So Don’t Let Bad Emails Kill Your Message
Many predicted the death of business emails with the onset of social media. Not only has that not happened, but business emails have taken on new marketing strategy for social media users.
That’s according to the View from the Social Inbox 2010, a report recently released by Merkle. The findings of the report show business email is certainly not dead. Here are a few of the report’s results:
- 42 percent of social media users check their emails four times a day or more, compared to 27 percent for non-social media users
- 32 percent of social media and non-social media users check emails two to three times a day
A recent report from MaketingSherpa supports the findings from Merkle. The MarketingSherpa report revealed 75 percent of social media users indicate email as the best way for companies to contact them. When looking at all email users, the result was 65 percent.
Breathing Life Into Business Emails
No matter where your business stands on social media, the reports suggest business email remains a viable means of communication. Don’t let bad habits creep into your email and kill the chances of it being read or deleted on sight.
Here are a few simple tips for improving business email communication.
Tip #1 – Keep it simple, clear & uniquely yours
Yes, that’s the theme of this business writing blog; however, I find it is a good tip for all business writing, including business emails.
- Keep it simple – Keep emails brief. When you open a long email of nothing but text, what is your first inclination? If you are like most people, it’s to ignore it or delete it. Think about business emails truncated on your mobile phone, not from the size of attachments, but from the amount of text. Get to the point quickly.
- Don’t use unusual fonts or graphics for business emails. The way they look on your screen may be very different from the recipient’s.
- Some good business email fonts include Verdana, Franklin Gothic, Times New Roman, and Arial.
- Keep it clear -Stay focused on the point of your email. If you feel it is necessary to introduce multiple topics, organize the email with separate paragraphs, bullet points or a list of questions.
- Keep it uniquely yours – Branding your business is a critical marketing strategy. Besides the physical manifestation of branding through a company logo or tagline, professional and timely business emails help promote your company as an organization people want to do business with. Believe in your business – it shows.
Tip #2 – Focus on the Subject line
Marketers offer all kinds of suggestions for the Subject line. They recognize that small viewing pane can make or break the chance of the email being read. Whether your business email is for marketing or obtaining information, think about the Subject line.
- Offer something the reader needs or should know. Put yourself in their shoes – would you open the email based on the Subject line? Even if your email is a follow-up to a phone call, help it stand out amongst all the others so your customer knows it contains information he or she needs.
- Change the subject line of previous emails. When an email has had multiple replies and forwarding, it is easily dismissed as being more of the same. Often, emails evolve into totally different subject matters. How many times have you searched for a specific email, only to be bogged down wading through unrelated emails with the same subject line? Frustrating, isn’t it?
Tip #3 – Consider who needs to know
This tip applies to both sending business emails and replying to them. If you ever received an email sent to you unnecessarily, you understand how irritating it can be. Something as simple as the continued use of ”Reply All” kills your readability factor.
- Limit the use of CC. Include only those individuals that need to know the information. If your reason for including the world is for covering your tail, consider another method – like saving copies of the email. The more people included on the CC line, the better your chances for annoying someone. Choose wisely.
- Beware of BCC. We all have horror stories of the use of BCC in email. Sending a blind copy of an email to someone you do not want the primary recipient to know about, fails 9 times out of 10. Protecting emails with the use of BCC for group emails is a good practice, but can backfire if the recipients are in the same company. Often, the result is the BCC recipient has the same email forwarded to them by a coworker.
Tip #4 - Remember the Signature
Most email systems include an option for a signature. I highly recommend using it. It provides automation for a consistent use of contact information and is another vehicle for your business branding.
- Include contact information. Do not assume your customer already has your contact information. Even if they do have the information, few have the information programmed in the office phone. It’s a nice courtesy to have your phone number in the signature so the email recipient does not need to look it up or pull out a mobile phone for the pre-programmed number.
- Don’t overload the signature. With all the widgets, logos, taglines and links to social media, it is easy to have a cluttered signature. I had a customer joke about the number of links in my email signature. Embarrassing – but I appreciated the constructive criticism and cleaned up my act.
Tip #5 – Avoid Attachment Problems
We can blame spammers for many of the problems we have with attachments to emails. Even the legitimate business attachment is blocked by spam prevention software. Here are a few ideas for attaching documents to business emails.
- Reduce large files. Many businesses limit the size of the attachments accepted through email, usually to no more than 5 MB. There are different methods for reducing file size, such as zipping files, creating pdf documents, and sending only the portion of the file that is relevant to the business email. The use of the recipient’s FTP or an outside one is another effective way to deliver large files.
- Discuss capabilities with recipient. You can avoid a lot of problems by finding out in advance the best way to send attachments. Ask for the file limit size and the version of software the recipient uses. Converting PowerPoint, Excel and Word documents to the pdf format helps with size and the software version.
- Label attachments appropriately. You can make your life and your customer’s life a whole lot easier by labeling attachments with an easy-to-find name. For example, instead of Report.pdf, label it 2010 1st Q Income.pdf.
Remember when you thought email was the greatest invention for communicating with customers? To keep the positive experience, take care with your business emails. By following a few simple guidelines, business emails provide an effective means of communication.
What tips do you have for delivering good business emails?
