Step by Step Guide to Writing Professional Emails That Have the Power to Convince
If you receive an email with a cold subject line, how would you feel? Would you feel like opening the mail and read it further?
I guess I know your answer. It will be NO. Now suppose out of curiosity you opened the email, but found it to be completely cluttered and messed up. Would you want to scroll down further and read the entire mail? I guess, now it’s a Big No! It is obviously a waste-of-time.
On the contrary, imagine a mail with a gripping subject line has landed in your mailbox. I’m damn sure you won’t wait another minute to open the mail. And needless to say, if the starter is good, the main course will be of course better. And guess what? The write-up in the mail is completely flawless instigating you to take an immediate call to action.
Businesses consider e-mail as the most effective tool for business interactions and hence make a lot of effort to get it right before clicking the send button. Although emails need not be formal like letters, they should have that professional tone which would certainly reflect the good image of the sender and his company.
Being the primary channel of communication between the service provider and the client, an email should be written with great clarity and must be error free.
You need to make sure whatever you are writing on your email is not going to have any negative impact on your client.
The importance of writing good quality emails can never be ignored, especially in this cloud-driven business growth environment. Let me explain to you some simple and effortless ways to write lucid emails, that will send positive and cordial vibes to the person receiving the mail.
Understanding the Significance of Subject Line – The first thing you need to do is to make use of the subject line in the best possible manner. The subject line in email plays two roles: it draws the attention of the reader straight away, and it tells the readers what the mail is about. Mails with bland or one-word subject lines bear high chances of landing into the spam folder. People tend to overlook these kinds of emails.
Therefore, words in your subject line must be chosen wisely. Also, for a mail that needs an immediate response from the recipient, you might include a call-to-action, for example, “Please reply by 10th May”. A subject line is said to be a well-written one when it has the capability to deliver the most important information to the recipient without even requiring him to open the entire email. An example has been given below for your better understanding.
Bad Example – Subject: Meeting
Good Example – Subject: Digital Design Project Meeting – 10 A.M May 25th, 2017
Also, lengthy subject lines are a strict No-no! It may appear as a cold email to the receiver.
In case of urgency, it is better you emphasize it in your subject line.
The Message Should be Short and ‘To-The-Point’ – Emails hold functions almost similar to that of traditional business letters and therefore need to be concise and to the point. A lengthy email containing lots of information, queries and doubts tends to create confusion and makes the recipient miffed. Thus, it is always recommended to write the mail body in such a manner so that the person reading this should get your point at a single glance. If you have a whole lot of information to provide and questions to ask, then first jot them down in a paper in bullet points. Then try writing separate emails for each topic, with appropriate subject lines. A good example and a bad example of the message body is shown here:
Messages with no proper context, like the one shown here, portray a highly unprofessional image of the sender.
The above mentioned are the two most integral part of any business email and therefore need the utmost attention of the writer. These two sections must be checked and rechecked several times before pressing the send button. Though these two hold paramount importance in a mail, it would be completely wrong to ignore the presentation part. A formal email, in order to be perfectly professional, must be presented in 5 simple steps.
1. Starting with a Warm Greeting – Always greet the recipient in a very warm and polite manner. If you have a very casual relationship with the client, then using Hi, Hello is ideal, like Hi Sandra, Or “Hello Fred” Addressing your clients in such a casual tone is always more appreciated as it helps in strengthening client relationships and your chances of having long-term association with them increase. Clients start getting a friendly feel and hence you become their most trustworthy service provider.
Remember your email greeting is the first step in establishing your long-term relationship with your client.
2. Thanking the Sender of the Email
This step is only for those mails where you are hitting the reply button. If you are replying to your client inquiry, then you should start with a note of thanks like- Thanks for contacting Digital Design. If an email is a reply on any of your previous mails then make sure you write, “Thanks for getting back to me.” or “Thank you for your prompt reply.”
Thanking the recipients puts them at ease, and you appear polite to them.
3. Stating your Point Clearly
Make sure your mail body is precise and straight to the point. A good example has been shown already in the previous section. Don’t just blabber anything and everything about your company and the service you are providing. First study carefully what are the queries of your clients, or what information they are seeking and then draft your mail. See example below:
4. Adding Closing Remarks or Comments
It sounds very polite when you provide a thanking note once again before ending your email like “Thank you for your patience and cooperation”. You can also provide some additional polite remarks at the end like “If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to let me know” or “I look forward to hearing from you”.
5. Finishing Off with an Appropriate Closing
Don’t forget to mention the sender’s name at the bottom of the mail i.e. your name if you are directly interacting with the client or the person’s name on behalf of whom you are writing the mail.
Add appropriate closings like “Cheers” or “Best wishes” “Kind regards”, “All the Best”, “Thank You”. As said before, using such amiable concluding words is acceptable because clients always prefer frank and friendly conversations with their service provider. A good closing seals your casual yet professional tone in the best manner as you sound neither inappropriately informal nor formal when you use these concluding words.
Some of the appropriate closings that you can use, the next time you write an email.
Hope you have understood, by now, the importance of writing good quality emails and what are the ways to write one! But before hitting the send button, you need to review, proofread and spell check your content at least twice to ensure it is truly perfect.
Any grammatical error, spelling mistakes or typos may lower your professional image in front of your clientele. Clients tend to lose faith and confidence in a company when they see such poor communication and linguistic skills.
Therefore, it is advisable to proofread your mail multiple times and check for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes or punctuation errors. Writing in SMS style is a strict no-no in the professional field. Never write ‘U’ instead of ‘You’, ‘R’ instead of ‘Are’, ‘TY’ instead of ‘Thank You’. These writing manners should be completely shunned; otherwise, you may end up looking most unprofessional in the eyes of your potential clients.
The DO’s and DON’Ts to follow now onwards whenever you shoot an email to your beloved clients!
Some quick tips and magic phrases by Kevan Lee, to help you win trust of your clients and customers straight-away!
Some Final Words
Your email represents your professionalism, so be well-mannered and polite. Draft your mail properly, avoid using abbreviations or emoticons. Even if you are frustrated with a particular client, please ensure that your frustration is not reflected in your mail. Mind your manners and avoid using jargon. Remember, it is your work and no matter what your client says you need to be absolutely professional by maintaining your tone. Since it is not a face-to-face communication, you need to bring that ‘serious and professional feel’ in your mail. Pick your words carefully so that the reader doesn’t misinterpret your mail.
So, next time when you write a mail, follow the above-mentioned tips in order to have a great owner-customer relationship! Always remember, your emails reflect your professional values and therefore you can’t afford to make single mistake while writing a business email.