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Emi
Rules To Write By
As far as I know, writing email is an intuitive thing. We write
the responses as we would speak them and, unfortunately, sometimes
we write them as we feel them at the moment.
True story: We were told that the president of the company
was going to be the person in charge of approving the final draft
for their eNewsletter. We presented the final draft for approval;
the president accepted it and we sent it out.
After the eNewsletter was delivered, the sales manager sent me an
email that read "WHAT IS THIS???!!! I hope this hasn't gone
out!!!" What would you think if you received an email with
those words? Is he angry? He must be. If he is writing in large
caps, he must be shouting, I thought.
My immediate impulse was to respond with a copy of the email that
contained the final approval from the president and a statement
like "The eNewsletter was approved by your president; I suggest
you take your feedback to him." but instead I gave him a call
a few days later to find out why he was so upset by the eNewsletter.
It turns out that he wanted to use a different email address for
prospects that might contact him. He wasn't upset at all and told
me that "It was no big deal". I assured him that the new
email address would be included in the next issue.
This is a good example of how an impulsive email can be misinterpreted.
If I had reacted in kind, my spur of the moment email would have
scaled up to a complaint, followed by bad vibes from my client from
there on.
Based on my years of writing and reading emails for many different
types of communication objectives, I have drafted what I think are
the most important rules for writing emails for business communications.
The Four Golden Rules of Writing Email Messages
for Business Communication
1. |
Be
Polite: No matter the situation, good manners always favor
your objective and allow for the recipient to favorably open
up to you. Use statements like "If possible", "please"
and "thank you" whenever you can.
|
2. |
Don't
write upset: Email is delivered immediately but it may not
be read instantly. Many things can happen between the moment
you sent the message and the time when the reader opens it.
If the problem is fixed in the interim you are not going to
look very good. Remember emails can be saved and can be used
against you in the future. Before sending out an upset response
give yourself some time to think about it.
|
3. |
Refer
to the subject matter: When responding to emails always
include a statement that makes reference to the previous email.
For example, let's suppose Widget Company sends you an email
asking you "Which widget do you want to buy? 1. Widget
L, 2. Widget C or 3. Widget G. Four days later you respond by
simply saying "Number 2". In those four days Widget
Company may have sent hundreds similar emails and answered many
in that time. Widget Company is going to ask themselves what
does "Number 2 mean?" and probably ask you that same
question, delaying the sales process. The better response would
be "We would like to buy Widget C, item 2". Always
remember to answer by referring back to the question or request.
|
4. |
Avoid
acronyms and abbreviations: Not everybody understands them.
Trying to save time with acronym shortcuts can wind up costing
you more time. If you need help deciphering acronyms visit www.acronymfinder.com.
Does anyone know what "AYEC" means? I'd like to answer
my client's email. |
The
above are simple rules to help you communicate more efficiently
by saving you time, money and headaches when it comes to using
one of the most effective means of communications ever devised,
email.
As always, we are here to help. If you are interested in starting
your own eNewsletter program contact
us.
Want to know more about email writing rules? Check out "E-mail
Etiquette: A Quick Guide to Writing a Professional E-mail"
by Carrie Payne. |
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Bottom Line:
When
writing emails be polite, keep your cool, reference your answers
to the questions asked and avoid abbreviations.
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If
you have any "email writing rules" you particularly like,
send them to me and I'll share them with our readers in our next
Emi issue, just reply.
Got a friend that needs help with his email communications skills?
Forward them this article.
Kind Regards,
Marcos J. Menendez
Loop Consulting Group- creating eNewsletters that help you
help your clients.
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