![\"Electronic](\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/img\/EMailThis.jpg\" "\\"Electronic")
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I don\u2019t profess to be an e-mail expert, but I get a few dozen e-mails a day and often several e-mails a day from people I haven\u2019t met before. I also maintain connections with some people entirely through e-mail. Given how important e-mail is in today\u2019s world, it is amazing how bad some people are using it. Here are some tips to improve your communication through e-mail.<\/p>\n
![\"lol\"](\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/img\/2\/Chatspeak.jpg\" "\\"lol\\"")
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I hate to even make this a point, but some people shift their writing skills down to the quality of a tween\u2019s instant messenger chat-speak when sending an e-mail. This kind of communication might be fine in a casual setting where both parties know each other, but if you are trying to make a good first impression or look professional, make sure your grammar and spelling are in order.<\/p>\n
![\"write](\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/img\/2\/WhatYouMean.jpg\" "\\"write")
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Little kids will sometimes point or make hand gestures over the phone because they don\u2019t realize the other person can’t see them. That may seem silly, but a lot of adults write their e-mails as if the other person is getting their body language and voice tonality to get their meaning.<\/p>\n
Write what you mean in a clear fashion. If you want to be funny and lighthearted, do it in your choice of words. Sarcasm, playfulness or light teasing don\u2019t translate well to an e-mail. Be clear to avoid misunderstandings later. I get at least a couple e-mails a week where I\u2019m not sure what the person meant to say, it\u2019s a lot harder to infer deeper meaning in a short e-mail than most people think.<\/p>\n
![\"make](\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/img\/2\/SeparateQuestions.jpg\" "\\"make")
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This is a biggie that I didn\u2019t learn in any handbook on writing. Separate your questions or requests away from paragraphs. If you attach your question to the end of a paragraph of four or five sentences, the recipient might skim over it when reading his or her mail. I\u2019ve noticed about a quarter of the time when I don\u2019t separate out questions, I don\u2019t get them answered.<\/p>\n
Do you separate out questions from blocks of text like this?<\/p>\n
![\"make](\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/img\/2\/SubjectHeadings.jpg\" "\\"make")
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Use subject headings to convey meaning, not urgency or the type of communication. If I need to ask a friend about a blog plugin, I\u2019ll use a subject heading like: \u201cPlugin Question,\u201d not, \u201cPlease Read!\u201d or, \u201cQuestion for you.\u201d If your e-mail is short enough most people will still read it and get the point, but some people are especially busy and if your e-mail isn\u2019t on their priority list they might not give it the time it deserves without an appropriate subject heading.<\/p>\n
Make sure you don\u2019t use headings like, \u201cHi,\u201d or leave them blank. A lot of spam programs will leave similar e-mails and the person might easily hit the delete button on your genuine e-mail before opening.<\/p>\n
![\"Be](\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/img\/2\/BeConcise.jpg\" "\\"Be")
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If you want to initiate a chat with someone, you don\u2019t start talking nonstop for five minutes straight. Whenever you are sending a new e-mail, especially to someone you don\u2019t know, keep it concise. If your e-mail has a point, make it early and keep it short. Long e-mails to chat work better if you have already established a banter.<\/p>\n
![\"Hello,](\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/img\/2\/TellMeWhoYouAre.jpg\" "\\"Hello,")
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If I don\u2019t know who you are, write a sentence or two about yourself. This doesn\u2019t have to be a resume, but just to distinguish you from the other people I know only by a name. This goes for any first time communication over e-mail. You don\u2019t need to make the e-mail a memoire, but if I only know you as johndoe@freemail.com I\u2019m less likely to form a connection with you.<\/p>\n
I often use something similar to: “Hi, This is Scott from scotthyoung.com, I’m a fellow blogger and I…” Short but if I’m reaching out to another blogger it let’s them know a little about who I am.<\/p>\n
![\"Let](\"https:\/\/www.scotthyoung.com\/blog\/img\/2\/ReplyTo.jpg\" "\\"Let")
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I always reply to the first e-mail in a thread sent to me. Unless otherwise stated, I assume that all e-mails with new subjects directed towards me need a reply. Even if the reply is as simple as, \u201cThanks, got your e-mail. -Scott.\u201d When I don\u2019t receive a reply from someone I worry that maybe my e-mail program didn\u2019t send it to them or it got to their spam folder.<\/p>\n
If you are getting dozens of e-mails you don\u2019t have the time to personally handle, get an autoresponder notifying the person that you got their mail but don\u2019t have time to respond to everything sent to you. There is no excuse for avoiding that first reply to that initial thread, even if you don\u2019t expect to hear from that person again.<\/p>\n
These tips apply to all e-mails, but they apply even more for online-only contacts and for first contacts. I think the reason I get a lot of poorly written e-mails in my inbox is because many people are familiar with using e-mails as a supplement for the interactions they have with friends and coworkers. But if you are trying to maintain or create a completely digital connection, you need to pay attention to these rules for etiquette and communication.<\/p>\n
These tips don\u2019t take more time than writing a poorly written e-mail, they just take a bit more practice. It would take me just as long to write a horrible e-mail than an effective one. Saying that you don\u2019t have time for grammar or spelling is unlikely and saying you don\u2019t have time to write meaningful subject headings or breaking questions from paragraphs is ridiculous.<\/p>\n
Remember that your words are your identity in an online communication. They are your clothing, your tonality, your status and you meaning. Make a good choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I don\u2019t profess to be an e-mail expert, but I get a few dozen e-mails a day and often several e-mails a day from people I haven\u2019t met before. I also maintain connections with some people entirely through e-mail. Given how important e-mail is in today\u2019s world, it is amazing how bad some people are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[683,15],"tags":[44],"class_list":{"0":"post-280","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-nc-career","7":"category-communication","8":"tag-technology","9":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n