Regardless of the industry, customer-company communication trust is a critical part of a company’s success. When trust is lacking, it is difficult to make a deal. When a partner or customer provides confidential information to a supplier or partner, they must trust that it will be handled responsibly.

That’s why email encryption should be a key component of your company’s security policy. Here are 15 reasons to start thinking about email encryption.

1. Preventing business risks

As there is so much at stake these days due to various email dangers, no one wants to send emails that are not encrypted.  With the exception of using email marketing software for marketing efforts, any internal email or email with clients should be encrypted to protect both parties. Without encryption, anyone can read your email and have access to the information it contains. Such information can be used against you by anyone, including your competitors. Encrypting your email to help protect sensitive data is recommended to avoid business and other types of risks.

2. Preventing data breaches

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Confidential information exposed to outside companies or government agencies can have severe consequences for your organization. In the worst-case scenario, the data breach could result in lost income or reputation, fines, or even criminal investigations. However, the chance of private or confidential information slipping into the wrong hands is minimized when an email is secured.

3. Email provides no privacy

Too often, the insecure nature of e-mail is disregarded – outsiders can read an email as easily as a postcard. Many people believe that an email travels only from one machine to the next. In practice, the message is routed through numerous mail servers and proxy servers before reaching the targeted recipient.

4. Keeping business-critical data safe

Is your firm sending emails with information about your business that you don’t want your rivals to know about? Every company has something unique to offer that should be protected. Knowledge is the foundation of all business.

However, for a business to keep running, information must be shared. In senior management and sales, financial administration, product development, human resources, and customer support, there is a need for confidential communication because the shared information is critical and usually classified.

5. Keeping customer communications secure

Customers want to be able to communicate quickly and easily. They are familiar with digital ways and have more options for sharing information than ever before. They also have trust in your ability to protect the personal information they share with you.

On the other hand, customers might not always be aware of or have access to safe communication methods. The company’s responsibility is to provide secure communication channels that fit the customer’s needs (and employees).

6. Time-saving

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For confidential communication, many companies rely on traditional mail. In a fast-paced environment, this is often no longer an option. Processes become much more efficient and faster with encrypted email messaging. Developing an encrypted email strategy can be easier if you use roadmap planning to visualize the process.

What used to take days or weeks can now be done in minutes. Securely. Printing, mailing and scanning take up less time for employees, allowing them to focus on more important work.

7. Identifying the receiver

You always want to know who the other party is when interacting electronically. It may even be required for you to make deals. Aside from using private messaging platforms with complete privacy protection like Tauria, you can identify the receiver using e-mail encryption. There are various methods for determining the email receiver, including robust electronic identification.

8. Observance of regulations

Contracts, legislation, and other regulations all have their own set of rules for keeping personal information safe. Every corporation operating in the European Union, for example, must adhere to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (also known as GDPR). As a result, personal data must always be processed by data protection legislation data protection principles.

Furthermore, many industries have their own communication regulations that must be followed. The obligations imposed on communications can be addressed by using a flexible e-mail encryption solution that considers various use cases.

9. Keeping data safe from leaks caused by human errors

Email encryption prevents sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands, such as credit card details, bank account numbers, and social security numbers. On the other hand, the sender may forget to encrypt the message or misunderstand the critical nature of the content.

10. Securing your brand’s image and reputation

How do you want your company to be perceived? Any company’s brand is becoming heavily dependent on its reputation. That’s why you need both a good investment portfolio strategy and an encrypted email strategy.

Confidential client relationships are built over time, but the confidence that has been earned can be lost in an instant if news of information leakage makes it to the front pages of newspapers. Information security helps to maintain and protect a trustworthy corporate image.

11. Email encryption is easier than using traditional mail

Source: Unsplash

Using standard mail to send a confidential document involves multiple procedures. Let’s imagine you need to get papers to a specific person urgently. You print the document, seal it in an envelope, write the address on it, order a courier, wait for them to arrive, and then hand it over to them for delivery.

Depending on the recipient’s location, the delivery could take hours or even days. With email encryption, all you have to do is attach the document and send it.

12. Reject sent messages

Since it is so easy to fake regular email messages, you’ll never be able to establish that a specific individual sent you a particular message. This means that a person can deny sending you a message even if they did send it. This has significant consequences for using email for contracts, electronic commerce, and corporate communications, among other things.

13. Stay away from identity theft

If someone obtains your login and password for accessing your email servers, they will be able to read the emails you send and, even worse, send false email messages on your behalf. This is called identity theft, and it may be avoided if you use email encryption.

14. Restrict message replay possibilities

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You probably already know that the message you sent can be changed, but you can do one more thing with your messages. Messages can be saved, edited, and resent at a later time. Unfortunately, after receiving an authentic message, one can also receive false messages that look official.

15. Backups that aren’t protected

SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) servers, often known as outgoing mail servers, store the messages you send. Text copies of your messages are included in server disk backups. These backups can last for several years. So, even if you think you’ve erased a message, anyone with access to the backup files can read your conversations and use the information to your disadvantage.

Conclusion

Information security and email encryption should not alter performance. Encryption is frequently perceived as burdensome and complicated. It does not have to be. Without the need for installations, new accounts, or passwords, encryption can be simple to use for both the sender and the recipient.

The post 15 Reasons to Use Encrypted Emails for Company Communication appeared first on Fleep Blog.

It’s the one tool that you know you’re going to be using every single day in business. So when you get into work, you check your emails.

Over the weekend, you might keep an eye out. And you certainly send essential sales, marketing, and financial communications this way.

Around 121 business emails are sent daily. This is a huge number. Yet if we’re all communicating in such a major way via this medium, shouldn’t we make sure that it’s super effective?

Think about it.

You communicate with customers, colleagues, managers, business partners, clients, support staff, and various other stakeholders daily.

So isn’t it essential to make sure that they’re done right?

We all know just how easy it is to misunderstand a message or pick up at the wrong time. So it’s safe to say that nailing your email communications is paramount. But what does it take to do that, and does it make a difference?

To make each message count, you’ve got to break down the anatomy of a good email. How it’s written, how it’s perceived, how it looks, the tone – and even leading trends.

Taking all of this into account is bound to help you improve your email deliverability and get your point across at the same time.

Let’s take a look at exactly how you can improve your email communications in just nine simple steps.

1. Understand Email Trends In 2021

Image Source: Really Good Emails

Before you take to anything, it’s always good to do a bit of research.

Yes, we’re talking about sending an email here, but trends come and go in email communications, just like in anything else. So knowing what’s in, now, and trending can help you to keep ahead of the curve.

Gone are the days when clunky and chunky emails work well. We’re all so busy these days that receiving something short and sweet is best.

Some companies opt to send out a short text, rather than the long-form counterpart we’re used to. It’s kind of like an SMS message – no visuals, no bows, and whistles.

Just like the kind of email you’d get from your colleagues. Kind of cool, right? Straight, easy, and to the point.

And some are taking it to the next level, getting up close and personal with their audience by using gifs, emojis, and memes to connect with the current culture and kicking your email marketing images up a notch.

You need to understand what messaging style and what trends sit successfully with your brand, which revolves around your brand’s mission statement and culture.

2. Write A Longer Subject Line

When it comes to the subject line, be sure to make the most of it. Don’t worry so much about keeping it short and sweet – especially if it doesn’t convey your message well. It’s better to be clear and concise with your subject to encourage the open – rather than too strategic.

That being said, opting for a longer subject line could work. Of course, it needs to fit within the message box – so nothing too long here. But statistics say that around 50 characters could be the sweet spot.

Above all else, go with a subject line that gets to the point.

You want it to showcase the message content well as well as ensure that it gets read. Choosing to A/B test your subject lines could also work well here, or you can try an online email subject line tester to get some insights.

3. Check Your Tone

Image Source: Really Good Emails

An essential element in your main body text here will be your tone. You have to be sure that your email communications are received in the right way. Are you writing a professional email that needs to be…perfect?

Either way, ask yourself – how do you want to come across?

Is this a formal email or something casual? Do you need to choose your language meticulously to please your readers, or can you have a little fun?

Again, think back to the idea of using emojis – these can work well and connect with your audience, but only in the proper context. In casual emails and in communications with people you know well, this works.

But when in doubt, it’s always best to keep things professional and leave them out!

4. Start With The Main Point

Image Source: Really Good Emails

Emails will often get scanned. Yes, that means that important information can be misunderstood or even missed altogether. This is why you have to start with the main point.

Know precisely what you’re trying to get across before you begin. Don’t waffle, and definitely don’t fill the text with fluff that isn’t relevant to what you’re trying to say.

If you know that you’re trying to be information or persuade, explanatory or tell a story, it’ll help you understand the point you’re trying to communicate here.

Then, you can be sure to lead with the most critical topic and expand on it if need be. Remember, there will always be a takeaway from the email – so lead with that and be upfront. Respect the reader’s time and get straight to the point.

5. Read The Last Message Fully

It’s also important to read the room.

And this can work in two ways.

First of all, you need to listen. Do you understand the person you’re communicating with? What sort of tone do they have? Make a mental note of whether they have a sense of humor, tend to be very abrupt, or whether they’re pretty neutral here.

Knowing these things can help you to mirror their methods and connect with them as you communicate.

After all, if you’re reading with an old-school kind of guy and you want to make an impression, you know to keep your comms very traditional. And vice versa.

But then also, rereading the previous message helps you to minimize communication errors and keep the conversation flowing well.

6. Break Up The Text

Image Source: Really Good Emails

Who wants to read paragraphs and paragraphs of blocky text? We already mentioned that scannable emails are easy to read. Looking to keep things scannable can work for you here.

The best way to do that is to bread it all up. Feel free to use different headings or to highlight key points by putting them in bold or italics.

Even putting each key point on its line can work better. That way, your reader can easily take in all of the information without being overwhelmed.

It doesn’t have to be a huge essay to be essential or articulate. Sometimes, something simple can be so much more effective.

7. Use Visuals

Image Source: Really Good Emails

Design matters in email communication as much as the messaging does. Because if your emails aren’t catching the eyes of your readers, they just won’t get read!

So make them beautiful.

Feel free to have fun with imagery and definitely use it to illustrate your key points.

A lot of people are visual learners – 65% in fact, so don’t alienate them with too much text. The different fonts you choose, picking out the right pictures, and even your use of whitespace all contribute.

Use tools like Vectornator for creating fully custom illustrations, Giphy for great GIFs, or Canva for customizable visuals. You can also think about customizing fonts or adding in different prompts for your readers to click, the Calls-To-Action (CTAs).

Just feel free to have more fun with your emails to see what works.

8. Use Interactivity

Image Source: Really Good Emails

And don’t be afraid to get interactive.

Do you want to get clicks? You want your readers to react? Then ask them to!

Why not post a poll or hold a contest? If you want to make your readers tick, then click, you have to stimulate their curiosity and spark action in them.

But there has to be something in it for them. Hosting a giveaway or offering some kind of incentive is the best way to do this. Again, play around with different ideas and work out what your audience responds to the most.

9. Use Behavioral Analytics

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Above all else, always, always, always, use your analytics. Not just because they are there, but because they give you invaluable insight into how your audience behaves.

The data collected here can help you to tweak your email communications and improve the next time around.

 See if your email provider offers this, or even consider working with analytics tools like merging email statistics with more detailed information about how users interact with your content.

That way, you can make better calls on what content to work with next and ultimately see more success with your email communications.

Final Thoughts

Writing the perfect email is like pulling together a puzzle. It can seem a little overwhelming at first, but all the pieces will work together. You just have to coordinate them by focusing on how your message will be perceived and then putting it together to mirror that can help.

Better yet, working on your wording, minding your tone, being strategic with your subject, and making sure it’s laid out (and dressed up with images) in the most visually pleasing way can work wonders.

Remember, you’re communicating so much via email these days – so your messaging needs to stand out. Your analytics will be the golden ticket here. Test, test, and test again.

And don’t be afraid to try new things. What works in email communication is constantly evolving, so it’s okay to think outside the box and take risks with what you do.

The post 9 Ways To Improve Your Email Communication appeared first on Fleep Blog.

Despite the rise of different forms of communication, email remains one of the most important methods of messaging for personal and business use.

In 2017 alone, there are roughly 3.7 billion active email users across the globe. This figure is expected to still rise to 4.1 billion by 2021 – that’s half the world’s current population. It will remain the main tool in team collaboration globally. A lot of employers count “good business writing and email skills” as an important requirement before applying for a position in their companies.

Email writing skills is paramount not just for you but for the entire team as a whole. For this article, you’ll learn how you can make your emails better and write them more effectively to improve your communication and ultimately, make your team work together like a well-oiled-machine!

But first – we need to understand why it matters.

Why Excellent Email Skills Makes for Better Teams

On average, most employees will spend over ¼ of their time (almost 11 hours) in their entire work week reading, replying and crafting the right emails and coordinate with the people at the other end of the thread.

A lot of our time is invested in coordination and collaboration. By improving our communication with our team members, we can spend less time in making mistakes and more time getting things done. A well-crafted email will help people capture and understand directions easily. You’ll also avoid unnecessary back and forth for points of clarifications.

The key is to avoid information overload and make the entire process less painful. You don’t want your team mate (who may be working remotely) to come all the way to you just to clarify what you just sent right?

In the following email writing tips, we’ll be discussing how you can ensure readability, prevent back-forth and improve accountability within your team.

Let’s begin!

Hack #1: Assign tasks easily by identifying the 3 Ws

When writing an email – make sure it captures the 3 Ws which is mainly – Who, What and When.

Be upfront on WHO the email is for and from. Be transparent so that the receiving party will understand if they are to take action or not. This is done by your email header or by clearly pointing out which part of the email body the message is for. Indicate it clearly by placing them in the “TO” section. Don’t forget that “CC” or “carbon copy” denotes that the email recipient is just copied in the mail but is not necessarily expected to take action.

Next, say WHAT you want to say. Be very direct to the point and avoid the mambo jumbo. By being succinct, you’ll not only make it easier for the recipient to read your email, you’ll also find that your writing is punchier and has more impact. Specify the necessary requirements that you want. Be clear on the action point that the other user has to do. The key guideline here is to answer in advance all and any questions the receiver will have in mind. Make it very detailed oriented if necessary.

Lastly, be on point on WHEN you expect the action point is needed to be accomplished or what is your expected date of reply. Have timelines and set timings. If you can, indicate a time table on what needs to be done. The intent is to ensure that the other party understands how urgent one’s email that comes in. This makes each side accountable for the deadlines you need. Make sure that you get a confirmation from the other party that they are aligned with the timings you shared. Don’t just expect that the other party will take it into consideration. Get a resounding “YES” or adjust accordingly.

Here’s an example that ticks all the boxes:

Hack #2: Use “If-Then” statements

Do you find yourself in a constant stream of unending discussions? If you find yourself getting sucked into a long, stressful, ping-pong barrage of emails – end it with an “If-then” statement. Don’t treat your email like a usual chat thread. If-Then statements anticipate the other sides need and allows you to fast track your conversations.

For example, look the at email response below:

Use “If-then” statements to prepare back-up plans, clear out any confusion and finalize decisions. Being proactive ends the conversation and makes it more efficient.

Hack #3: Use media tools (images, videos, screenshots)

Show them instead of telling them. By using media tools such as images, videos and screenshots, you’ll be making it easier for the other party understand what you mean. For example, if you want to give very specific technical questions, it’s better to include a visual of how it’s done. If you want someone to take note of an important interview, send them a YouTube link.

Highlight important matters using media but ensure that you don’t overload it too much. Heavy emails take longer to send and receive. If you need to send out huge files, use WeTransfer, Google Docs, OneDrive etc. These tools will make it easier for the other recipient to open your emails and avoid them from landing in SPAM. Keep it tight and light.

Hack #4: Present options and define your recommendation

Don’t ask too much questions or worse – don’t ask open-ended questions. This is the worse culprit of indecision and makes your emails look like a debate regional competition. When you need to get an approval, present options and highlight your recommendation. Express your reasons for giving out that preference. You need to highlight good points and why your vote of confidence speaks to your decision.

Hack #5: Create templates

Your emails don’t have to be unique all the time. You can make a template. This will make your email process faster and easier. Do this for weekly and monthly updates or status reports – anything repetitive. By saving up email formats, you’ll be spending more time working than sending out routine and expected emails. Here’s an example below of a well-crafted status report:

If you want to take it up a notch, use delay delivery. It allows you write your emails now and just send them at the appropriate time when needed. It allows you to send emails when the other side is really expecting them and are most likely to read them.

Lastly, if you’re out of the office, take advantage of auto-reply to craft an Out-Of-Office (OOO) notice. When writing an OOO notice, be clear on your leave dates and who will be the next person who can fit in your shoes. This gives the other side an expectation that you won’t be able to answer your emails during that period. In short, it gives you insurance in case of urgent requirements. Here’s some examples of those emails you can copy.

Hack #6: Why follow-up is more important

Nothing is more frustrating than sending a well-crafted and written email – only to receive no reply! Don’t hesitate to email them back. Follow-ups are crucial to get the recipient’s attention and call them out what needs to be taken next. A great follow-up email gets the other user on track and back on the keyboard to write a response. Here are some great templates that you may use to get started.

Hack #7: Make it scannable

Make it easy for other people to review your emails by keeping everything organized. Don’t just write them in paragraph form. Identify opportunities to make everything concise and scannable. Use bulletpoints, subheadings and white space to give bigness to certain words and phrases. Draw attention to important deadlines and action points by using highlights, font colors, bold or underlines.

Sometimes, email formation makes the entire email readable even though there are too many things you are trying to say or get feedback from.

Similarly, never-ever use acronyms. Spell them out as much as possible. Don’t make any assumptions that the other party understands what you are saying.

Hack #8: Review and Rewrite 101

Make sure you review your emails at least once before sending it. Do a standard content check. Review facts, spelling corrections and clarify unclear details. Don’t depend on the recall function to save yourself. At the onset, avoid sending an email that you haven’t reviewed.

While you should try to avoid lexical or grammar errors in your email, not everyone is super knowledgeable when it comes to language. If you’re not confident with your writing, don’t hesitate to ask for help from professionals, for instance, from Ivory Research or some other expert services.

Takeaways

So, there you have it! Keep these hacks in mind so you can develop amazing emails that make it easier for your team to communicate without the stress and delays. Open communication makes for amazing results. Similarly, using the right tools like Fleep can make this happen. Fleep makes it easy for you to communicate easily and it also synchronizes with other communication tools like email. Want to communicate with your team easily? Sign up for Fleep now!

Happy writing!

Further Reading:

• How to Write a Professional Email
• Team Communication Strategies of top CEOs and Leaders
• Make E-Mail Great Again

The post Email Writing Tips – Improve Your Email Writing Skills for Better Team Collaboration appeared first on Fleep Blog.

The Internet has become the new Babylon of our times, and email remains one of the main channels of web communication. For example, about 306.4 billion messages are circulating daily on the network in 2020.

And while it is difficult for them to dispute the popularity of social networks, online correspondence has no peers in the reach of the audience. Just so, there are 3.21 billion users on Facebook, Instagram and Whatsapp combined, and nearly 4 billion people have a mailbox.

Is it possible to reach out to each of email users and how can we check these abilities? To answer this question, we need to consider a factor known as email deliverability.

What does email deliverability mean?

Simply stated, deliverability is the mark which describes how many of your emails get into the set Inbox. A priori, the best deliverability rate will be 1. That is, all your 100% of sent emails have safely reached the recipient. However, in practice, such ideal variants are simply impossible.

Can we, in such a case, assume some acceptable norm? Experts name 90% critically appropriate. Thus, if overly every tenth your letter does not reach the final destination, you need to seriously check what, in theory, is wrong with the deliverability.

Here we should also note that messages caught in Spam are also considered delivered. Strictly separate the parameters of primary delivery of your messages from core deliverability. It is the latter that means to assess the effectiveness of mailing.

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Solely it specifies the number of your emails in the Inbox folder of your recipients. Then the ball comes to the recipient’s side, and if that next stage also causes problems, you need to switch to the reasons for ignoring your messages. But that is another story.

And yet why should I test email deliverability?

A reasonable question that leads us to the most important thing – taking care of you. If your deliverability rate is low, there is no point to invest in email marketing, as this communication channel will not make money.

A smooth template and quality content won’t work, and the effort spent on creating that “explosive” letter will be wasted if your email doesn’t even get a chance to catch the eye of the target.

If you are interested in creating that “booming” message, we advise you to switch to another material, and we are moving forward.

So, there are several possible reasons why it could not reach the user. Schematically, they can be combined under the email bounce issue. Emails that are “bounced” from your addressee, did not get into his Inbox. These returns are usually divided into 2 groups:

Hard bounce

It stands for the non-existent email addresses or incidents when the mail server of the receiving party blocked your operation. Basically, these cases are the result of using an outdated or purchased recipient database.

If you deal with a similar situation, immediately remove the “faulty” address from the list of active subscribers so as not to jeopardize the rating of your server.

Soft bounce

This type includes cases when the receiving party cannot accept the letter at the moment. For example, the responding mailbox is clogged or the mail server is currently unavailable. There is nothing wrong with that, and most likely, your letter will be delivered the next time.

Email providers constantly collect and analyze your statistics and respond to sudden spikes in activity, inappropriate content of the messages, and recipient complaints. Both deliberate violations and accidental failures can damage your digital reputation, which will not be so easy to restore later.

A high email bounce rate indicates that the mailing operations go wrong and you should urgently define and eliminate the cause of the malfunction.

How can I test email deliverability?

Naturally, there are 4 main options to test your strength in this direction.

1. Manage a seed list

One of the simplest and most obvious ways is to hold an investigation by your own forces. You can register several mailboxes on different mail services. And then check how friendly they are to your mailing list. Diversify Internet Service Providers (ISP), device types, and browsers. Send your letter to each of them and analyze:

• Whether the letter reaches the address.
• How many of them and which appear in a Spam folder.
• Is the layout of the letter displayed the same in all mail services?

If some messages get lost or look wrong, there is a reason to change the settings of the mailing or revise its scope. This is a somewhat “old-fashioned” method that does not give much food for thought.

In practice, email deliverability is a little more complicated. When ISPs filter incoming emails, they often analyze how recipients interact with the new type of correspondence.

So, if you create a test list of contacts and start a mailing, you signal that this newsletter is important to you. That is why it is more likely to end up in your Inbox, which, however, is not guaranteed for other recipients.

As a result, the test results can be deformed and you will have a false impression of the expected email deliverability.

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2. Render a seed list

There are professional tools that generate trial contact lists for you. You simply create a list inside the tool, load it as if they were regular contacts from your email marketing platform, and add them to newsletters. Such a use case for probing lists looks better in theory, but also has some disadvantages.

You get quick access to a large number of email addresses in different email clients and on different types of devices, but these are not real subscribers. It turns out that even these tools do not give you 100% reliable information about the deliverability of your mailings.

3. Test the copy

Separately, you should check your emails for spam. Specific tools analyze the content of messages and send them through spam filters. They check the number and types of links, images and their size, encoding, content of headers and other elements. Don’t skip testing subject lines as well.

At the end of the quick test, you will find out how likely you emails are to be called spam. It takes literally a few moments to master these instruments. To know more about dealing with spam complaints, as well as ensuring your email falls into Primary tabs, check this guide.

Notably, it is an automatic analysis of the messages’ structure in order to provide the technical side of the issue. Different rules apply with regard to the subjective assessment of recipients. Your emails should be relevant to them. That is, receivers had no reason to manually mark them as spam. Take into account double opt-in level of subscription and the ability to unsubscribe from the newsletter.

This is how the test results may look like:

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4. IP and domain reputation check

Thanks to services like MXToolBox, dmarcian, and similar, you can find out the following:

• Whether your sender’s IP or domain is on blacklists. Email services verify them when evaluating incoming emails.
• The validity of email authentication records (SPF, DKIM, DMARC). These are the generally accepted authentication settings for your server. They ensure that you are authorized to send mailings. These are a must for successful message delivery.

The main advantage of such tools is the ability to identify technical factors that can affect the deliverability of mailings. However, some black and gray lists that are checked are not really important, and ISPs and outreach automation tools do not even take them into account when evaluating incoming emails.

If you feel that a tech side of testing is not what you want to comprehend, consider using email sending services. For sure, they’re mostly used for massive campaigns, but for short-list sending they can be implemented as well. Their biggest advantage is that all these technical things related to email deliverability are inherited on the high level. Meanwhile, their biggest drawback is that they may have only paid plans.

To sum up

To ensure deliverability of your personal emails, it is better to have all the four methods in service and use on special occasions. For instance, if you start sending emails you can make authentication arrangements and conduct a spam check. If you notice deliverability rate drop after that you can revise the text of the newsletter or the design in general, send it to a trial contact list and learn your IP and domain reputation.

That said, there are no correct recipes here, and the main secret is the regularity of deliverability checks.

The post Why and How to Test Email Deliverability appeared first on Fleep Blog.

There are many reasons why you would want to write a professional email. It could be a job application where you send a cover letter accompanied by your CV, a thank you letter or a resignation letter to your employer. Whatever the reason is for sending an email, you need to make sure to do it in an organized and a professional manner.

When it comes to writing a job-related email, you must be brief, well-mannered and straightforward. Similar to other means of communication, you have to start by greeting the person you are sending the email, pass your message concisely and then ask for replies from the recipient so that they can know what to do next.

Email is probably not the future of business communication, but it still rules today’s professional online interactions. It also plays a vital role in business process management by helping keep healthy communication of the methods, increasing the productivity of the workplace. So, being able to communicate effectively via email is still an important skill in today’s workplace.

So, how do you communicate effectively via email. How do you make sure your email is professional, that it conveys exact message you want it to? How do you ensure the email gets a positive reply? In other words…

How to write a professional email? Here’s our guide:

1. Think First

Before you start writing the email, give it some thought first. Note that the email you send might negatively or positively impact your personality. Understand the person you are writing to. Are you writing to a busy person? If you are writing to a busy person, keep your message short and straight to the point.

In this case, you need to know the type of email you are sending and what response you want to get from the recipient. Having a clear intention will give you focus while writing.

Furthermore, consider whether email is the best format for what you want to communicate. Sometimes, a call may be more appropriate, and sometimes you may want to switch to team chat.

Read more: Make E-Mail Great Again

2. What’s the Purpose of Your Email?

Who are you writing to? Have you written to them before? If not yet, then you will want to ensure you give them a more context. Now before you embark on writing the message, know why you are sending the email and what’s the best time to send the email.

So, do you know what is the purpose of your email?

If you are unable to figure out why you are writing an email, then there is no reason to send it. Note that sending an email without having a clear purpose could be a waste of time to you and the recipient. You will spend a lot of time trying to express yourself.

Therefore, ensure you have a clear understanding of why you are sending the email so that you can get to express yourself easily and in a concise manner.

3. Who is Your Audience?

The way you begin writing the message through to the sign-off need to be consistent with how you respect the person you are writing to. In this case, you need to write for the person you are sending the email to. If the recipient is formal write the email in a formal language. If they are informal, write it in their language.

4. Adhere to the “One Thing Rule”

Unlike business meetings, emails need to be brief and straightforward. The less the details you include, the better your email will be to understand. Before you start writing, you need to understand that people are busy.

If you will cause them to guess what you want, you are less likely to get the exact response you wanted. So, make sure the recipient is able to understand easily what you want so that they can respond in the best possible way. In this case, you should ensure every email you send comprises one thing only. You should not communicate too many subjects in one email message.

5. Use a Meaningful Subject Line

This is another part of a professional email where many people ignore. The subject line is the first thing the recipient will come into contact. Note that the person you are writing to could be receiving hundreds of emails a day and so it’s imperative to make your subject line clear and brief.

You need to grab your recipient’s attention and also make them understand the purpose of your email so that they can know what action to take thereafter.

Sending an email with a blank or vague subject line could easily get your email into the trash bin of the recipient. Many people go directly to the subject line of an email before they can decide whether to proceed reading the entire message or not, so ensure to write a concise subject line that conveys your purpose for the email.

Examples of subject lines to attract your recipient’s attention:

• Great to see you yesterday!
• We appreciate your support!
• Please share your experience with us
• Ways to Make Money Online
• Follow-up about_______
• Request for Recommendation
• Meeting Date Changed

Examples of subject lines to avoid:

• “Urgent”
• “Please reply immediately”
• “Read before you reply”
• Blank

If you are not sure what subject line to use, think about the purpose of the email and then describe it in a few words and then proofread it before you proceed.

6. Start Your Email With Greetings

Whether it is a short or a long email, always begin with a greeting. It is a good email etiquette to greet the person you are writing to. Note that it will depend on how formal or informal the person you are writing to. So keep your greeting formal always when writing a professional email.

If you are writing to a person you know, you can start with “Dear Mr. Jerald”, “Dear Anthony” or “Hi, Sharon.”.

However, if you are writing to an organization, you will want to research about it so that you get to know the person handling the emails and avoid using the “Whom it may concern” statement.

Another way to greet the recipient is by using their title such as “Dear Hiring Manager”.

Do note that the punctuation for your greeting (as well as for the sign-off) may depend on the language you are writing in. For example, in English, the most formal way of ending a salutation is with a colon, as in “Dear Mr. Johnson:”.

In many cases utmost formality is not necessary, and the colon is not required. You can then either use a comma, as in “Hi Jeremy,” and also after your sign-off (“Thanks,), or you can leave both without any punctuation. Alternatively, you can turn it into a complete sentence by formatting your salutation as “Hi, Jeremy.”.

However, in some European languages (e.g. in Estonian), the appropriate punctuation is in fact an exclamation mark. Yes, an exclamation mark! So, be sure to check the grammar rules if you’re writing in any other language besides English.

7. Introduce Yourself

After greeting the recipient, you need to introduce yourself right away, especially if it’s your first time contacting them. You can introduce yourself briefly in one sentence or two. For instance, you could say “I am Boniface. I work as a freelance content writer and I have accomplished several projects on SEO and Product Reviews. Please find my portfolio at ____”

Introducing yourself and the work you do will help the recipient to know who the email is from and this is imperative when writing to a person you’ve never met. Many people think that including your name in the introduction is like repeating yourself since the name will appear on your email address, but making them know who you are is good.

If you’ve ever met, you can remind them at the introduction part also. However, if it’s someone you know and they know you too, you don’t have to introduce yourself.

8. State Your Purpose

There are two things you could want from the email you are writing and you need to make it clear to the recipient. First, you want to inquire about something and second, you want to make the recipient know what to do next. For instance, you may begin with “I am writing to inquire about the interview we had about your writing project” or “I am writing in response to an invitation……..”

In this case, you want to state the purpose of your email but also not look rude. You should make the purpose clear beforehand before you proceed into the main body of the message.

9. Never Lose the Meaning of Your Content on the Way

In this case, you need to keep your message clear and concise. After you’ve created a good subject line and introduced yourself, you should maintain the same flow throughout your email- avoid beating around the bush. You need to get straight to the point of your email.

Clearly, make known what you want and concentrate on that part only. If possible you can list the things you want them done or the point of writing the email in bullets to make your email more organized and readable.

10. Remember to Keep Your Message Short

People are busy and when you write a novel, no one will bother to read such an email. So, keep it as concise as possible by including only the essential information. Note that professional emails are short and meant to respect the recipient time.

If you make the recipient feel like your email is lengthy, they will likely ignore it. Aim at avoiding making the recipient dig through several paragraphs to find out what you want- be clear and to the point always.

11. Keep Your Email Clean

You are writing a professional email and so you need to look professional even in your way of writing. Figure out this- You receive a reply to an email you sent with excessive carets (>>>>>) how will you feel. Definitely, you will get annoyed. Same applies to your recipient. Ensure to avoid being messy when replying to a thread or when sending an email. In this case, you can clear the carets by pressing Ctrl+F to access the Find and Replace command or just do away with all the emails and send a new one.

12. Thank the Recipient

Your recipient has taken the time to read your email message and therefore, you need to appreciate them for that. Also, this is another way to state your aim of writing the email. “Thank you for taking your time to review my application and writing samples”, “ Thank you for taking your time to read my research proposal” or “Thank you for your patience and consideration”

13. The Closing Remarks

You should close your email with a statement that makes your message clear and informs the recipient what to do next. This is a good opportunity to nudge them to take action. “Please find attached the research proposal. I am looking forward to hearing from you soon” or “I look forward to meeting you in person so that we can discuss your project”

14. Use a Professional Sign-Off

There are numerous ways to end an email before you write your name. However, for the purpose of remaining professional, you should not be too creative in this part. So choose a sign-off that looks professional such as:

• Best regards,
• Respectfully,
• Yours truly,
• Sincerely,
• Kind regards,

You should use such closing statements when writing a professional email. In a more casual email you can use:

• Best,
• Cheers,
• Thanks,

Again, note that whether the email sign-off is followed by any punctuation, and what kind of punctuation, may depend on your language rules.

Additional Tips on How to Write a Professional Email

Now that you’ve written your email, ensure to follow these steps before you hit the “Send” button.

Professional Email Tip #1: Have Empathy

When writing a professional email, put yourself in the shoes of the recipient. This way, you will be able to know their feelings. Think about what you could do if you were the recipient of the email you are writing. So when writing, ask yourself:

• How would I understand this sentence, if I was the one reading it?
• How would I feel if I was to receive such an email?

Read more: Emotion in team communication

Professional Email Tip #2: Your email is a depiction of yourself

You are what you write: Every email you write can make or break your reputation. If you write a disorganized email full of mistakes, the recipient will see you as a careless person who doesn’t take the time to do things in the right way.

Professional Email Tip #3: Ensure Your Email is Complete

Have you included a brief subject line? Have you included a signature? If you need to have a copy of the email, have you included the BCC?

Professional Email Tip #4: Take Time to Proofread Your Email Before You Send it

From the contact section to the subject line through to the closing line check the email thoroughly before you press the send button. Proofreading your email shouldn’t be a time-consuming task, but could prevent your email from getting into the recipient’s trash bin.
In this case, verify whether all the following information is right:

• A clear and concise subject line
• Professional greeting
• The introduction of yourself
• The purpose
• Check for grammar, punctuation and other formatting errors.
• Your closing remarks.

Verify that your purpose is clear and stated right away in the beginning of the email in a straightforward and easy to understand manner. Note that this is your last time to detect any errors and so you should be careful at this stage. Think about a situation where you write the word “Not” when you wanted to mean “Now”. This can be confusing and happens when a person fails to proofread their emails.

Professional Email Tip #5: Check for Grammar and Punctuation Mistakes

Sending an email doesn’t require you to be an expert in grammar and punctuations, but check for such mistakes is vital. Grammar mistakes may prevent you from landing your dream job.

In this case, ensure to use words that have clear meanings and exist in the dictionary. In fact, it is advisable to use simple and easy to understand English when writing a professional email.

For example, you can always turn to professional writers like those at TrustMyPaper to come up with email copy that is free from mistakes.

Professional Email Tip #6: Keep Your Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs Short

Why use a long word when you can replace it with a short one? When writing a professional email, always keep everything short and to the point. A brief and concise email shows respect for your recipient. Short words make your message more scannable. For clarity purposes, ensure to shorten lengthy sentences and paragraphs as much as possible.

Professional Email Tip #7: Font Style

The font style you use when writing a love letter shouldn’t get its way to your professional email. Avoid font styles that will distract the recipient from your purpose of the message. Keep your use of italics and bold letters at a minimum. Avoid using capital letters throughout your email. Using capital letters looks like you are commanding the recipient.

Professional Email Tip #8: Send Your Email to the Right Recipient

Avoid filling people’s inboxes with unwanted emails especially when writing for business purposes. Note that business people are frustrated when you copy an email they have nothing to do with. So, ensure you are sending your email to the right people.

Professional Email Tip #9: Ensure to Include Your Contact Information When Ending Your Email

There are numerous ways you would want to get a reply of your email and the easiest way is to include your contact information such as your phone number and other contact details such as Skype and company website.

Professional Email Tip #10: If you’re writing sales emails, look into automation

It’s no secret that sales and revenue marketing people around the world make use of email automation. In fact, automation tools help drive a lot of revenue with email marketing campaigns and sales emails. There are many options out there for such tools, so make sure you do your research.

For example, sales automation tools like AeroLeads can help you find the verified prospect’s name, email and contact number, as well as schedule emails for later.

Most marketing automation such tools are not free. For example, UpLead’s and AeroLeads’ prices range from tens of dollars to hundreds of dollars. If nothing else, that’s an indication of how valuable such tools are to salespeople writing emails!

What to Avoid When Writing a Professional Email

There are things that we do when writing professional emails that seem minor but make a big difference. A poorly written email can portray you as being unprofessional. It can show exactly how you carry yourself since it represents you and if possible, your business. Though it is easy to send a quick reply using your phone, it is vital to verify every email you send.

Here are few things you should never include in your professional email.

Things to avoid #1: Making a Typo in Your Recipient’s Name

This is the first mistake that you should never make when writing a professional email. However, you will be shocked that a good number of people still overlook it. Note that committing such a mistake will make the recipient never get back to you completely.

If you can’t spend the time to get the right name of the recipient or the company even on other social networks like LinkedIn then it means you will never have time to double check your work.

Things to avoid #2: Including Too Many Personal Details

People are busy and no one wants to read your entire life background. People want to read what they want to so write concise and brief emails by doing away with unwanted details such as personal details.

Things to avoid #3: Using the “To Whom it May Concern” Phrase

This is a killer mistake that you must ensure to avoid it like death. Nowadays, companies have placed their information on the internet. You can get to know who the head of every department is, who is the human resource and many other titles just by researching the company.

Using “To Whom it may concern” shows that you haven’t bothered yourself to research before writing the email. If you can’t find a name to address to, you better address the person by his/her title such as “Dear hiring manager” or “To the Head of the Finance Department”

Things to avoid #4: Too Casual Tone

A professional email should be written in a formal manner. You should keep away from those lower case letters or text languages such as Lol, thx and many others. Spell every word in full and avoid using abbreviations.

Things to avoid #5: Sending email lacking a subject line

You are likely to make this mistake especially if you are writing in a hurry. At that time, you just rush to write the message and after hitting the send button is when you will realize that you haven’t included it.

Your recipient might fail to read your email because that shows you don’t have time to write something worth reading.

Things to avoid #6: Failing to Attach the File as Mentioned In The Body of Your Email

You’ve indicated in the message that there is an attachment but you end up sending the email without the attachment because you are in a hurry. This might portray you as being careless. That is why it is recommended for people to go through their emails several times to ensure all the information stated is intact.

Things to avoid #7: Spelling, Grammar and Punctuation Mistakes

These are the worst mistakes you will need to prevent them from appearing in your professional emails. A wrongly spelled word can give a different meaning. This will show how unprofessional you are even if you act professionally. This is why you should proofread your emails from the subject line to the end and run spell check to detect such mistakes before you hit the send button.

Things to avoid #8: Attaching Huge Files

Most often people attach a file and send it to later find that it is a huge file that requires more time to download. People are busy and only a few will be patient enough to wait until a huge file is downloaded so that they can read what is inside.

Many will just ignore it once they find that it requires time and bundles to download the file. So ensure to check the size of the file you want to attach and if it’s a large file, you might as well compress it.

Things to avoid #9: Using too Many Fonts

Using crazy and bad fonts in your emails can create a bad impression. So always try to use regular or common font style and size when formulating an email to make it professional.

Final Words

There you have it: a full guide on how to write a professional email. Now you can write a good written professional email with high chances of getting a good response. Make sure to bookmark this guide for future use or share on social media to help out others as well!

Further reading:

• Email in Business Communication: How Busy People Use Email
• Make E-Mail Great again
• The Future of Business Communication

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