Last year, over 205 billion emails were sent and received every day.

By 2019, there will be over 2.9 billion email users.

50% of Americans check their email while still in bed.

Email isn’t going away any time soon. Here are 6 tips to stay professional, get your messages read, and accomplish your goals.

Do

1: Stay empathetic.

No one wants to feel as if they are an afterthought. Start and end each email with pleasant, personal statements. People appreciate politeness, so they deserve respect.

2: Use punctuation and spacing wisely.

Have you ever struggled through an email with chunky paragraphs? Long sentences and paragraphs tire a reader. To avoid reader fatigue, write concisely.

Consider spacing out your emails to have each paragraph only be a sentence or two long. This eases the pressure on the reader’s eye. If words are not clumped together, your reader is likelier to read the email in its entirety.

Use punctuation wisely to make your emails more readable.

3: Write relevant subject lines.

A vague subject line can cause your reader anxiety. What is this urgent email about? Why did the sender not take time to clarify?

Concision and precision relieve readers’ speculation. Write a subject line that captures the essence of your message, so the reader does not worry about your intentions. Clear subject lines also help you search for and find a conversation if you you need to reference an email conversation later.

Don’t

1: Overlook typos.

The digital age and fast-paced communication do not excuse sloppy writing. People often view typos as unprofessional or lazy. To communicate your care for your correspondent, proofread.

Even in a whirlwind world, people appreciate careful diction and thoughtful communication. Write clearly and precisely to show your reader that you respect them.

2: Use emoji.

As cheerful as a smiley face can be, it does not communicate an attitude of professionalism. In fact, it can often appear passive-aggressive or condescending. Emoji belong in social media, and not in emails.

Let your words do the talking. Instead of inserting a smiley face, you can phrase your sentences positively to convey the same effect.

3: Write in all-caps.

Punctuation and capitalization clarify your message. Over-punctuating, however, looks like digital shouting. Show kindness to your reader by writing with proper punctuation and capitalization. They already feel overwhelmed with information, so you can ease the pain with a calmly-worded message.

The purpose of email-writing is to pleasantly communicate and collaborate. You don’t have to be an email expert to show respect to people. Phrase your emails positively to show kindness to your reader and collaborate better.

Sources
1. Radicati
2. Expanded Ramblings

By Esther Grace Ehrenman, Digital Editor and Strategist