Because I conduct the majority of my business on the Internet, the majority of my business communication is through e-mail. I do use instant messengers from time to time, but phone calls and in-person meetings aren’t terribly common for me. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot about how to use email in the most effective and efficient manner possible, taking into considering the different communication preferences that different clients may have.
Some people prefer the shortest and most succinct email messages possible, whereas others would prefer for you to be as in-depth as possible with your explanations. Either way, the five tips listed below still apply and they should be useful for both service providers (like freelance writers) and clients. And these are in addition to some of the handy Gmail tricks you may already be using.
1. Use a Descriptive Subject
Most of us get bombarded with dozens of email messages each and every day. We need to be able to skim through the inbox and already have an idea of what we’re about to read. This becomes even more important as messages get archived, because I might need to refer to an earlier email for details about a project. I’ll have a really hard time finding that if the subjects are something like “Hey Michael.”
2. Start a New Thread for New Topics
This goes hand-in-hand with the first tip. We may have started one conversation about “writing for a lifestyle blog,” but what if you’re interested in hiring me for an entirely different project too? Instead of simply continuing that thread and changing the topic, start a new thread for a new topic. This tip is mostly for users of Gmail and other email clients that “thread” conversations, but you should keep this in mind even if your email client doesn’t do that.
3. Reply in a Timely Fashion
There is a certain type of immediacy that comes with phone calls, text messages, and instant messages. They happen in “real time,” as it were, so people expect you to get these forms of communication instantly. That’s not necessarily the case with email, but the sender doesn’t want to think that the message got lost either. That’s why you should be prompt with your email. Even if you don’t have a full response, acknowledge that you’ve received the message and will act accordingly when you have the time.
4. Format for Skimming if Possible
As mentioned above, some people prefer more succinct messages whereas others prefer more detailed messages. Even in the case of the latter, you should avoid having an endless body of text. At the very least, break it up into logical paragraphs and, if appropriate, use bullet points or defined sections. This is really not that different from composing a blog post like this one. See how I used the headers?
5. Complete Your Email Signature
When someone receives an email message from you, he or she has necessarily captured your email address. Even so, they may not necessarily remember your company, your title, or your relationship to them. They may not remember your other contact information either, like your phone number, Twitter handle or website.
While an excessively lengthy signature isn’t a good idea, your email signature should be reasonably complete. This is particularly useful if you use other email addresses in Gmail, because you can define a different signature for each of those accounts.
Do you have any business email tips that you’d like to share? Feel free to comment below with your ideas.
Great explanation! Surely I will try it out.
one of the things i can’t stand is when people (particularly young people) write in all lower case. and then start injecting net-lingo text shorthand to add injury to insult. bbl jk! lmao
When I receive a correspondence from an office (junior) or someone looking for employment, I have to admit, I immediately know what I’m dealing with. I can assure you, that’s not a good thing. Maybe I’m showing my age by frowning on this literary trent, but so are you.
The other typical issue I come across is the lack of “re-reading” what you have just written. So many people write with the assumption that the entire world can hear that little voice in “their” head. Too often, parts of the conversation are omitted because they heard the words but neglected to type them. Take a second and read what you have typed. I can assure you, whatever your internal dialogue is, we’re not listening! Make your message clear, concise and complete your….
Put these two endearing attributes together and it’s 2M2H!! LOL ^5
There is a place for proper writing etiquette and a place for fun… be smart when you are expected to be!
(I know this doesn’t apply to the followers of Michael’s blog, but I did want to share.)
“bbl jk” and “2M2H” are completely alien to me. What’s their meaning?
Apparently…
Be Back Later – bbl
Just Kidding – jk
To Much To Handle – 2M2H
and the ^5 is a “High Five”
Apparently… As I laugh to myself loudly!
I’m 24 and I must admin that I do not understand some slang used by 17-20 year old guys.
Anyway on email I’ve always used formal style, especially during college years
As a relatively young person, this bothers me, too.
All lower case, using the wrong homophone of “there” or “its”, and the overuse of acronyms. Even when I’m in an informal setting, like social media or IMing with friends, I try to use the correct homophone, even if I use acronyms like “brb” or “lol”, and don’t always capitalise the start of short sentences (I do try to capitalise “I” correctly, and if it’s a multi-sentence comment then I will capitalise correctly).
I try hard to break up my ideas into paragraphs so that I am not running my thoughts as one. If I do, then I get reply emails that I really did not need if I had spaced my ideas into small paragraphs.
One of the email communication pet peeve is sender using old thread to discuss new topic. The subject title will be completely irrelevant.
Try telling point no.3 to the Japanese I work with!
Fast email reply is something VERY important to me, especially if I’m thinking about buying something from you.
I sometimes add a “contact” business card that they can easily save to their phone or mobile devices, very useful!
Does anyone have good tips for how to come up with a suitable subject line?
I’ve had a lot more formal emails to write recently than I did before, and I spend as long trying to get a good subject line as I do writing the actual email.
I feel an approriate subject title is very important especially when the matter discussed is expected to take a while and over many email correspondances with various parties to be resolved or concluded.
Interestingly, I wrote something this morning just as discussed earlier, but as usual I rewrote it 3 or 4 times before sending it.
Later in the day I received a compliment on the professionalism of my writing. It is just the right thing to do when corresponding.