You know what we mean…emails with big paragraphs of text with no formatting, no sign offs (or worse abrupt sign offs), cc’ing in the world. The type of emails that make it difficult to understand what the point is and result in anyone reading spending extra time trying to decipher them.

These types of emails fracture relationships, cause misunderstandings and cost the business money. Not ideal.

But when you think about it – have any of us received any training on how to send effective business emails? No, we didn’t. Granted, it may come more naturally to some than others, presumably those with strong writing skills.

But for the rest of us, how do we learn to improve our emails?

Great question! Lucky for you, we wanted to share some quick tips for how to write solid business emails. The type of emails that make sense, ensure solid relationships at work and never cost you money or delays.

How to write effective business emails:

1. This first rule is more of a general tip about life than email writing. NEVER reply to an email when you’re feeling angry or stressed. Nothing good will come out and you won’t communicate your message . Take a breath, go for a walk – whatever you do, calm down before you start typing.

 

2. Take note of CC and To: send the email to the person who needs to action it and the CC should be anyone else. Don’t send TO everyone if they don’t need to take an action, for them it’s for their information only, so be sure to “CC”.

 

3. Subject: make it relevant, clear and easy to search for later if needed.

 

4. Structure: structure an email like you would a letter – have an intro, story and conclusion. Try to be kind, too. We’re all humans.

 

5. If there is a lot of text, make sure you break it up with bullet points, or bold headings. Make the action to take clear.

 

6. If the email content gets too long, consider copying the information into a word document. Then send as an attachment so people can add their comments if needed.

 

7. Have a professional email signature with your phone number, website, socials and address (if relevant). It’s professional and can save lots of time.

 

8. When replying to an email, it makes it easier if you add any replies into the body of the original email. This way you can see the trail of conversation. Use a different colour for your name and mark your reply with your name and date in brackets, for example [My Name 18/11].

 

There you go – some easy tips to improve your business emails and make sure you’re never misunderstood again!