I’m keeping it short today. You’ve probably got a busy day today especially after losing several hours yesterday to the Apple Debacle and their supposed Live Event. This probably just means your day today will be a little extra hectic. Remember as you go through your day today that many of the people you’re about to contact or send an email to probably also have a busy day. Because you’ll be sending email today, and because the people you send them to are probably just as busy as you are I want to give you 5 tips to help get your email read.
1. Keep it short
Don’t use 100 words when 10 will do. Be concise and straightforward. Leave off the fluff parts of the email. This doesn’t mean you have to lose your personality or be any less polite in your email but removing the extra sentences and words which just muddy the water and make the email longer than necessary will make your correspondence easier to read and understand. Here’s a great article on the subject of short emails. Mentioned in this article is the somewhat popular https://five.sentenc.es/ website.
2. Give a single call to action
I confess I’m an email skimmer. I’ll glance quickly over an email and see what the purpose is almost immediately upon opening one. I want to see what the point or call to action is within the email. If you want your email to be read and then some action performed as a result you need to make sure your email is extremely clear and to the point. Don’t give 3 or 4 different purposes in a single email. If you do you can be sure your email will be ignored or at the best-left for later.
3. Use short sentences
Use short sentences instead of making your email a long and elaborate story-telling experience with multiple compound sentences. If your email is merely an opportunity to share information then you can be more elaborate but if your purpose is to illicit an action then keep your sentences short. Short sentences promote skimming. Keep your thoughts succinct. Keep your words precise.
4. Time it right
When sending emails consider the time that it will arrive in the inbox of the other person. Is it the middle of the night? Is it during an off-peak time? You should find the peak time to send your email and then structure your email to be sent during that time. There are a number of tools for desktop email delay and sending at specific times. All modern email newsletter tools (e.g. Mailchimp) let you specify when your newsletter or email will be sent. Take advantage of this feature.
5. Know your audience
Never start an email with To Whom It May Concern. If you are taking the time to write an email to someone and you expect them to take the time to respond or do something for you the very least you can do is know to whom you are writing. You can almost guarantee your email will be ignored if you don’t take the time to know your audience. Write specifically. Write directly.
I told you I’d keep it quick today. I hope you’ll be just as quick when writing your next set of emails. They are simple tips really but you’ll be surprised how many times you forget them when composing your email messages. I personally always struggle with the first tip. I find reading and re-reading my emails before sending gives me the chance to simplify and refine my message. Make today a profitable one for you and send some good emails!