Writing email. Laptop computer and letterbox on top, highlighting email writing.

Writing Email to Connect and Communicate Clearly

Writing email is one of the most common activities in the business environment. Yet too many emails fail to connect and communicate the writer’s desired message.

Here are a few tips on writing email to ensure that your messages make an impact and get the results you want.

Have a clear subject and subject line when writing email

Have you ever received an email with a subject line that was not relevant to the content? The sender might have replied to an earlier email with a different subject or simply failed to think about the subject line. It’s important that the reader knows what the email is about from the beginning, especially if it’s an important subject. If the subject line does not reflect the urgency, for example, it might not be read in time or read at all. Professional email marketers know that a good subject line is critical for getting their emails opened and read. Keep this in mind when writing your email’s subject line.

Before you start writing, decide what action you want the reader to take and create your subject around this. Keep it simple. If you have more than one point to make in your email, organise them clearly – even use bullet points or numbers to separate each point.

Begin with a positive note when writing email

With all the challenges people face throughout the day, it’s always good to say something positive when writing email. For example, you can thank the person for their previous message or mention that you enjoyed speaking with them earlier in the day.

Use short paragraphs when writing email

Breaking up your text into shorter paragraphs makes your email easier to read. You probably have come across a huge paragraph in an email and stopped reading. When writing email, start a new paragraph when you begin a new idea. You might even have one-sentence paragraphs. There’s nothing wrong with this and it makes it easier for the recipient to read.

Use plain and simple language when writing email

Although, I’ve mentioned this in other blog posts, it’s worth repeating these simple tips:

  • Use the simplest words possible to convey your message.
  • Avoid long and drawn out sentences.
  • Don’t use jargon or buzzwords, especially if the reader might not be familiar with them.

For more details on these points, go to Editing Your Business Writing to Make it More Readable.

End with a call to action – and something positive as well

The end of the email is where you can give a call to action to the reader. What do you want them to do? Respond with yes or no answer, provide more information, set up a meeting? Be clear about this when writing email to get the response you want. Also, the end of the email is a good place to express something else in a positive way. This could be expressing gratitude, complimenting the recipient on recent achievements, or looking forward to catching up with them in person soon.

Writing email does not have to be difficult. Follow the steps outlined in this article to write emails that enable you to communicate your message clearly and connect with recipients.

Michael Gladkoff