Being one of the frequently used modes of communication, email has emerged as an integral part of any business. So, it’s no wonder why writing effective emails is important for maintaining proper workflow of your business.
Most of us have, at some point of time or the other, received pointless, confusing emails in our inbox that convey absolutely nothing and unnecessarily jam our mailbox! Obviously, you won’t like to do the same to others! After all, the main purpose of sending an email is to convey all you have to say to the recipients and it is best if you can put it in an organized manner. It becomes all the more important when the mails are on business. While writing an email has nothing to do with literature, one must abide by certain decorum. Since you don’t get a chance to shake hands with your client to seal the deal or your warm voice doesn’t go with the message, little inaccuracies might lead to misinterpretations, resulting into undesirable consequences for both the parties. Hence, you need to keep in mind certain factors while writing business mails. Here are some best practices, which if kept in mind, will help you in your attempt:
- Make the subject explicit enough – Remember, the ‘subject’ gives you the scope to express your statement in a nutshell. Therefore, you need to be as precise as possible. When it comes to business emails, the ones that come without a proper subject or no subject at all are usually not paid attention to. If you too fall prey to sending mails without an appropriate subject, it might be deleted right away without even being opened up. For instance, the subject for a recruitment campaign mail should be something like ‘Recruitment with Top MNC, 2-4 years Exp’, where the package too should ideally be mentioned in brief, if available. The key is to ensure that the subject clearly reveals the intended message and nature of your mail so that it gets due consideration and attention that it deserves.
- Be quick with replies– A prompt reply matters a lot when it comes to business emails. Try to reply to a mail as soon as you receive it. Make sure to send a quick heads-up to the sender that you have received the mail, but don’t have the time to check it right then, in case you are in a hurry.
- Ask for permission while forwarding another person’s email correspondence – Since you need to be professional and formal enough with business emails, make sure you ask for permission of the concerned person before you forward his/her mails to another person. Even if you are confident enough that the other person won’t mind if you send the mail, it is customary to check first, so that their trust is not violated.
- Put important information at the beginning – Whether you want your recipient to take an action or desire to convey some significant things, you should say so at the beginning of you mail. Don’t write a long story and request for the desired action at the end when you can easily draw your reader’s attention by mentioning it at the start.
- Proof-read your mail thoroughly before sending it – Once you are done with writing the mail, make sure to proof-read it while the spell-checker is running. A business mail with some typo or silly spelling mistakes would definitely not create a positive impression on the recipient’s mind. Also, check if you have put in the correct email-address in the ‘To’ section.
The next time you write a business mail, keep this checklist handy to do it right.
