Learning how to write a professional email can be difficult. Our 101 will show you just what to do and what not to do.
We all write so many emails you might think, "I got this." However we would advise to take a step back and look at the emails you are sending. The way we communicate with employees can affect engagement, safety, and even your bottom line. One sour email can send an employee into a bad mood. One bad mood can rub off onto other employees and cause a terrible chain reaction. So take these email tips to heart.
You’re at work getting ready to start your day when you open an email titled, “Hey” from another associate at your office. Once you open it you find a message that reads as follows:
“Hey every body,
Their will be a meeting this THURSDAY at 3:00 pm in the conference room of the office. Don’t 4get to bring something to eat with you their will be a potluck afternnon meal for everyone. If u have anuy questions plz let me no.
Thnks”
So what was wrong with that email? There are some obvious mistakes... from the format, subject line, grammar and tone of the message the email is not professional whatsoever especially in an workplace setting.
Email accounts have changed the way the world communicates.
Email allows you to send a message halfway across the world in a millisecond, set reminders for meetings around the office, and even chat with friends. In a recent study, it was found that 294 billion emails are sent per day. That is a lot of emails. Let's not fill the world with more crappy emails. Here are a few things we have found that can help someone of any age learn how to write a professional email.
Before you even start your email, you should think about the type of person you are writing to since your audience will set the tone of the email. Take, for example, if you were emailing a new employee or customer your tone may be more formal. On the other hand, if you are emailing veteran employees or managers you might be more informal with your language.
This will be impacted a lot based on your company culture. If you work in a place where the occasional Bitmoji will brighten someone's day — send it! There is a time and a place though. Keep in mind your audience and the goals of your email before adding in those informal side notes.
These are the very first words your manager or employee will see. You are trying to draw them in and want them to actually open your message and see the contents. Here are a few useful tips to keep in mind when choosing a subject line in your professional email.
Making your subject line short, sweet and to the point will make the recipient curious as to what is inside. No one likes long subject lines that extend past their screen.
It’s always important to use words associated with the email in your subject line. For example: if you’re writing an email that is time-sensitive, you would want to put “Meeting Thursday at 2 p.m.” in your subject line so everyone knows that there will be a meeting on Thursday. The email will then give them important details about the meeting.
If someone sees an email with “Hi” or “Hey” as the subject line, they will probably ignore it. Make sure to be as detailed as possible without being overbearing. This ties in with the length of the subject line as well.
No matter what kind of audience you are writing towards, you should always remember to be careful with sarcasml. A recent study found that 64% of people have sent or received an email that has caused them an unintended anger or confusion.
It’s hard to interpret the tone of an electronic message so to avoid confusion or anger, read your e-mail out loud to yourself before you send it. If you think it sounds “snarky” while you are reading it out loud, then it probably would offend your recipient.
Outside the body of your email, the grammar may be the most important part of your professional e-mail! We’ve learned how to be grammatically correct our whole lives and this is the perfect opportunity to do so! Useful tips for best grammar:
Consider reading it out loud
Check your punctuation
Run spell check
Final important check, use the correct names for your recipients and spell them correctly.
To learn how to write those difficult emails check out our blog, "3 Tips on How to Write a Professional Email About Elephants." Looking for different ways to send a professional email? Check out VING and change the way your company communicates!