As virtual assistants, we love e-mail. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that more than half of our daily communication is done via e-mail. In my case, maybe even 75%…OK, maybe 90% for me. Yes, I love my e-mail.
But one thing I’ve learned is that just because e-mail is a less formal mode of communication, that doesn’t mean general business writing rules don’t apply. It’s important to write well, even with e-mail, especially when you’re in business. Poorly written e-mail can not only lead to misunderstandings and confusion, but it can cause you to lose potential clients if you’re presenting a less than professional image.
So here is what I call the BUNDLE trick (because the first letter of each tip spells out “bundle”), providing tips for making your e-mail communication as effective as possible.
Be Brief
Even if you tend to be a verbose person, try to keep your e-mail messages as short as possible and right to the point. If you have a lot to say, split it into multiple e-mails or consider adding an attachment.
Use Contact Information
All initial e-mail communication should include your e-mail signature, which typically provides your full name, company, and URL at a minimum. A phone number, title and restating your e-mail address doesn’t hurt either. Don’t make your recipient dig to find out how to contact you. If there are a series of replies and forwards, it’s OK (and appreciated) if you skip the signature.
Name the Action Items
Almost all messages will include some kind of call to action for the recipient. Do you need a response by a certain time? Do you need the recipient to let you know their availability for a meeting? State your request right before your closing and it will be the last sentence in the recipient’s mind, reminding them to act.
Define the Message in the Subject
Write your subject so it explains exactly what the message is about. The recipient should be able to just read the subject and have an idea what’s in the body, how important it is and when they will need to act on it. And please don’t use URGENT or mark the message as high priority unless it really is.
Lead with Formatting
For e-mails that have to have some length, format the message to it’s easier to follow. Use subheads and bulleted lists to break up the text. This also helps the reader zero in on the most important topics and gives them a way to jump to a specific part of the long e-mail later on.
Edit, Edit, Edit
Make it standard practice to spell-check every message before you send it. And it doesn’t hurt to give your messages a good read-through before sending to make sure they says what you want them to say.
And that is my BUNDLE trick for effective e-mail. What tips would you add to this list to make sure you e-mails are professional and effective?
Written by Alyssa Gregory
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Owner of avertua, LLC, author of VA Secrets Revealed, founder of the Virtual Assistant Hub, blogger at the Small Business Idea Generator, and a whole bunch of other stuff!
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