Did you know that the average office worker spends 28% of their week replying to and writing emails? With that in mind, it’s vital that you represent yourself the way in which you and your company would like to be perceived.
When you’re busy, it’s very easy to quickly reply to someone and click the send button without properly checking the email. Doing this has the potential to send emails with embarrassing mistakes, typos and errors that could affect your business relationships.
Make sure you include a clear subject line
Always include a subject line however short the email. When sending an email to a client, old or new, the subject line will ultimately help the recipient decide whether to open it. As well as this, it’ll make it stand out from other emails. Make it as clear as possible and include dates when necessary.
Are you sure you want to ‘reply to all’?
When replying to an email with multiple recipients, think about whether everyone needs to be included in your reply. It can get very confusing and frustrating when you’re included in a trail of emails that aren’t relevant to you.
Who are you talking to?
Remember, you’re sending emails to clients and prospective customers, so greet them professionally. Keep your ‘heys’ and ‘hiyas’ for texting your friends and family and address them appropriately. This can change depending on the type of relationships you form with different clients.
Not every sentence needs to end with a ‘!’
Sometimes it seems blunt to end your sentences with full stops as we’re so used to filling our texts with emojis and exclamation marks. Overly using them, or even at all, can come across as unprofessional and in the working environment it’s best to try and avoid them. Although, sometimes it can depend on the type of relationship you have with your client.
Be careful when it comes to humour
Putting a bit of humour into your emails can help break the ice when introducing yourself to new people. However, the problem is, the recipient can’t see your facial expression or hear the tone of your voice, which can then be taken the wrong way. So, tread carefully when it comes to humour, even if you are the funniest person you know… We’d wait until you get to know your client a bit more before.
Watch your language
Completely avoid using slang in your emails, any sort of text speech and obviously, swearing. You want to come across professional and your emails have a huge influence on how your clients perceive you. Really think about how you’d like to addressed as a new client and about who you’re talking to.
Avoid lengthy emails
In such a fast-paced world, people don’t have the time to read through large chunks of text and even if they did, it can be off-putting. Keep your emails short and to the point, clearly paragraphed so it’s easy to read. I tend to use bullet points and often bold certain key parts and words. In doing so, it helps the recipient get to the point quicker, which they’ll appreciate.
For more tips like this, please feel free to get in touch! In the meantime, follow us on Twitter and keep an eye out for any topics such as this. It would be great to know about email faux pas you’ve received or sent 😉
