Olivia Jeanette

Working in both Technology Sales and as a Social Media Influencer, I’ve seen every kind of email; good, bad and ugly. I have certainly written my fair share with a wide margin of effectiveness. Like anything else, writing a good email takes practice and repetition. You need to know your audience, understand that individual(s) with whom you are writing, and have a clear objective in mind. Here are five ways to write more effective emails:

Be sincere.

Some of my favorite emails to receive are the ones that are both sincere and brief. They ask about my family or say something positive about a recent article I’ve written. While I understand emails can often times be sent to more than one person, they need to be specific and relevant.

I’m guilting of writing a “Hope you’re doing well” email, but I try and include something personal, as much as possible.

For example…

I wanted to thank you again for including me in the recent collaboration. 

Appreciate you introducing me to your colleague who can help further assist. 

Mimic the original email. 

If someone writes you a short email, try your hardest to mimic the length of the original email (there are always exception to this rule). When I see someone respond to my three sentence email with four paragraphs, I typically mark it as unread and go back at the end of the day. We’re all busy and trying to read along email when you’re going a million different directions is difficult, to say the least. Brevity is key to writing an effective email.

Get to the point.

This goes along with #1 and #2. Try and state your purpose as soon as possible. Also make sure it’s actionable. Email is not a good time to beat around the bush. The faster your reader knows the purpose of the email, the more effective your message will be and you’ll get what you need/want.

For example…

Did you get confirmation from your team on the next steps? If so, what time can we meet this week to discuss further? 

Reread once, then read again. 

Proofreading is my achilles heel. However, when it comes to email, this is something I try not to skip. Read over a few times. If it’s an important email, step away from your desk to grab a glass of water and then reread. This will give you a fresh perspective. If the email is short, your mind likely memorized what you wrote or what you thought you wrote.

If you have Gmail, turn on the unsend feature. There’s been so many times that I’ve sent an email, and as it’s sending, I realize I made a mistake or want to change something.

Master the Subject line

This is tough. You want the subject line to catch your reader’s attention. There’s a fine line of putting the entire message in the subject line and getting to the point.

For example…

Please Confirm Attendance to Our Meeting On Monday 3/13 

There are so many ways to be more effective and efficient on email. My bosses always tell me, work smarter not harder. Try doing this on your next email.

Hope this was helpful. What are some other tips that I left off that you have found to be effective when crafting your emails?

About the look

Anyone else loving pink this season? This trophy blazer in ballerina pink from WHBM is one of my favorite blazers this season. The cut of the blazer might look familiar, I also own it in white and maroon. If you’re unsure about adding color to the workplace, give this color a try. It’s easy to wear with all black, or mix things up by wearing a white cami.

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xo, Olivia