# data[].attributes.headline
The Science of Corresponding with Busy People Webinar 

# data[].attributes.subject
The Science of Corresponding with Busy People Webinar 

# data[].attributes.body
Effective Communication

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Science of Corresponding with Busy People Webinar | Harvard University

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This free webinar from HKS professor Todd Rogers is his take on the five principles for effective communication and how to implement them in your writing.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Show Example settings

Free AI Email Generator

Toolsaday's AI Email Writer is an innovative, free AI email generator that can save you time and effort in crafting professional emails. With this tool, you can generate emails quickly and accurately so you can confidently respond to inquiries and requests with confidence. It's perfect for busy business owners and entrepreneurs who don't have the time to craft emails from scratch, as the AI can generate text quickly and efficiently.

This email generator is designed with user experience and convenience in mind. It is easy to use, as all you have to do is provide the AI with the guidelines and parameters for email formatting, such as the type of greeting, subject, message body, and the desired tone. The AI can understand natural language, so you can give it excerpts from specific emails or requests to help guide the generator in the right direction. Once the AI takes over, it will generate a compelling and professional email in just a few moments. Toolsaday's AI Email Writer is a fantastic tool for busy people who want to write stunning emails without having to spend hours crafting them.

How the AI Email Generator Works

Using the Toolsaday's AI Email Generator is a straightforward process, designed with user experience in mind. Here's how it functions:

1. Choose the Type of Email:

Begin by selecting whether you want to 'Compose a New Email' or 'Reply to an Email'. This sets the foundation for how the AI will generate the content.

2. State the Purpose (For New Emails):

Clearly define the intent behind the email. For instance, you might specify, "I am writing to propose a new marketing campaign that I believe will be effective for your business." This ensures that the content aligns with your goals.

3. Received Email Content (For Replies):

If you're responding to an email, input the content of the email you received. This helps the AI understand the context and craft a relevant reply.

4. Specify the Response Goal (For Replies):

Define what you want to achieve with your reply. For example, "Confirm the meeting". This ensures the generated content meets the desired outcome.

5. Craft a Subject Line:

Create an attention-grabbing subject. For instance, "Proposal for Marketing Campaign". A well-crafted subject line ensures your email stands out in crowded inboxes.

6. Identify the Recipient:

Mention the target audience of the email, such as "potential client" or "colleague". This helps in tailoring the tone and content of the email accordingly.

7. Determine the Sender:

Specify who the email is from. This could be an individual like "John Smith", a team like "Marketing Department", or even a brand, "Acme Corporation". This provides context to the recipient.

8. Decide the Email Length:

Using a slider, you can set the desired length of your email, from a brief 50 words to a more detailed 500 words. This ensures the email is concise or detailed as per your preference.

9. Select the Language:

Choose the desired language for your email from a range of options available in the 'languages' list. The default value is set to 'English', but it can be changed to fit your target audience's preferred language.

Once these details are provided, the AI takes over, processing the information and crafting an email that aligns perfectly with your inputs. The result? A compelling and tailored email ready to be sent!

The Benefits of Using an AI Email Generator

In today's digital world, artificial intelligence (AI) technology is transforming the way we communicate. AI email generators provide a quick and efficient way to craft professional-quality emails that are tailored to the intended audience. These tools offer numerous benefits to both individuals and businesses, making them an indispensable part of the modern communication landscape.

Increased Efficiency

Using a reliable AI-based email generator eliminates the need to painstakingly craft emails manually. Instead of spending several hours writing, editing and proofreading emails, AI can save time and effort by automatically creating emails that are tailored to the recipient's preferences. AI emails can also be generated on the fly, making them ideal for recipients who need a response quickly.

Improved Accuracy

AI email generators are capable of parsing large amounts of data instantly, allowing them to craft emails that are highly accurate. This increases the efficacy of communication, as recipients will be more likely to read and respond to emails that they deem to be relevant. AI also allows users to customize emails to fit the preferences of a particular recipient or group, resulting in emails that are more likely to generate an effective response.

Better Understanding of the Audience

AI email generators can quickly identify the preferences of the recipient, resulting in emails that have maximum impact. AI can also monitor the performance of emails that have been sent in the past, allowing users to adjust their approach for future emails to improve their effectiveness. By doing so, businesses can ensure that their emails are reaching the intended audience and having the desired effect.

Enhanced Personalization

AI email generators can also generate fully personalized responses that account for the recipient's preferences and behavior. By intelligently crafting emails based on the recipient's previous interactions, AI can generate emails that will have a highly targeted and effective response. AI's ability to quickly analyze data also gives it the ability to make valuable predictions about how the recipient may respond to different emails, allowing businesses to tailor their emails to maximize their effectiveness.

Supports Multiple Languages

In a globalized world, the need to communicate in multiple languages has become paramount. Toolsaday's AI Email Writer understands and generates emails in several languages, ensuring that you can communicate with your global clientele without barriers.

Data Security and Privacy

In an age where data breaches are a significant concern, the AI Email Writer prioritizes user security. All generated content is kept confidential, and no user-specific data is stored, ensuring that your communications remain private and protected.

Diverse Use-Cases

The versatility of Toolsaday's AI Email Writer is one of its strongest assets. No matter the context, whether it's a business seeking to strengthen its brand image or an individual looking to improve their personal communication, our AI solution steps up to the plate. The modern world demands swift, accurate, and tailored communication, and with this tool, users can meet these demands effortlessly. Its adaptability ensures that each message sent, regardless of the purpose, is articulate and purpose-driven.

For Customer Support

Reduce response time and ensure consistent quality in your customer service communications.

For Marketing Campaigns

Craft compelling newsletters and promotional content that resonates with your audience.

For Personal Use

Even for individual users, generate well-structured, professional, or friendly emails for various occasions.

Join the AI Revolution

Don't be left behind in the digital age. Join countless satisfied users who have enhanced their email communication with the power of AI. Start using Toolsaday's AI Email Writer today and experience the difference.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Create stand-out emails with our powerful AI-powered email generator - the perfect choice for anyone looking to experience luxury-level email marketing!

# data[].attributes.headline
Hiver: 11 Best Tips for Effective Communication with Customers

# data[].attributes.subject
Hiver: 11 Best Tips for Effective Communication with Customers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Good customer service starts with effective communication. When a customer gets in touch with your business, they want clear answers and a smooth interaction.

This isn't just about having the right information; it's also about delivering it in the right way. Each chat, call, or email is an opportunity to show a customer they're valued.

For anyone working with customers, whether you're a business owner, a manager, or a support team member, it's essential to get this right every time.

In this blog, we're going to share 11 practical tips that can make your customer interactions smoother and more effective. These ideas can help you build better relationships, earn trust, and keep your customers happy.

Table of Contents

What is Customer Communication?

Customer communication refers to the interactions between a business and its customers, through various channels and methods. The primary aim is to inform, address concerns, build relationships, and boost customer satisfaction. It encompasses both the messages a business delivers and the feedback it receives from its customers.
7 Best Customer Communication Management Software
Importance of Effective Customer Communication

Effective customer communication is of paramount importance for businesses in today's dynamic marketplace. Here's why:

Builds Trust: Transparent and honest communication fosters trust. When customers feel they can rely on consistent and truthful information from a business, they're more likely to remain loyal.

Facilitates Feedback: Two-way communication allows businesses to gather valuable feedback. By understanding customers' perspectives and needs, businesses can make necessary adjustments to their products, services, or strategies.

Reduces Confusion: Clear communication minimizes misunderstandings, ensuring customers have the right expectations. This can reduce potential complaints or dissatisfaction down the line.

Promotes Better Engagement: Engaging content and personalized communication strategies can turn passive customers into active brand advocates, amplifying positive word-of-mouth and referrals.

Mitigates Crises: In times of issues or controversies, effective communication is crucial. Addressing concerns head-on and providing timely updates can prevent potential PR disasters.

Differentiates the Brand: In a crowded market, the way a brand communicates can set it apart. A unique voice, proactive customer service, and open dialogue can be powerful differentiators.

11 Best Tips for Effective Customer Communication

Here's a list of the 11 best tips that can enhance customer communication.

Tip 1: Active Listening

Active listening involves fully concentrating, understanding, and responding to what the customer says, without getting sidetracked by personal judgment or distractions. Active listening is more than hearing words; it's understanding the emotions and needs behind them.

Six Elements of Active Listening

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

Implementing Active Listening:

Give Full Attention: This can be eye contact in face-to-face interactions or focusing solely on the call/chat in virtual communication.

Hold Off on Interrupting: Let the customer express themselves completely. Only then, formulate a response.

Feedback and Clarification: Use words like "I see" or ask questions like "So, you mean...?" to ensure you've grasped their point.

Paraphrasing: Echo back the main issue to confirm understanding.

Stay Calm and Composed: Regardless of the customer's emotions, keep your demeanor understanding and patient.

Note-taking: For complex matters, jotting down points can aid in problem-solving and show you're taking them seriously.

Tip 2: Clear and Concise Communication

This means expressing ideas and giving information in a straightforward manner without using unnecessary words or jargon. It's about being both clear (easy to understand) and concise (getting straight to the point).

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

Avoids Confusion: Customers can easily grasp what you're saying without room for misinterpretation.

Saves Time: Both for you and the customer, leading to quicker problem resolution.

Enhances Professionalism: Clear communication portrays confidence and knowledge.

Strategies for Clear and Concise Communication:

Avoid Jargon: Use simple language, especially when dealing with non-technical customers.

Be Direct: Address the main point quickly. Avoid beating around the bush.

Use Bullet Points or Lists: When explaining multiple points or steps, lists can help in breaking down information.

Ask for Feedback: After explaining, ask customers if they understood or if they need further clarification.

Use Analogies or Examples: Sometimes, relating a complex topic to something familiar can aid understanding.

Active Voice Over Passive: For example, "We will process your refund" is clearer than "Your refund will be processed."

Tip 3: Empathy and Understanding

Empathy involves recognizing and understanding another person's emotions and feelings. In customer service, it's the genuine effort to see things from the customer's perspective and address their concerns with kindness and compassion.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

Ways to Show Empathy and Understanding:
11 Soft Skills to Enhance Customer Retention
Tip 4: Use Positive Language and Tone

Positive language involves focusing on solutions and affirmative actions rather than problems. It emphasizes what can be done, instead of what cannot. The tone, on the other hand, is the emotional undertone behind the words chosen.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

Ways to Adopt Positive Language and Tone:

Focus on Solutions: Instead of saying "We don't have that product," say "I can help you find an alternative."

Avoid Negative Phrases: Swap out "I don't know" with "Let me find out for you."

Pay Attention to Your Tone: Ensure your tone, whether in voice or written form, is consistent with your message. A positive message with a negative tone can be counterproductive.

Use "We" Language: This promotes unity. For instance, "Let's see how we can solve this together."

Tip 5: Ask the Right Questions

Asking questions isn't just about getting information; it's about understanding the customer's concerns deeply. The right questions can help provide clarity, and lead to effective problem-solving.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

How to Frame the Right Questions:

Tip 6: Adaptability and Flexibility

Adaptability involves adjusting one's approach based on the unique needs and emotions of each customer. It's the ability to think on your feet and modify your methods according to the situation at hand.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

Addresses Individual Needs: No two customers are the same. Tailoring your approach ensures every customer's unique needs are met.

Enhances Problem-Solving: Being flexible allows you to find alternative solutions when standard procedures don't work.

Builds Stronger Relationships: Customers appreciate when they feel you're going the extra mile to assist them.

Ways to Showcase Adaptability and Flexibility:

Understand the Customer's Profile: Are they tech-savvy? Are they frustrated or calm? Adjust your explanations and solutions accordingly.

Think Outside the Box: If standard solutions don't work, brainstorm alternative routes to address the customer's concern.

Manage Emotions: Sometimes, you'll encounter heated situations. Staying calm and adapting your responses to soothe the customer is crucial.

Know When to Escalate: Recognize when a situation is beyond your control or expertise and needs escalation.

Tip 7: Timely Response and Follow-Up

In the world of customer service, time is of the essence. Responding to customers promptly and ensuring timely follow-up not only addresses their issues faster but also shows that you value their time and effort.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

How to Ensure Timely Responses and Follow-Up:

Set Clear Timeframes: If you can't provide an immediate solution, give a clear timeframe for when they can expect one.

Use Automated Responses with Care: While automated responses can inform the customer their query was received, ensure a human agent follows up soon after.

Prioritize Issues: Triage customer queries so that more urgent matters are addressed first.

Schedule Follow-Ups: Whether it's to confirm if a solution was effective or to provide an update, a follow-up can make a difference.

Leverage Technology: Use CRM systems or ticketing tools to track, remind, and ensure no customer query falls through the cracks.

Tip 8: Utilize Constructive Feedback

Constructive feedback, whether it comes from customers or internally from peers, is a valuable resource. It provides insights into areas of improvement, helping refine service strategies and approaches.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

How to Harness Constructive Feedback:

Tip 9: Cultivate Cultural Sensitivity and Awareness

In today's globalized world, customer service representatives often interact with individuals from diverse cultural backgrounds. Being culturally sensitive means recognizing, respecting, and being aware of the differences and similarities within and between different customer groups or segments.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

Ways to Foster Cultural Sensitivity:

Tip 10: Set Clear Boundaries and Expectations

While it's essential to go above and beyond for customers, it's equally crucial to set clear boundaries and expectations. This ensures that both the customer and the representative have a shared understanding of what can and cannot be achieved in a given interaction.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

Ways to Establish Boundaries and Expectations:

Tip 11: Optimize for Multi-Channel Support

Multichannel support refers to offering customer service across multiple platforms or channels, such as email, phone, live chat, social media, and more. In today's digital age, customers interact with brands across various touchpoints, expecting consistent and efficient support everywhere.

Why it's Essential in Customer Service:

Ways to Optimize Multichannel Support:

Unified Database: Ensure all customer interactions across channels are stored in a unified system. This allows representatives to have a holistic view of customer history, regardless of the communication platform.

Channel-specific Training: Equip your team with training tailored to the nuances of each channel. For example, handling a query on Twitter might be different from a phone call.

Consistent Brand Voice: Ensure that communication remains consistent in tone, style, and quality across all channels.

Monitor and Analyze: Regularly track the performance of each channel. Identify which ones are most preferred by customers and which ones might need improvement.

Elevating Customer Communication with Hiver

To wrap things up, good communication practices form the base of great customer service. But having the right tools, like Hiver, can make implementing these practices even easier.

Hiver is a multi-channel helpdesk that helps teams handle multiple communication channels - email, live chat, voice, WhatsApp, and knowledge base. It helps cut down response time and makes communication more consistent. So, while our tips provide the direction, Hiver can be the tool that helps you put them into action effectively.

Try Hiver free for 7 days

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
11 Best Tips for Effective Communication with Customers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Unlock the secrets to effective customer communication with our actionable tips. Elevate every interaction, build trust, and boost customer satisfaction.

# data[].attributes.headline
Udemy: Communication Skills: Become Clear, Concise, Confident

# data[].attributes.subject
Udemy: Communication Skills: Become Clear, Concise, Confident

# data[].attributes.headline
Wharton Business: 6 Tips for How to Communicate Clearly in Business

# data[].attributes.subject
Wharton Business: 6 Tips for How to Communicate Clearly in Business

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In my business, I see a lot of business school application essays. One problem that nearly all candidates struggle with is how to communicate clearly, particularly adhering to word counts. If the admissions committee gives a 500 word limit for writing about your accomplishments, many applicants write essays 1,000 words or longer. For them it seems an impossible task to share their many accomplishments in a single page, but doing so just takes a special skill: The ability to be clear and concise.

People in the post-MBA world also struggle with how to communicate clearly. How many emails do you receive in a day that go on for paragraphs and leave you thinking, what's the point? Long, rambling emails have become such a scourge that a new product, Shortmail.com, limits users' messages to 500 characters; for my Twitter-minded readers, that's roughly three and a half Tweets. If you attempt to send a Shortmail user an email over 500 characters, they won't receive it until you edit it down.

This might seem like an extreme measure, but almost everyone could benefit from focusing on sending more concise emails, memos and business letters. Here are a few tips to help you with how to communicate clearly.

Lead with your main point: If you were forced to boil down your email to one or two sentences, what would they say? Always start by writing your main point. Then elaborate as necessary.

Cut the jargon: You and your office mates might talk to each other about the current state of your bandwidth, but in writing it's much more clear and concise to say "My schedule is full."

Use short, direct sentences: You'll likely remember this rule from grammar school: Put the subject at the beginning of your sentence. So instead of, "A new meeting date was set by the steering committee," write, "The steering committee set a new meeting date." Also, watch out for sentences that go on for three or more lines. Shorter sentences are much easier to read.

Read it aloud: When you're getting ready to send an important communication, you'll catch mistakes and other problems more easily if you read it aloud. If something trips you up or doesn't make sense as you're reading, rewrite until it's clear.

Use spell check: Seems simple, but you'd be surprised how many people skip this crucial step.

Don't overuse spell check: Meaning, don't assume spell check is going to catch all of your mistakes. Depending on the program you're using, you may not be alerted if you wrote "there" when you really meant "their." And spell check certainly won't help you if you addressed your client as "Kate," though she actually spells her name "Cate."

By the way, I just followed my own advice and caught three typos and re-wrote two long and potentially confusing sentences. Maybe next time I'll figure out a way to say it all in 500 characters.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
6 Tips for How to Communicate Clearly in Business

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Extreme measures may be in order today to shorten business emails, letters and memos. Here are six tips for how to communicate clearly.

# data[].attributes.headline
Forbes: How To Be A Confident, Concise Communicator (Even When You Have To Speak Off The Cuff)

# data[].attributes.subject
Forbes: How To Be A Confident, Concise Communicator (Even When You Have To Speak Off The Cuff)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A common question I get from coaching clients is "how do I become a more concise communicator?"

It's no surprise because concise communication is more important now than ever before.

Consider this:

The average human attention span has fallen from 12 seconds in the year 2000 to eight seconds today.

Each day, the typical office worker receives 120 emails.

Every time a person is distracted it takes over 23 minutes for them to regain focus.

Given these realities, it's no wonder that studies rank good communication skills as twice as important as good managerial skills. That's because, in this age of oversaturation, there's little margin for error. In fact, 86% of employees blame lack of good communication for workplace failures.

People get impatient when they have to work mental overtime to grasp what you're saying. Long-windedness can be perceived as indecisiveness and quickly cost you trust and respect as a leader.

Concise communication is clearly an essential part of executive presence and projecting confidence, but it's also something Sensitive Strivers frequently struggle with.

Why Sensitive Strivers Struggle with Concise Communication
You overexplain.
You may think that you're being thorough, but all you're really doing is losing the other person's attention. Instead of making your point clear, you end up clouding it by overexplaining. Many Sensitive Strivers inadvertently overcompensate for their insecurities by saying more, especially in situations where they feel intimidated.
You think everyone is like you.
You may like to process information deeply, but you're in the minority (only about 15-20% of the population is sensitive). Trust me, I get it. I'm a high-input person, which means I need to take in tons of data points before making a decision. But other people, especially senior executives, don't operate that way. They get easily overwhelmed by too much information and would prefer you be direct and to the point.
You're trying to be someone you're not.
Clients tell me that they "need a bigger personality" in order to exude executive presence. No, you don't. If you try to be someone you're not, others will sense it. Not only will you come off as inauthentic, but you'll also exhaust yourself in the process. Better to find a way to communicate concisely in a manner that fits your personality and style.

9 Ways to Communicate Clearly and Effectively
1. Prepare in advance
Without preparation, you can't be brief. Before any important meeting, take five minutes to review the agenda and other provided materials. Jot down notes for yourself. Organize your thoughts and earmark where you want to contribute.

If you'll be speaking, go through the extra steps of creating talking points and anticipating objections and questions. I like to have my clients prepare a few "frequently asked questions" to have in their back pocket, just in case there's silence at the end of their presentation.
2. Provide a pre-read
If you have a lot of information to share, consider preparing a pre-read. This is a document that provides background information on a topic. It means you can give your audience needed context and then be briefer in your time together. A pre-read may be reports, slides, or detailed analytics.
3. Complete the sentence, "If you walk away from this conversation with one thing, I want it to be ______."
If you were forced to boil down your main idea to one sentence, what would it be? Use this as the subject line of your email or repeat the phrase verbatim when you speak. It'll ensure you're drawing your audience's attention to the biggest takeaway you want them to remember.
4. Use the PREP framework
When you're forced to speak impromptu, you can speak strongly and coherently using the PREP framework. Here's how it works: Make a point succinctly, back it up with a reason, provide evidence, and end by reiterating your point. For example...

Point: I believe we should take direction A

Reason: We've received positive feedback about this approach

Evidence: For instance, our president said he supports it

Point: That's why I believe direction A is best

5. Use bridging and flagging statements to highlight and punctuate your points
Flagging and bridging refer to two PR tactics that you can take into the boardroom. Flagging is like sticking a flag in the ground or waving one in the air to say, "pay attention - this is important!" Whereas bridging helps you make a transition from one idea to another. Bridging is especially useful when you want to change the subject or steer the conversation in a different direction.

Examples of flagging statements are:

It all boils down to...

The heart of the matter is...

I can't underscore enough...

Examples of bridging statements are:

I cannot speak to ____, but what I can say is...

While ____ is important, it's also important to remember that...

Before we leave this subject, I'd like to add...

6. Know your audience
Consider what concerns and objections are top of mind for the people you're communicating with. What do they care about the most? What problems are they trying to solve? Most importantly, what's in it for them if they listen to you? How will what you are sharing with them help save them time or make their job easier? Frame your message in terms of how it impacts your audience.
7. Ask questions
Oftentimes concise communication is about saying nothing at all. You need to listen first. Specifically, ask plenty of open-ended questions like:

What do you make of what I've shared?

What do you think is best?

How does this look to you?

What would you add or change?

How do you feel about it?

What's your impression of X?

How does this fit into your plans?

What part is not yet clear?

Can you say more?

What is an example?

What support do you need?

8. Edit your emails
A good rule of thumb: emails shouldn't be more than five lines. If your email is longer than that, condense it down or make it a phone call.

Make sure your message is scannable. That means short paragraphs and sentences. Use bullet points and numbering to make the text easier to digest.
9. Eliminate fluff
Hedging language, such as "I just wanted to check in" or "Could we maybe find a time to chat?" minimize the power of your words.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Be A Confident, Concise Communicator (Even When You Have To Speak Off The Cuff)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Clear, concise communication is vital for a team to thrive. Here's how to lead the way.

# data[].attributes.headline
MasterClass: 7 Tips for Clear and Concise Writing

# data[].attributes.subject
MasterClass: 7 Tips for Clear and Concise Writing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Whether you're back in the office or still working remotely, you've probably found yourself in more than one meeting this year that could have been the inspiration for one of those "I survived another meeting that should have been an email" memes. But you have probably also read more than one email this year that should have been ... a shorter email.

If you have something complicated to say, you should always take the space you need to say it. But when your prose is unnecessarily wordy and repetitive, you tax your readers by asking them to focus their attention on figuring out what you're saying rather than thinking about what you're saying.

In those cases, it's time to edit.

Although it may seem counterintuitive, writing something long often takes less time than writing something shorter. Case in point: The first draft of this article was 500 words longer than the version you're reading. Back in 1690, John Locke captured this challenge in "An Essay Concerning Human Understanding," of which he noted that "to confess the truth, I am now too lazy, or too busy to make it shorter."

It's hard to carve out enough time to write effectively. But even when you only have a few minutes to edit, you can try these three strategies to pare down your prose.

1. Delete words that don't add anything to your sentence.

Many workplace documents are weighed down by the following words: generally, basically, actually, kind of, really, virtually, totally, essentially, completely, practically, literally, and just.

We're (literally) so used to (just) writing these words we may (actually) find that our writing sounds (totally) odd without them. But (generally) once you get in the habit of cutting these words, you (really) won't miss them.

If one of these words is essential to the meaning of your sentence, keep it! But if not, let it go. To decide whether the word should stay or go, ask yourself these questions:

What is the word adding to your sentence?

If you cut it, does your sentence lose anything?

If you keep it, will you dilute your message?

Consider this example:
Because the pandemic completely strained our hospitals, we had to essentially reconsider the role of telehealth in our medical system.
To decide if I want to keep that "completely" and "essentially," I can ask what those words are adding to my sentence. Did the pandemic "completely" strain our hospitals? Can they be more strained than just ... strained? Is there a difference between "reconsidering" and "essentially reconsidering"?

What if I want to suggest that we did some reconsidering of the role of telehealth, but we didn't rethink everything? Does essentially help make that point? Not really. Saying we had to reconsider doesn't imply we had to reconsider everything, so essentially doesn't help.

In this case, I can't make the case for either the "completely" or the "essentially." Rather than adding to my sentence, they dilute my message by making it less direct.

So, should you ever keep one of those words? Let's consider this example:
When we want to change suppliers, we generally hire an outside firm to vet our options.
What are we trying to achieve with "generally" there? If we cut it, do we lose anything? If your point is that we "generally" do this, but in some cases we don't, then you may want to keep the "generally." But a better solution may be to rewrite the sentence to make that point clearer:
When we want to change suppliers, we hire an outside firm to vet our options unless one of our partners has already vetted suppliers.
Bottom line: Keep the words you need; cut or replace the words you don't need.

2. Cut the overlap.

Because we figure out what we think by writing, we often repeat ourselves as we get closer to the best version of our ideas.

Consider this example from my first draft of this article:
When we're figuring out what we think, we tend to repeat ourselves. Sometimes we say the same thing again because we haven't figured out what we want to say.
In the first sentence, I make my point. (We repeat ourselves.) In the second sentence I elaborate on that point by adding the causal link. (We repeat ourselves because we haven't figured out what we want to say.) When I revised, I was able to make that causal link into the first sentence and cut the repetition:
Because we figure out what we think by writing, we often repeat ourselves in early drafts.
The revised sentence is almost half the length (16 words) as the original overlapping sentences (29 words).

To find overlapping sentences in your documents, try highlighting repetition as you edit. Here's an example:

Our current staffing problems have been exacerbated by a combination of low salaries and the rising cost of housing. Because it has become more expensive for employees to rent or buy homes in our target cities, we are not able to attract employees with our current salaries, which leads to staffing difficulties. (52 words)

In the first sentence, the author is making a claim: We can't find staff because we aren't paying people enough to live in our area.

In the second sentence, the author repeats that claim but adds new details. Housing costs have gone up for renters and buyers in our target cities.

If we combine the ideas from both sentences, we end up with this sentence:

Our current staffing problems have been exacerbated by a combination of low salaries and the rising cost of housing for renters and buyers in our target cities. (27 words)

This new version is much shorter.

3. Instead of telling us what you're going to do in a sentence, just do it.

Consider these two sentences:
I will now offer you We should take three steps to improve our onboarding process. (10 words) three steps we should take to improve our onboarding process. (15 words)
When we read the first sentence, our attention is focused on the writer, who is about to offer us something, rather than on the recommendations for the onboarding process. It makes sense that writers include this kind of commentary when they draft a document. We're thinking about what we're doing, and so we tell our readers what we're doing.

But your readers don't necessarily need to follow the journey you took while you were drafting the document. They just need to know where you ended up.
I want to point out that our current staffing problems have been exacerbated by a combination of low salaries and the rising cost of housing for renters and buyers in our target cities.
Here's another example, based on one of the sentences we looked at above:

Readers will know you're pointing out the staffing problems because you're the author of the document that mentions that staffing problems. You don't lose important information if you cut those first few words and start with "Our current staffing problems..."

It's not the end of the world if you use an unnecessary word now and then, write the occasional overlapping sentence, or tell us what you're doing in a sentence before you do it. But the extra words add up. If you make a habit of using these strategies, your writing will be shorter and sharper.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
It's not the end of the world if you use an unnecessary word now and then, write the occasional overlapping sentence, or tell us what you're doing in a sentence before you do it. But the extra words add up. In this article, the author offers advice for how to make your writing shorter and sharper.

# data[].attributes.headline
EnvatoTuts+: How to Write Professional & Clear Emails

# data[].attributes.subject
EnvatoTuts+: How to Write Professional & Clear Emails

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Email is the communication tool of choice for most of us. Email's great because you don't have to be available at the same time as your conversation partner to communicate. It allows us to keep projects moving when our co-workers are unavailable or on the other side of the world.

Clear and professional emails are good for your career prospects. (Image source: Envato Elements)

There's one problem: most of us are drowning in emails. The average person using email for business receives and sends over 100 emails a day, according to a report published by the Radicati Group.

On top of that, emails are all too easily misunderstood. A recent study by Sendmail found that 64% of people have sent or received an email that caused unintended anger or confusion.

Because of the volume of emails we send and receive, and because emails are often misinterpreted, it's important to write emails clearly and concisely.

How to Properly Write a Professional Email (With Clear Points)

Writing emails that are short and to-the-point will reduce the time you spend on email and make you more productive. By keeping your emails short, you'll likely spend less time on email and more time on other work. That said, writing clearly is a skill. Like all skills, you'll have to work at it.

To begin with, it may take you just as long to write short emails as it took you to write long emails. However, even if this is the case, you'll help your co-workers, clients, or employees be more productive because you'll be adding less clutter to their inboxes, making it easier for them to respond to you.

By writing clearly, you'll become known as someone who knows what he or she wants and who gets things done. Both of these are good for your career prospects.

So what does it take to write clear, concise, and professional emails?

Before you answer that, sign up for the Tuts+ Business newsletter and get the free Inbox Zero ebook now. It's packed with professional email management strategies.

Now, let's get into the details of how to write a professional email, that will have you writing proper business emails with purpose, clarity, and impact.

1. Know Your Purpose

Clear emails always have a clear purpose.

Whenever you sit down to write an email, take a few seconds to ask yourself: "Why am I sending this? What do I need from the recipient?"

If you can't answer these questions, then you shouldn't be sending an email. Writing emails without knowing what you need wastes your time and the recipient's time and means you'll struggle to express yourself clearly and concisely.

This is also a good time to ask yourself: "Is this email really necessary?" Again, only sending emails that are absolutely necessary shows respect for the person you're emailing.

2. Use the "One Thing" Rule

Emails are not the same as business meetings. With business meetings, the more agenda items you work through, the more productive the meeting.

With emails, the opposite is true. The less you include in your emails, the better.

That's why it's a good idea to practice the "one thing" rule. Make each email you send about one thing only. If you need to communicate about another project, write another email.

3. Practice Empathy

Empathy is the ability to see the world through the eyes of other people. When you do this, you understand their thoughts and feelings.

When you write emails, think about your words from the reader's point of view. With everything you write, ask yourself:

How would I interpret this sentence, as someone reading it?

How would this make me feel if I received it?

This is a simple tweak to the way you write. Yet thinking of other people will transform the way they respond to you.

Here's an empathetic way of looking at the world to help you get started. Most people:

Are busy. They don't have time to guess what you want, and they'd like to be able to read and respond to your email quickly.

Appreciate a compliment. If you can say something positive about them or their work, do so. Your words won't be wasted.

Like to be thanked. If the recipient has helped you in any way, remember to say thank you. You should do this even when it's their job to help you.

In a moment, we'll look at how you can embed compliments and a thanks into the structure of every email you send.

4. Keep Introductions Brief

When you're emailing someone for the first time, you need to let the recipient know who you are. You can usually do this in one sentence. For example: "It was great to meet you at [X event]."

One way of keeping introductions brief is to write them like you're meeting face-to-face. You wouldn't go off into a five-minute monologue when meeting someone in person. So don't do it in email.

Not sure whether an introduction is needed? Maybe you've contacted the recipient before, but you're not sure if she'll remember you. You can leave your credentials in your email signature. This is ideal because:

It keeps the main email body as short as possible.

It avoids misunderstandings. Re-introducing yourself to someone who already knows you comes across as rude. If she's not sure whether she knows you, then you can just let her check out your signature.

Talking of signatures, make sure you've set one up. It's a shorthand way of sharing information that you should include in every email. But putting this information in your signature, you keep the body of your emails short.

Your signature should include:

Optionally, you can include links to your social media accounts, and a one-sentence elevator pitch on how you help people.

5. Limit Yourself to Five Sentences

In every email you write, you should use enough sentences to say what you need and no more. A helpful practice here is limiting yourself to five sentences.

Entrepreneur Guy Kawasaki explains:

Less than five sentences is often abrupt and rude, more than five sentences wastes time.

There will be times when it's impossible to keep an email to five sentences. But in most cases, five sentences are sufficient.

Embrace the five sentences discipline, and you'll find yourself writing emails more quickly. You'll also get more replies.

Not sure writing an email in five sentences is possible? Then read on...

6. Stick to a Standard Structure

What's the key to keeping your emails short? Using a standard structure. This is a template that you follow for every email you write.

As well as keeping your emails short, following a standard structure also helps you to write fast.

Over time, you'll develop a structure that works for you. Here's a simple structure to get you started:

greeting

a compliment or pleasantry

the reason for your email

a call to action

a closing message

signature

Let's look at each of these in depth.

Greeting. This is the first line of the email. "Hi, [First Name]" is a typical greeting.

Compliment or Pleasantry. When you're emailing someone for the first time, then a compliment makes an excellent opener. A well-written compliment can also serve as an introduction. For example:

"I enjoyed your presentation about [topic] on [date]."

"I found your blog post on [topic] really helpful."

"It was good to meet you at [event]."

If you're writing to someone you know, then use a pleasantry instead. A pleasantry is typically a variation on "I hope you're well." Alternatively, you can say thank you for something they've helped you with or for information they sent in a previous email.

As Vinay Patankar of the Abstract Living blog explains:

You should ALWAYS follow with a pleasantry after your greeting. EVERYTIME without fail. Ingrain this into your fingers so that you naturally spit it out with each email you write. There is no reason ever why your email shouldn't have a pleasantry... You will never have anything to lose by adding in a pleasantry, you will make people more inclined to read the rest of your email, you will soften criticism, and will hit the positive emotions of a few. Most will simply ignore it, but for two seconds of your time, it's definitely worth it.

The reason for your email. In this section you say, "I'm emailing to ask about..." or "I wondered if you could help with..." You'll sometimes need two sentences to explain your reasons for writing.

A call to action. After you've explained your reason for emailing, don't assume the recipient will know what to do. Provide specific instructions. For example:

"Could you send me those files by Thursday?"

"Could you write that up in the next two weeks?"

"Please write to James about this, and let me know when you've done so."

Structuring your request as a question encourages the recipient to reply. Alternatively, you can use the line "let me know when you've done that" or "let me know if that's okay with you."

Closing. Before you sign off your email, be sure to include a closing line. This has the dual purpose of re-iterating your call to action, and of making the recipient feel good.

Examples of good closing lines include:

"Thank you for all your help with this."

"Does that sound good?"

"I'm looking forward to hearing what you think."

"Let me know if you have any questions."

Sign-off. This could be "Best Wishes," "Kind Regards," "All the Best," or "Thanks." You should always follow your sign-off with your name.

7. Use Short Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs

Back in 1946, George Orwell advised writers to:

Never use a long word where a short one will do.

This advice is even more relevant today, especially when writing emails.

Short words show respect for your reader. By using short words, you've done the hard work of making your message easy to understand.

The same is true of short sentences and paragraphs. Avoid writing big blocks of text if you want your email to be clear and easily understood. This leads to another of George Orwell's rules for writing, which can help you keep your sentences as short as possible:

If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.

Once you've followed your standard email structure, trim every sentence down to be as short as it can be.

8. Use the Active Voice

George Orwell again:

Never use the passive where you can use the active.

In writing, there are two kinds of voices, active and passive.

Here's a sentence in the active voice:

I throw the ball.

And here's the same sentence in the passive voice:

The ball is thrown [by me].

The active voice is easier to read. It also encourages action and responsibility. That's because in the active voice, sentences focus on the person taking action. In the passive voice, sentences focus on the object that's being acted upon. In the passive voice, it can appear that things happen by themselves. In the active voice, things only happen when people take action.

9. Proofread Your Email

The French philosopher Blaise Pascal once said:

If I had more time, I would have written you a shorter letter.

In other words, writing short emails can be harder work than writing long emails.

Part of the hard work of writing short emails is careful proofreading. Read your email aloud to yourself, checking for spelling and grammar mistakes. Ask yourself:

Is my request clear?

Could there be any misunderstandings?

How would this sound if I were the recipient?

Delete any unnecessary words, sentences, and paragraphs as you proofread.

10. Remember, You're Not Fifteen Anymore

If you want to show your personality in your email, let this shine subtly through your writing style. Don't use emoticons, chat abbreviations (such as LOL), or colorful fonts and backgrounds. While these might have been integral to your emails during your teenage years, they are rarely appropriate in a professional context.

The only time it is appropriate to use emoticons or chat abbreviations is when you're mirroring the email language of the person you're writing to.

11. Write Like You Speak

Email is a less formal way of communicating than writing a letter or even making a phone call. Writing as you speak makes you come across as personable and friendly. It also helps you to keep your emails short. After all, few of us speak in extended paragraphs.

Additionally, make sure your emails reflect who you are in the real world. If you wouldn't say something to a person's face, don't say it in an email. And remember to mind your manners. "Please" and "Thank you" go a long way.

Download the Professional Email Strategies eBook (For Free)

Keep in mind that learning how to write professional emails is important, but so to is organizing your email inbox. Don't let your inbox become a disorganized mess.

Learn how to manage your emails right. Spend less time in your inbox, while processing your messages more professionally.

We have a special offer for you. Sign up for the Tuts+ Business Newsletter and get the Inbox Zero Mastery eBook for FREE. Discover how to apply the best email management techniques now.
Editorial Note: This content was originally published in May of 2014. We're sharing it again because our editors have determined that this information is still accurate and relevant.

Over to You

What are your top tips for writing clear and professional emails? Let us know in the comments below.

And if you work on email marketing campaigns, then check out our high-quality Email Newsletter Templates, which are available from our ThemeForest marketplace. One of these professional templates may be just what your next project needs.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How to Write Clear and Professional Emails | Envato Tuts+

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Email is the communication tool of choice for most of us. Email's great because you don't have to be available at the same time as your conversation partner to communicate. It allows us to keep...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
For most of us, it is very easy to get lost and end up writing a long, complicated email. In this article, we will share very easy tricks to make sure your emails are concise, short, and clear. But first, let's start with the basics!

Basic structure of an email

In business English, it is very common to start with a greeting ('Hi Eve,) and a friendly opening ('I hope you are well.'). Then, you can state the ('I am writing to you with regards to...'), and mention reason for your email if you added any. It is also polite to ('If you have any questions, please let me know'), and add a attachments ('Looking forward to...'). Before you finish your email, add a offer help ('All the best'), and your closing line ('Tony'). You can find lots of helpful email phrases here: . friendly goodbye signature 150+ Useful Email Phrases That Will Make Your Life Easier

Although the structure is not complicated, many English learners (and native-English speakers!) find it difficult to keep their emails concise, short, and clear. The next two sections will help you exactly with that. First, apply the House Technique to structure your emails, and then make sure your sentences are concise with the three tips below.

How to structure your emails with the House Technique

It is not always easy to find the right balance between an email that is long and complicated and an email that is too short. To find that sweet spot, build your emails how you would build a house:

1. Start with the walls (the reason why you're writing and the call to action or next steps)

2. Then add the furniture (supporting information)

3. And then add the decoration (formalities and niceties).

It is very tempting to start the email the other way round - first the formalities, then all sorts of supporting information, and lastly the question we want to ask our reader. However, there is a major problem with this - we often forget the most important part. Plus, your emails will end up being much longer than desired (and your readers might miss the point).

House Technique | Talaera

Check out this example:

Hi Max, I hope this email is finding you well. In light of the fact that a few of our employees made a request on whether we could provide them with extra training budget since they have more time now that they are working from home, I am attaching a list with my recommendations of some of the best online courses I found and that they can choose from. There is the possibility that your team members do not like any of the courses we suggest. In such event, please ask them to make a suggestion with their preferred training. Please send them the list I attached and let them know that they need to make a decision by the end of the month in order for us to send it to the finance department and get their approval on time. I want to thank you for your great help in this situation. I hope you and your family are well, and that you have a nice day.

The email above is grammatically correct, but the structure is not very clear and you might have to read it a few times before you understand the main point.

And now compare it to the following example, where we used the HOUSE technique:

With the House Technique, emails look more structured and clear:

Hi Christina,

I hope you're well.

Could we have a more in-depth discussion to talk about the changes in the HR department due to Covid-19? I am available on Monday from 10 am to 3 pm.

There are a few things I wanted to talk about:
- How are we dealing with company culture
- Options to work from the office
- How we are adapting our quarter OKRs

Please let me know what time works best for you.

Thanks,
Tina.

Write shorter emails with these concise writing tips

Apart from having a structured email, you can also apply these concise writing tips to make sure that your sentences are short, clear, and to the point: one word better than three, actions better than nouns, and active voice better than passive.

1. One word better than three

Whenever possible, use one word instead of three. Look at the examples below. The versions on the right express exactly the same meaning with just one word.

1. There is the possibility that → might

2. In light of the fact → because / since

3. In reference to → about

4. In view of the fact that → considering

5. With the exception of → except

6. In the event of → if

Example:

[Wordy] In light of the fact that we are all working from home, there is the possibility that we have to do the next event online.

[Concise] Since we are all working from home, we might do our next event online.

2. Actions better than nouns

Verbs (or actions) will make your writing shorter and more concise. Whenever possible, drop the nouns and use verbs to express your ideas.

1. Put under consideration → consider

2. Give a decision → decide

3. Conduct an interview → interview

4. It is the opinion of → think

Example:

[Wordy] It is the opinion of the board that we should conduct surveys with our clients and put their proposals under consideration.

[Concise] The board thinks that we should survey our clients and consider their proposals.

3. Active voice better than passive

If you use passive voice, your sentences will tend to be longer and more complicated. Use active voice to add accountability and make your message more clear and dynamic.

Examples:

[Passive] Some new employees have been hired by them. → [Active] They have hired some new employees.

[Passive] A new app has been launched. → [Active] We have launched a new app.

Keep improving your business emails

Check out these , and 150+ useful email phrases, download our free guide below contact Talaera if you would like to receive personalized training on business English communication skills.
If you enjoyed this article, keep reading:
Talaera Talks - Transcript Episode 45

If you are learning English, including new English words and expressions will help you with effective communication. Remember to check out our other episodes on how to make small talk, how to deliver engaging presentations, how to speak English fluently, and many more: visit the podcast website . Listen to it on your favorite platform.

Paola Pascual 0:03
Welcome to Talaera Talks, the business English communication podcast for non native professionals. My name is Paola and I am co hosting the show with Simon.

Simon Kennell 0:13
In this podcast, we're going to be covering communication advice and tips to help express yourself with confidence in English in professional settings. So we hope you enjoy the show.

Simon Kennell 0:24
Welcome to another episode of Talaera Talks. My name is Simon and wherever you are, as always, I hope you are doing well. I'm joined today by Paola actually on the other side of the Atlantic today in my home state of Florida. Paola, what are you doing over there?

Paola Pascual 0:46
Hi, Simon. Yeah, I'm so happy to be back here. I hadn't been to Florida for like 10 years. I used to live here and I'm back visiting some friends now. Yeah.

Simon Kennell 0:57
Are the alligators still biting over there?

Paola Pascual 1:00
Um, I hope not around here. I haven't seen them yet. I just got just got here two weeks ago. Yeah. How are you doing today?

Simon Kennell 1:11
I'm doing I'm doing great. You know, it is close to the summer. We are very close here in Denmark. So everybody is very excited. But ya know, doing doing great. We are all I think busy as always, and, and you are working on something that's very exciting over in the States for just a little bit cooking up something exciting. Can you tell us a little bit about we talked a little bit about it before, but tell us a little bit about it.

Paola Pascual 1:38
Yeah, so actually, the reason I am on this side of the Atlantic is because I went to New York, I met with, with the team with the Talaera team, and we are working on a new product. And that is self paced courses. So that means that apart from all the other products that we have, like one on one sessions, and group courses, and workshops, and all these ways in which people, people can learn, we are creating this system where you can learn at your own pace, you can get instant feedback, you can learn all of these topics. And actually, the first course that we're rolling out is email, business email, so email writing, and how to write effective emails in English. So that's what brings us to the topic of today.

Simon Kennell 2:24
Yeah, that's so exciting. I mean, I know, for myself just kind of watching from afar, it's like, I can't wait to see what it looks like everything, like the little glimpses I've seen, so far, everything is so cool. And it's, you know, a really cool option for a lot of people out there that, you know, if they're not able to do one on ones, or they're not in a big company that can, you know, get them into a group session or something like that, that everybody like we're trying to make, you know, just like the podcast is possible for everybody that, you know, everybody can can could get to a group course, or to a self paced learning course, and do this. And I just think it's very cool. You know, like, we're creating this ecosystem of communication training, where, like you said it before Paola, like, you can come to Telaera and walk away, you know, a communication expert, which that's, I mean, that's awesome. That's awesome. And yeah, that brings us to brings us to business email writing, which is something that we, we just, always talk about, we always hear about. And yeah, I mean, where do we even start with, with business email writing?

Paola Pascual 3:40
Well, if you we could go on, on and on forever talking about business emails, but I think for today, because I mean, I cannot even I don't know how we've been a whole year doing the podcast over a year, and we haven't even done a single episode, one of our most popular topics, and I think we can start a really good start, and we'll do more if people are interested. But we can address the two main challenges that people have, I think, among our students, you mean who I mean, who are native English speakers, but I've seen this with also native speakers. The first one is and let me know what you think Simon? Email structure.

Simon Kennell 4:22
Right, right. You know, this goes back to the point like I always say, we are not necessarily in the business of making someone the best English speaker in the world. It's about making someone a really, really good English communicator. Right. And just like you said, I know so many people who English is their first language and I I have a really tough time understanding what they're saying or how they're communicating. I mean, you've seen there's so many examples, if you just Google, you know, bad emails, you'll see so many examples of just emails where I'm like what in the world is going on? Right? And that first thing that structure is so important. Because structures are also Yeah, it's very different, I think in a lot of places. But there is a standard kind of structure that you can have. And you have a great kind of rundown of how we should think about the structure of an email.

Paola Pascual 5:23
Yes, so we try to break it down into very actionable steps, because the structure goes beyond the, Hi, Anna, I hope you're doing well. And then here's a chunk of text. That's super unstructured. And then let me know if you have any questions. Bye. It goes way beyond that. And we created this technique that we call the house technique for, for business emails. And that's exactly how you should build your email how you would build a house. Instead of starting with the decorations, like who would start a house by adding some plants, right? You first do the walls, then once you have the walls, then you do the furniture, and then you do the decorations and not the other way around. Right? I don't know if that's making any sense at the moment?

Simon Kennell 6:11
No, it makes total sense. My question is, yeah, what are the walls and the foundation and all of this, because, I mean, this is maybe just the way my brain works. But I really like having a kind of a list or a structure of I need to do steps 1, 2, 3, and 4, and then I just make that into a habit, and then it becomes very easy. And that's what I've taught to a lot of my students as well is just get this basic house structure and turn it into a habit. And then your the time that you spend on writing emails goes from, I mean, 20-25 minutes on one email, which is, you know, crazy to think about spending that much time to five minutes, right. And we can really, we can do that with this house technique. So let's, let's get into it. What what do we do with the house structure?

Paola Pascual 7:02
Yeah. So first, we start with a stable base. Those are the walls. And the walls are two basics. First is why are you writing? And what next? Those are the walls. That's if they if they don't have time to read anything else, those two should be super clear. Why are you writing and what next? So that's that, at least we have the basics. Then we can start adding the furniture. That's the supporting information. So you know, it is necessary. But it's also secondary. Right? Not the reason of your email is not what what's next. But sometimes you do need additional information like and attachment and or specifying the points that you would like to cover in the meeting, so on and so forth. And then once you're done, then you can really add the decoration. Those are the formalities, the niceties. You know, those are the finishing touches, touches to make your email look pretty and nice and polite. Like oh, hello, thank you please chat soon. And I look forward to hearing from you, and all that that.

Simon Kennell 8:09
Okay, so I love the idea that at the core right at the center is the WHY and the WHAT, right? Well, which it's yeah, what why are you writing? What do you need? And I think we've all read emails where we don't know, like, that's the first thing that I look for when I'm reading an email is okay, because usually when I'm going through emails, it's a list of emails. And I just want to get through them, you know, so it's like, when I click on an email, I'm like, Okay, why is this person writing? What do they need? And then I'm okay, I'm going to the next one, right?

Paola Pascual 8:48
Yeah, and the biggest mistake, or the most common mistake that I always see is that people start the other way around. So and I understand that it's very tempting to start the other way round, start first with the formalities, and then all add all sorts of supporting information. And then lastly, you ask the question that you're wanting to ask, like, I have to read through all of this to actually get to the point. Yeah, much more effective. If you do it the other way around, start with the walls. That's the what, why you're writing and what next, and then you can have supporting information if they need to read more, and then you can be you know, add all those decorations.

Simon Kennell 9:26
And and so how do we do this? How do we how do we write the what are the why like, I mean, what's like a good kind of just first phrase that I mean, would would you just be totally direct? And like just say, I'm writing you because?

Paola Pascual 9:43
Yeah! I mean, we usually do add the Hi Simon, I hope you're wel. That's totally fine. But then you can some phrases for the walls are I'm writing to you about our last meeting, or I'm reaching out because I wanted to get your thoughts on this project. Or I want to let you know that our meeting tomorrow has been cancelled.

Simon Kennell 10:04
Right? So very direct, very straight to the point. Great. Great. And then, so it's the why you're reading and then the what? What's the how do we frame the what?

Paola Pascual 10:16
The why could look. So again, some something super straightforward something for example, like, please let me know if this works. Please let me know you're available for a call tomorrow morning. Or please let me know if we can reschedule the meeting for next week.

Simon Kennell 10:32
Right, right. Right. Right. Great. Great. So and I think, as well, you know, sometimes it's not always going to be so simple of just, you know, hey, this is why I'm writing this is what I need by sometimes you'll, you're going to need to explain something. But so it's tempting in that situation, to take some time to write out this like, lengthy email explaining some big thing, right? Do you think it's just even better to just give a couple bullet points or just say, look, I would love to jump on a call with you, here are some times or what do you think's the way to do it in that way?

Paola Pascual 11:12
Well, I'll ask the question back to you. What do you prefer to read very long emails with all the information or just bullet points to know the basics and move on?

Simon Kennell 11:24
That's, I mean, for me, it's always bullet points, like, you know, if there's a situation that I think it needs to go really in depth, then I think we just need to move to a call, you know, and I've done that a couple times, where anytime it gets into this back and forth novel writing, it's it. You know, life's too short, you know, if we got to just move it to a call, and we can get, you know, we can get through a lot of this much quicker. So yeah, I'm totally with you.

Paola Pascual 11:55
It goes both ways. Like when you show respect for other people's time, I, there's this super famous quote that says, I am sorry, for sending you this long letter, I didn't have time to shorten it. Because it really takes time to condense information, it's much easier to just write a novel. So one, it shows respect. And the other one, and I even think even more importantly, is efficiency. If you want to make sure people read something, then don't write so much.

Simon Kennell 12:21
Yeah, yeah, exactly. Right. I mean, for any of you listening, a great source on this is Cal Newport, who does a lot of work on like, productivity and, and communication. And he talks a lot about how the introduction of emails and organizations was really like the death of productivity in organizations, because people get into this loop of just sending these huge emails back and forth. Right. So yeah, so we have the house right? That's, that's a really important part for us. You know, the what and the why in the middle, and then building out from there, right. So. So what do we do after the what and the why? What can we what can we build on with that?

Paola Pascual 13:04
Then we need to, that's when we need to add the furniture. And that's the supporting information, I usually recommend building a more of a minimalistic house, rather than clogged one. So what are the basics you need the sofa? You need the bed? And that's, you know, pretty much it? What is the information that they really need to complete that next step? Yeah. And everything else, you can tell them over a call or an attachment or an external link.

Simon Kennell 13:34
So that supporting info which can be like bullet points, or what have you, is literally just to support if it's if it's really needed to support the the action that you're asking for. Right? So yeah, it's like, hey, could we have a more in depth discussion to talk about the changes in the HR department due to COVID-19? I'm available on Monday from 10 to three, right? So that's like the why, right. But if there's like specific things that that person needs to prepare, then you can add in, you know, three questions, I want to focus on how we're dealing with company culture options to work from the office, how are we adapting our OKRs? Right? So then you're even specifying it and that's, that's really supporting the why I'm writing right?

Paola Pascual 14:27
Exactly that and then once you have that, you can wrap it up, you can put the nice little ribbon on top and have all these, I hope you're well it was so great to see you yesterday. Look forward to hearing from you. Thank you...

Simon Kennell 14:41
All right. And actually one of the and I know I've talked about this one before but what one of the sources I always give my students is the one that that you created about the 100 email phrases, I mean, use that for different introductions and endings. I mean, it's it's so bad, I think If I could type, I hope you're well in my sleep by now that I've just I always start off my emails with I hope you're well, you know. But yeah, definitely very helpful. So we have the house technique. What else? What else?

Paola Pascual 15:15
Yeah, so that was the main the main concern that we've heard from students that how to structure an email correctly. And the other thing is, how do I find the balance between being professional, but also not super professional? Because you want to sound natural and personal, Right? That's, that's a bit of a major concern. And if you have any tips, or where do we start? Where do we even start?

Simon Kennell 15:40
Yeah. So this is a this is an interesting one. Right is? I don't know. I mean, I I think that Dear Mr. Whoever, I think that this is a bit outdated at this point. You know, to be honest, I'll I mean, unless I'm writing the president, or or I'm, it's a very kind of crafted approach to something that I may use, dear if I'm not, if I'm not on the same level. And again, this can go into hierarchy. And this can go into culture, cross cultural, I think to be safe cross culturally, you can use Dear Mr. Dear Mrs. But again, you, you know, a lot of times you don't want to gender, the user, Mr. or Mrs. So you can say, Dear John, or and just use the first name. So I think, if I had to I just most often use Hi. Hi, Paula. Hi, John, you know, and I don't think that that's unprofessional. What do you think?

Paola Pascual 16:45
Yeah, I'm so glad you brought this up. I think it's it's definitely going in that direction. So business communication is getting more and more informal. Right. Currently. However, I think that is more the case. Will it happens across the board. But it's more evident in the high tech industry. And in the United States. Again, the trend is happening everywhere, but it's just much more visible, and the states and the high tech industry. In Israel, they tend to be very informal as well. But I think if you go to Germany, and to most parts in Asia, you still see that deer in there. Yeah. So when in doubt, right.

Simon Kennell 17:36
Yeah,

Paola Pascual 17:37
exactly.

Simon Kennell 17:39
And that's what I mean. Like, I think in most cultural situations, I would use dir just to be safe. But do you? Would you use the Mr. And Mrs. And then last name? Or what would you use?

Paola Pascual 17:53
No, I'm with you. I usually use first names. That's yeah. Unless it's a very, very formal situation. But for a gentle business. First name is usually usually a good idea.

Simon Kennell 18:05
But what about if were, were working cross culturally, and we're going to be contacting a businessman in Japan, that's at a higher level. I mean, I may then use the Dear Mr. Wright just in case just for that hierarchical purpose. And I don't know. I mean, this is a sign of respect, I think. And, you know, I wish we could give you the clear cut rules. But I would say if you're, if you're concerned about it, then go the safe route. If it is a hierarchical culture, right, but otherwise, in most situations, you I think you're fine with dear first name, or especially in the US. Hi, and then first name?

Paola Pascual 18:51
Yes, I agree. But with all cross cultural situations, we always encourage people to do some research, and really see what's going on there. It's always safe to mirror the other person. So if they start using deer, then usually it's a good idea to use a deer and then we'll move on to high then you can move on to high usually it's a safe, it's safer to let them do that first.

Simon Kennell 19:15
Yeah, I think this is the longest anybody has ever talked about you writing hire deer in the first line of an email, but that's what we do. We're communication. So here we go. Yeah, and, and then so after the hire deer, I use I hope you're well, I mean, that's kind of what I use. What what do you think? Do you think it's a bit?

Paola Pascual 19:37
It's a little overused, it's okay. I also write that as well, just because it's the easiest. I hope you're well, I hope you had a nice weekend. I hope all is well. I hope things are going great. That's usually the easiest. So yeah, usually if you've had any sort of contact prior to the email, it's a great to reference it. It was so nice to see you yesterday or breaking up Earlier this morning, that's usually

Simon Kennell 20:04
more than last week. Yeah, exactly. Right. Yeah. You can take that line as an opportunity to Yeah, like you said, Build report. Yeah, I like that. Sometimes, especially like, the US if you just jump directly into. Hi, Christina, could we have a more in depth discussion? You know what I mean? That can seem a bit too direct. Right. So there are,

Paola Pascual 20:29
I'm so glad you bring that up as well, because we have, we work with a lot of people from East rail and emails, there tend to be super short. And by super short, I mean, a line. And oftentimes, they don't include any any decorations. Right? Any. I hope you're well, and looking forward to seeing you and all that. And many of my students have told me, yeah, but I never say that. So I'm not gonna say that. I always tell them, yeah, you don't really have to change who you are and how you communicate. But you have to understand that that is a really, really great way to set the tone and to get more people to buy into whatever you're trying to tell them.

Simon Kennell 21:08
Right, that there are there are differences in how we perceive it, and what is culturally, you know, normal, even when it comes to email writing. I mean, it goes really there, you know, to that point. Yeah, yeah. Okay, so we have the introductions. You know, the titles. Now, one point we did want to bring up was something that we see a lot is, does long sentences, complex sentences mean more professional, big words? Does that mean more professional?

Paola Pascual 21:42
100%? No, that's what many people think they think that using big words, and long sentences is going to make them look more professional. But the reality is that you are much more influential when you use simple, straightforward and short sentences.

Simon Kennell 22:00
Right? And, and you're much more professional because you get the point across and it's much more effective, right? So it's, I mean, it's exactly that it's, it's really, we kind of get put into our own head of what a professional email should look like. And then, you know, whoever that poor person that you're sending this to, was looking through their emails on Monday morning, and they're reading this thing, and they're trying to like, you know, put three and five together and figure out what it was that you were writing. Really, they just want simple short sentences, right?

Paola Pascual 22:32
Yeah, exactly. I don't know if if this has ever happened to you. But when I hear someone talk about complex things, and and I hear them explaining it in a very simple way that is so clear to everyone. That's when I'm thinking, wow, this person is really smart. And not the other way around when they start using all this jargon and difficult words.

Simon Kennell 22:55
Was that okay, I'm totally miss gonna misquote. But I'm pretty sure that was Einstein that said, like, you only truly understand something if you can explain it to a nine year old, and they can understand, you know what I mean? Like, that's when you know, okay, that you understand it, and maybe it it really sends a signal that you take that little extra time to think it through to make it a bit more simple and straightforward. That's it. Great, great, great. Okay.

Paola Pascual 23:24
Yeah, we have the greeting, we talked about Hi. So usually say for the high tech in the US? If you're not sure, then dear, then it's much better to use simple short sentences, it makes you look more professional. And also, it's easier to bond with people when you use plain words. We're getting to the end of the email. What about the closing? Question? What's the good practice?

Simon Kennell 23:51
So I think when when closing for me, as always, action items, like what's the next thing? I don't I don't want to leave an email ambiguous. And by that I don't I don't want to leave an email, kind of like where the person needs to be guessing what's the next move? Right? It needs to be I think, something very clear. Like, can we set a meeting for next week? And then give your Calendly link or some dates and times? Or, please let me know if this works for you? Or can you provide some feedback? Right, so it's very clear, what is the action item, right? Or even on the other side, I will follow up with you after our meeting next week, or I will do XY and Z. So it needs to be an action item. Because ambiguity. I think when it comes to emails means it's a it's a lot of missed time, right?

Paola Pascual 24:47
Yes. So that's part of that's part of the wolves. And I definitely think that we should start with the wolves and finish with the wolves like why, what should happen next, like what's this all about? So I'm 100% with you And then Okay, so we have the next steps write that what's going to happen and what should happen? And that's it, do we do we just say bye? And?

Simon Kennell 25:11
Yeah, so there's some different ways with that, right? How do we do that? If, like using thanks. If you're asking for something? I mean, how do we, if we're just assuming they're going to do something? I usually end all of my emails with best. And then Simon, you know? Or yeah, you know, thanks for your help, or what have you. But I'm not if I'm asking for something in an email, I'm not going to say thanks for your help. Because in a way, it just assumes that they are going to do the thing that I'm asking if that makes sense.

Paola Pascual 25:47
It doesn't make a lot of sense, I think with it, it's, it's an easy topic and a very difficult topic. At the same time, when we talk about signatures or like sign offs. And depending on who you ask, you're gonna get a different answer, I would say Warm regards, is usually safe, many people are going to take it the wrong way. And then being friendly is usually a very good idea. However, if the tone of the email was more negative, and positive, then you have to be careful with the sign up, because it can really look very sarcastic and a little bit passive aggressive. Here's, for example, cheers is a very informal way of signing off. And you'll see that a lot in the US in the UK and in Australia, delivered less common elsewhere, but you can see it in informal settings. Now, if you are in the US, and you've had a few emails back and forth, and you were giving negative feedback in a very professional way, you know, you're saying, Oh, next time you do this, can you please help me do it this other way? And then cheers. That can be a little bit grating. And from context.

Simon Kennell 27:03
Yeah, I think it is, again, you're trying to kind of guess how the person is going to feel reading the email? Yeah, that's a tough one. I don't know. I I usually try to play it pretty safe. Like, yeah, like, what is the tone of the email? If, you know, it's like, if I send an email where I really gave some bad news, I wouldn't at the end of the email, say, you know, have a great weekend exclamation point. And you want to kind of keep it in line. Right. And Warm regards, or regards is a is a safe, you know, or best is a safe kind of alternative, I think to all of them.

Paola Pascual 27:48
Yeah, I agree. I agree. All right.

Simon Kennell 27:51
So it's a lot we covered, right? So what did we go through? I mean, we went through the house technique, right, which is what exactly,

Paola Pascual 27:59
we have the walls, the furniture and the decoration. And that's the order in which we should write it. So we start with the wall. So why are you writing and what should happen next? Once you have that, think about the furniture that your house needs. And that is the essential information that the reader needs. And that could be the points that you want to cover for a meeting or instructions for the meeting point or for the project or assigning tasks. And then you can add all the decorations with the decorations and the nicer bits. Especially if you're not. If you're not so confident with emails, leave the nice parts for the end. Yeah, write the important message first. So yeah, that's a bit that the House technique.

Simon Kennell 28:44
Yeah. And with those sentences, we want to remember that big words, long sentences doesn't equal professional of the year, right? It just, it makes it more difficult to get to the point of what you're trying to say. Right? So really try to make it concise. That's the key word. There's concise and clear. Yeah, and then as well, keeping it natural, but professional, there are the differences there. Right. dere is a safe one across cultures. You know, hi in the US and the first name, that's fine. And then as well with our with our endings, how we're ending it with action items as part of the walls, like you said, but then also using kind of safe, general Warm regards. All the best, you know, that can that can translate across. There's so many, I think resources here and again, it's part of I think building the habit of it starting with the the what and the why and then kind of going up from there. But again, if you're one of those people where we hear this all the time, you start an email and then it's 25 minutes later and you're like oh my God, what did I Just spend all this time doing this is a good way to kind of get into that. And Paula Yeah, I love the house technique. That's I think that's so great. We have some resources around this that people can use, right?

Paola Pascual 30:13
Yes, we have a lot. We have a combination of 150 Ema phrases that that I personally use all the time when I get caught up in like, I don't want to use I hope you're well anymore. What else can we use? So we'll we'll drop that in the in the description. We have this house technique explained with a lot of examples. And we definitely have a lot more content that will we cover today. I just think this is such a good introduction to show people how they can write faster emails in a more efficient and effective way. But yeah, I'm so excited to talk about in future episodes about the use of emojis and how to actually write sentences that are more clear or look like, you know, there's so many things that I would love to talk about by Why don't you think about leaving that for a different

Simon Kennell 31:01
episode? Yeah, I think again, that's a bit more of the of the nice furniture and the dressing and everything like that, which we will get into. But we have so many people ask us about emails. And as part of our new upcoming self paced learning course, email writing is going to be number one. And that's just, I think, hopefully going to save the world hours and hours of stress of you know, trying to craft the perfect email. So yeah, really looking forward to it. Paula, anything else coming up that we should know about?

Paola Pascual 31:36
Yeah, so we're right in the middle of our HR Culture Month, and we'll also drop the link in the description, but that's for mostly for HR professionals, for l&d professionals, and in general, for a lot of managers that really want to develop some of their leadership skills, and also how to find themselves in this management mess that sometimes can become. So yeah, again, we'll drop the link in the description. But if not, you can type telera HR culture month,

Simon Kennell 32:11
I'm sure. Awesome. Awesome. Well, great. Well, as always, to all of our awesome listeners out there, and there's so many over 160 countries, I mean, you guys, the telera The telera team just all over the place. I mean, it's just it's it's so great to, to see and to get your feedback. Remember to to write into us. If you have any ideas for things that you want to hear about, you know, we're here to help you to provide some value for you and making things better. So just send us any feedback you have. That is it for today. As always, keep learning.

Paola Pascual 32:50
And that's all we have for you today. We hope you enjoyed it and remember to subscribe to Talaera Talks. We'll be back soon with more

Simon Kennell 32:58
And visit our website at talaera.com for more valuable content on business English. You can also request a free consultation on the best ways for you and your team to improve your communication skills. So have a great day and keep learning!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Write Clear Emails With These 4 Practical Concise Writing Tips

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
For most of us, it is very easy to get lost and end up writing a long, complicated email. In this article, we will share very easy tricks to make sure your emails are concise, short, and clear. But first, let's start with the basics!

# data[].attributes.headline
HubSpot: Email Signature Examples: How to Write a Great One [+ Free Generator]

# data[].attributes.subject
HubSpot: Email Signature Examples: How to Write a Great One [+ Free Generator]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Email Signature Examples: How to Write a Great One [+ Free Generator]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn what to include in your email signature, get tips on what makes an awesome one, and then use our free email signature generator to craft your own.

# data[].attributes.headline
HBR: How to Craft a Great Marketing Email

# data[].attributes.subject
HBR: How to Craft a Great Marketing Email

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Despite the daily loathing you feel when you see more emails being sent to your ever-growing inbox, emails are one of the steadiest marketing ROI strategies available. I, too, don't want more emails but I actually do appreciate a thoughtful marketing email - even from an unknown company. This may make me sound rarer than those with inbox zero, but let me explain why.

I have run multiple tech companies and consulted with dozens of clients who depend on email to acquire new customers and stay in touch with existing ones. At my last software company, we sent over 14 million emails a year. We built a relationship with our list and they wanted to hear from us (our open rates showed that).

My friend and fellow Forbes contributor Pat Rigsby sends an email to his list every single day. Sound spammy to you? Not at all, since he has fostered a relationship with his audience and treats them like gold. Some of his very best content is shared via his email instead of his blog or social media. Is he educating them? Yes. Is he entertaining them? Yes. Is he hard selling them? No. But are they OK with him marketing to them? Yes.

Having sent millions of emails for my previous companies and now for my clients across multiple industries, I have found the following key elements of a great marketing email:
Your Subject Line Matters (Possibly The Most)
We have all been baited into opening an email because someone did something shady. Tactics like impersonating a relationship that doesn't exist or adding a prefix of "RE:" to imply a conversation will not be effective even if opened.

Unfortunately, if you steer clear of deception and craft an incredibly clear message for the body of your email but don't use a good subject line, it will be ignored. You must hook them in the subject line with any of these ideas for personalization: something related to their job title/department, their company or something you find you both have in common. Any commonality or personalization you use should not require hours of stalking their social profiles.
Build The Momentum Early
If your subject line got your email opened, great job! Now the real task is to build momentum with the recipient reading your body content. Your first sentence has to grab their attention and sell them on reading on to the second sentence. The second sentence should sell them on reading the third and soon you'll have the snowball rolling down the hill.

Let's start by analyzing the first sentence. This first line must be about the recipients and how they benefit. You can do this by asking a question or using a statistic but it must benefit or relate to them. A common mistake of the first sentence (or worse, paragraph) is to start by introducing yourself.

Avoid doing this: " My name is Todd. I work for MoneyPath, a growth marketing firm helping companies grow by marrying marketing and sales efforts. I was reaching out to you to see if you would like to learn more."

Instead, consider these lines:

* 85% of companies grow faster with sales and marketing teams working together.

* A re you tired of your sales and marketing teams operating separately?

* Most people think sales and marketing can't be aligned. Luckily, they're wrong.
Ask For The Next Step
You can hook someone with something clever but all marketing emails (and frankly internal ones, too) should have a clear reason for the outreach and a request for action if it's not an announcement. Your email may get deleted, but if you don't ask for the next step, you may confuse and miss out on an interested target.

If you want the recipient to click on something or to clearly see the call to action, be sure to put it on its own line.

As a matter of fact...

Breaking up a message can be effective - i f used wisely.

Just don't overdo it.

See, this is getting out of hand.
Consider Mobile Layouts
Seemingly everyone reads emails on their phone, but have you considered what your marketing email looks like on a mobile device? Is your image header pushing down your attention-grabbing first sentence? Is your call to action buried so far down on mobile that it's hard to find? All of this is avoidable by having the right layout.

Start by setting the width of your email between 500 and 600 pixels. Phones are getting bigger, but this is a safe size.

Be sure to check the pre-formatted header and footer text. Marketing tools are great at feeding templates you can easily replace, but you must add your own content. Nothing is worse than opening an email on your phone and reading, "

Finally, don't forget to make your font size bigger. Your 9-point Arial font won't be easily legible on a phone. Use 12-point font in the body copy and 22 (or even 30) for the header text.

If these edits intimidate you or you don't know how to make these changes, just stick with text-only emails. In many marketing scenarios, they are viewed as more personal and can outperform a beautiful template.

You may not be ready for sending millions of emails a year or daily emails to your audience, but hopefully, you see how a great marketing email can stand out. Your audience today has an overcrowded inbox. Lucky for you, most won't use these tips and you will only stand out even more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Council Post: How To Craft A Great Marketing Email

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you've written an informative and interesting marketing email, make sure your subject line matches.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Do Your Best Work

Writing with Grammarly makes it easy to get your point across. Craft polished emails, add clarity to documents, and overcome writer's block with an AI writing partner that works where you do.

Sorry, your browser doesn't support embedded videos

"I could not imagine my communication at work without Grammarly. I am infinitely more confident, productive, and better equipped to communicate my ideas in a concise way for everyone to understand."

Gareth Hood
Staff Product Manager

"Grammarly has easily saved 30% of my time writing emails. I have to communicate highly technical and complex information to senior leadership. Grammarly has taught me to be succinct while still carrying the message through."

Gideon Schoonbee
Engineering Team Lead

Elevate Your Work With
Effortless Writing

Join 30 million people and 70,000+ teams who use Grammarly to
transform their writing every day.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Grammarly helps you level up your professional writing into writing that gets results.

# data[].attributes.headline
HBR: 5 Tips for Writing Professional Emails

# data[].attributes.subject
HBR: 5 Tips for Writing Professional Emails

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Learning to write better emails will improve your reputation as a strong and thoughtful team member, help you articulate your ideas clearly, grow your influence, avoid unnecessary back-and-forths, and actually get things done. Here are a few basic guidelines to follow:

First, identify what you want your email to convey. Ask yourself: What outcome do I hope this email brings? What do I want the recipient to do? This will help clarify your intentions.

Next, decide the recipients of your email. In general, though, avoid sending a message to an entire team of people if you only need to talk to one or two. Similarly, don't CC your boss on all emails that don't require their oversight.
Tailor your subject line. Use a verb or a phrase to indicate what action you want the recipient to take such as "Decision," "Action Required," or "Feedback."

When you write your message, start with the action you want the reader to take. Follow up with the context, and end by letting them know you're available for questions. Include visual elements like bullet points, bold text, italics, and shorter paragraphs.

Always specify the timeline of the action or by when you want the recipient to get back to you. Include the expected end date for the task, request, or feedback.

Where your work meets your life. See more from Ascend here.

How much of your time do you spend writing, replying to, and second-guessing emails?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learning to write better emails will improve your reputation as a strong and thoughtful team member, help you articulate your ideas clearly, grow your influence, avoid unnecessary back-and-forths, and actually get things done. Here are a few basic guidelines to follow: First, identify what you want your email to convey.

# data[].attributes.headline
Forbes: 11 Great Tips to Craft Better Emails

# data[].attributes.subject
Forbes: 11 Great Tips to Craft Better Emails

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
While a lot of online marketers have described email marketing as dead, nothing could be further from the truth. Email as a medium has the potential to generate unprecedented levels of engagement and interaction within a customer base. However, doing that requires crafting an email that goes beyond what you've come to expect from email marketing campaigns.

How does a brand craft better emails to improve its customer engagement? We asked 11 professionals from Forbes Communications Council what they thought went into crafting killer email copy to increase consumer engagement and put email marketing to a whole new level. Here's what they had to say.
1. Do Not Oversell
Emails today can easily be like the direct mailers we all still get. The best way to make sure your email will get the attention it deserves is to be direct, on-point and respectful -- respectful in a way that you don't overload with unnecessary details, sales pitch and too strong of a call to action. If you are on-point and professional with a touch of personal notes, your goals will be much closer. - Kobi Ben-Meir, Yalber
2. Connect With No Strings Attached
When we only reach out to contacts with our motives obviously self-interested, introductory pleasantries can come across as insincere. Instead, occasionally message clients and other key connections with zero strings attached. For example, when pursuing collaboration opportunities, send a note two to three weeks prior to your pitch, complimenting the recipient on a recent accomplishment on LinkedIn. - Jeff Grover, Best Company
3. Be Concise And To The Point
This may seem overly simplified, but keep it short and to-the-point. The best communication and response I've had is when my emails are maximum three to five sentences or formatted in bullet points for more information. People's time is valuable and everyone is busy. You're more likely to get a response if you respect that fact and make your emails easy and fast to read. A friendly salutation also helps! - Allison McMahan, Alford Media
4. Conduct Recipient Research
A good email can become great when the writer immediately mentions who they are in the context of what their intended recipient has done (not on which company the recipient works for or what their title is). This demands recipient research before crafting, which many good email writers have convinced themselves they don't have time to do. - Cameron Conaway, Solace
5. Maximize The Email Preview Text
Focusing on a subject line and content are important. However, one of the most overlooked ways to capture one's attention is the email preview text. This 40- to 100-character string of text appears in nearly every email client and in every device. Utilizing this text to expand and support your subject line can help drive email open rates and get a recipient to read your entire message. - Ryan Vet, boon, Inc.
6. Make Your First Sentence Your Best Sentence
Readers decide within seconds if they are going to read your whole email, so make your first sentence your best sentence. Be specific, show value (offer the reader something they care about) and then add some personality. Emojis are fun and effective to keep them reading! - Leela Gill, Intelligence Node
7. Don't Be Afraid To Leave In Mistakes
With the advent of tools like Grammarly, we're in a time when everyone can ensure their writing is crystal-clear and perfect from both a grammatical and readability perspective. But here's a controversial opinion -- it's OK to leave mistakes in. Not only is it OK, it comes across as more human in an era of AI and email sequences, and can be that difference between a prospect hitting "reply" or "delete." - Patrick Ward, Rootstrap
8. Combine It With Another Medium
You could have the greatest email in the world but if it's the 100th one I received in the day, I probably missed it. Using channels like social reaches, text messages and sometimes just picking up the phone can supplement a great email. Touch on value being delivered and no more sales pitches. I particularly like it when people take the time to video-introduce themselves. - James Gilbert, CloudCherry
9. Review Data And Recalibrate
Establish a benchmark for success. Review data on previous email campaigns to see what recipients responded to before. This allows you to identify areas for improvement and consider what adjustments need to be made to reach your objectives. Understanding your history allows you to pivot toward the email tactics that have worked the best. - Crystal McFerran, The 20
10. Have A Strong Call To Action
A great filter to use with emails begins with the following question. Does it ask anything of the recipient? The best emails are short and have a single, clear call to action. You are sending it to someone for the clear reason that you need them to do something after reading it. Consider carefully what that is. If not, maybe you should rethink why you're sending it in the first place. - Eric Jones, WP Engine
11. Get The Targeting Right
There's no such thing as the "perfect email." There is such a thing as the perfect email for the perfect person, at the perfect time, with the perfect resonant message and call to action. Create a segment of one. Also, there are many things marketers must keep in mind about email campaigns -- typos, grammar mistakes, and lack of brevity. That last thing said, I'll wrap this up. - Omar Garriott, salesforce.com

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Council Post: 11 Great Tips To Craft Better Emails

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Generating engagement and interaction from your marketing emails means taking your campaigns beyond the standard newsletter. Communications pros explain how to craft killer email copy to increase consumer engagement and put email marketing to a whole new level.