
Emails with blank subjects often go unread.
And pay attention to words like “urgent” and “priority”: People already understand that issues that really require more attention are dealt with by faster means, such as the phone or meetings. Therefore, it is easier to ignore messages with those words.
4. Be clear
Before you send your email, check every word. See if you have doubts with any term. In addition to being objective, you need to be clear.
That is why care with each phrase is fundamental. Especially, with the norms of the cultured language of Spanish.
Depending on the objective and the profile of the interlocutor of your email, you should forget about jargon. These are only used in very personal emails – which we will talk about later.
Avoid them at work! Be careful in messages for customers!
5. Be well mannered
Once again: always be cordial with whom you communicate by email. Avoid harsh words or words that can be interpreted as such.
And be careful with writing words in capital letters in emails, because you run the risk of thinking that you are “SCREAMING”.
If you’re writing a more formal email, don’t touch on unnecessary stuff outside of the subject line and work setting, either (like, “I saw you in such a place yesterday”).
Do not lose focus on what you want to discuss and offer clear answers when necessary.
The language you are using needs to be appropriate. Never forget the good old magic words like “excuse me”, “please” and “thank you”.
6. Save recipients for last
Composing and sending unfinished, blank emails to the wrong people…all of that can be avoided if you fill in the “recipient” field last.
Review everything you wrote, see if you have understood all the suggestions we have given so far and then yes, put all the addresses of the recipients.
This avoids having to send the classic “forget the previous email” and go through unnecessary embarrassment.
Tips for writing personal emails
As we have already said, we have to choose the way we write our emails according to who is receiving them.
When communicating with friends or family, more extroverted language is valid. See our suggestions for these cases:
7. Avoid too much formality
You can send an email to anyone nowadays. And the formality you should use in the text should be in accordance with the degree of freedom you have with the recipient.
Although you have some care with how you treat who you write, do not be too formal. Your text may seem impersonal and the person may not understand your message very well.
If you think it necessary, play with emojis, abbreviations and jargon, as long as it doesn’t harm what you want to say.
8. Be natural in the way you write
A more personal email can’t get much out of your way of communicating. Don’t worry about using words that are part of your everyday life, even if they deviate a bit from the rules of formal writing.
Don’t try to impress when you’re writing an email to a friend or relative. Use the vocabulary that you normally use in your routine.
For professional and sales emails
Here are the top tips for those who use email for business or sales.
In addition to all those that we already mentioned, there are some more specific to the topic.
They are:
9. Show formality
This suggestion is the opposite of the one we gave in topic 6. You need to be attentive to formal language and be cordial.
When greeting, make sure you treat your recipient in the best way.
Pay attention to the degree of hierarchy between you and the people involved in the email. Show respect and avoid abbreviations and jargon.
At the farewell, you should avoid taking the liberty of sending “kisses” or “big hugs” to someone who is not very close.
If you’re in doubt about what to say, use “yours sincerely” or “yours sincerely” (oh, and forget about “att”!).
10. Formalize decisions made in meetings
An email is an important document of the decisions made. Therefore, after a meeting, be sure to report everything that has been agreed upon.
Send it to all those who participated in the meeting and kindly ask them to confirm if they have received it. Even more so when you send very important attachments.
That goes for informal conversations, scheduling meetings, or fulfilling a commitment you made with someone.
11. Create a “hook” to capture the reader from the beginning of the text
Here, think of a problem that can be applied to the general public. Develop the introduction by showing that your product can help solve it or be The solution.
Other interesting ways can be to ask questions or instigate the reader’s curiosity, using words like “How, that you…?” or “Did you know how… ?” and “Did you know that… ?”.
12. Call the recipient by name
When it comes to writing an email, personalizing it is one of the most important things. You must seem close to your client, so call him by his name as many times as you think necessary. By reading his name, he will feel closer to you and create more affection for your brand.
When using automatic shots, make sure that the tool you are going to use, such as the, fills the salutation with the person’s name. This resource is already widely used and popular. That’s why nothing to forget about that and use generic greetings.
If you want to know more about this tool, Jhon explains it to you in this Tips.
13. Explain what action you expect from the reader
Your email must have a purpose. And at the end of the text is the place where you are going to make that clear: – Call To Action, as it is called in English.
It is at that moment that you should lead your reader to continue reading your content, to click on an offer, to share the message, etc.
Use your creativity in that call and show the reader how the action you propose can be important. A good CTA is the ideal trigger to increase your traffic and can even determine a sale.
And if you want to create more persuasive emails, read our.
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