As a businessperson, you send out countless emails daily, so mistakes here and there are understandable. However, even small mistakes can cause big problems.
Below, we’ve listed five email mistakes you should always try to avoid.
1. Writing overly long emails
Keep your emails succinct. Your fellow busy professionals are likely to skim or set aside overly long, rambling emails. If you can’t relay your message in five sentences or fewer, it should be communicated in person or over the phone.
2. Omitting a greeting or signoff
You should always begin the initial email in a thread with a greeting and close it with a signoff. Omitting these can make you come off as unfriendly or brusque. However, avoid writing “To whom it may concern” whenever possible, as this implies you don’t care enough about your recipient to find out his or her name. If necessary, something like “Dear hiring manager” or “To the HR department” may suffice.
3. Being unprofessional
When writing business emails, avoid abbreviations, slang, emojis, and multiple exclamation points. Be careful to use proper punctuation and capitalization, and choose polite, formal greetings and signoffs.
4. Overlooking tone
Conveying tone over email can be tricky. Be careful with word choice and phrasing, keeping your writing as straightforward as possible while avoiding statements that could be misinterpreted.
5. Neglecting to proofread
As with any piece of business writing, careful proofreading is crucial with emails. The smallest mistake can change the tone of your message or project carelessness and unprofessionalism. Whenever possible, have another person proofread important messages or mass emails to double check for typos, formatting errors, and inconsistencies you may not have spotted.
Do you want to learn more about improving your emails? Contact us today for more information about our business writing training seminars.
Marilyn says...
pursuing a new career in the business world and will be corresponding with clients regularly via emails. My favorite motto is: you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Regards,
Marilyn
On August 21, 2016