You might not put a lot of thought into composing and responding to emails, but they can be an important factor for the success of your business. Here are some dos and don’ts for sending emails.
Email is part of our daily lives and while some of it is done for fun, plenty is business critical. Fail to respond to an email appropriately and you can lose business. At a time when there is simply no room for sloppiness in any aspect of work, that’s extremely important.
Recent research suggests that significant numbers of people expect to get really quick responses to emails. Dr Monica Seeley, who runs consulting firm Mesmo, has carried out some research suggesting that most of us expect a response to email within half a day.
But rushing to respond to emails is not always the best strategy. Email can be distracting from other work, you may need time to properly formulate a response, and quickly dashing off emails can lead to unnecessary messages being sent. Maybe it is time to chill out and deal with email in a pragmatic, rather than a knee-jerk way. So here are our top tips on email etiquette.
Don’t rush
Sometimes an email just needs a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ response you can produce quickly. Often it needs more. Take the time you need to gather your thoughts and any information necessary. Delivering a good response beats delivering a super-fast response.
Check email regularly but not all the time
It might work for you to check email once or twice a day. It’s a real time waster to respond every time your inbox pings. It distracts you from other tasks. If you are worried that people might expect a more speedy response than you can deliver, set up an auto responder saying that you check email twice a day and aim to reply within 24 hours. Or whatever other wording and timing works for you.
Don’t promise what you can’t deliver, and deliver what you promise.
When composing emails make sure you are honest and fair with regard to what you can do and when. If you delegate responsibility for action to someone else, check they have the capacity, authority and ability to deliver.
Be polite
If someone is rude in an email, resist the temptation to be rude back. Points can be made firmly and clearly without being offensive. Difficult clients or colleagues need to be dealt with carefully, but it can be done. If in doubt, take advice from someone whose judgement you trust.
Read and check before sending
It is easy for spelling mistakes or other errors to creep into emails, and they can make a message look very unprofessional. If you’ve drafted an email, thought about it and edited it, oddments of sentences or even whole sections can accidentally get left in a final draft. Re-reading emails before you send them can save you embarrassment and having to explain some awkward content.
Think about the CC and BCC fields
Only copy people in if it’s necessary. Lots of emails include people who don’t need to be involved. Email clutter is a bane of many people’s lives. Think clean rather than cluttered.
Pick up the phone
Sometimes an email just won’t do. Don’t be afraid to pick up the phone and talk things through. Sometimes it works a whole lot better.
Sandra Vogel
Remote working with One Net Express
If you run a small business you will know that one of the biggest challenges you face is keeping in touch with existing and potential customers. A lot of small businesses and startups don’t have funds for ‘back office’ admin and support services. Here we look at ways to keep the business rolling by remote working. Read More: One Net Express
