Copy Corner: Producing better emails
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Emails are such a huge part of our lives these days, it’s worth
thinking about how to do a better job with them. Here are a few things
to think about.
- The salutation is an effective way to set the atmosphere. Think
about the options such as ‘Hello’, ‘Dear’ or ‘Hi’ and decide what’s
right for you in each case. - Make the subject matter. It is one of the first things that
people read. Make it count. We all know that your email contains
stuff that youve written. Putting Stuff as the Subject Heading is
just as useless as not putting anything at all. Equally ‘Hi’ and ‘FYI’
say almost nothing. A good subject line is your best opportunity to gab
your recipient’s interest. Use it carefully. - When an email conversation goes on and on, update the subject to
indicate what stage of the conversation you have reached. Or better
still, start a new email. - If you want a response . . . keep it brief. No one wants to find
a small novel in his or her inbox. No one is excited about scrolling.
It’s ok to be a little more wordy than when you are texting, but don’t
go too far. Email content that fits into one screen is more likely to
generate action.