Emails are a big deal in business. It’s important that emails are not only opened and read but also offer value to its recipient. If you are finding it difficult to compose great emails that elevate your business and really grab the attention of your clients, read on for tips and tricks to composing a great email.
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- HAVE A COMPELLING SUBJECT LINE
- START WITH AN APPROPRIATE GREETING
- HAVE A STRONG ATTENTION GRABBER
- KEEP YOUR MESSAGE SHORT AND CONCISE
- WRITE A SAMPLE CLOSING
- SCHEDULE YOUR EMAIL
1.HAVE A COMPELLING SUBJECT LINE
Be clear, direct, and describe the contents of your email as much as possible. If it’s a promotional email, avoid deceptive tricks like: RE:, FWD:, Urgent, Order Confirmation, Account Status. You’ll also want to stay away from using punctuation.
2. START WITH AN APPROPRIATE GREETING
Your greeting consists of two components: the salutation and the opening sentence. If sending a formal email, it’s better to start with “Dear x” and if it’s a casual email to someone you know, a simple “Hi” or “Hello” works well. It’s best to avoid non-inclusive and gender-specific terms like “Mr./Ms./Mrs.” and you might consider offering a warm greeting like “Good morning/ afternoon/evening” to soften your approach.
3.HAVE A STRONG ATTENTION GRABBER
While the subject line will determine if your email is opened or not, your opening sentence determines if your email is read all the way to the end. While not always necessary or appropriate, you can choose to start with a familiar interest to your recipient to build rapport. Next, you’ll want to immediately go into the “why” of the email. This will avoid any annoyance or feelings of wasted time and will ensure you maintain the recipient’s attention.
4.KEEP YOUR MESSAGE SHORT & CONCISE
With roughly 319 billion emails sent worldwide each day, you will want to optimize your email for readability and scanability by initiating the following techniques: keep paragraphs short; add bullet points; use visuals to break up text. You’ll want to avoid using multiple font styles, sizes, and colors so that you don’t overwhelm, confuse or “scare” your recipient.
QUICK TIP: If you’re sending out sales emails and need inspiration of exactly what to say, take a look at HubSpot’s sales email templates.
5.WRITE A SIMPLE CLOSING
Keep it simple and straightforward avoiding flowery language. Here are some suggestions: Sincerely; Best; Warm regards; Warm wishes; Kind regards; Thank you; Take care
6.SCHEDULE YOUR EMAIL
If you’re questioning if it will actually be opened, it’s best to schedule your email during peak open rate hours: 6am – 9am. It will take trial and error to determine your best time and always remember time zones are a key factor when emailing someone in another state or country.
7.CHECK YOUR GRAMMAR & SPELLING
After all the work you’ve invested so far, this is the most important and final step. Once you’ve finished drafting your email, consider copying and pasting it into Microsoft Word or Google Docs to give it a quick check for grammar and spelling and then always read it out loud to yourself before hitting send.
8.ALWAYS ASK YOURSELF THESE QUESTIONS:
• Why am I emailing this person?
• Is this the right person to contact?
• Is my message clear and to the point?
• Would this be better discussed in a meeting?
• Does each line help or hurt my goal?
