Email has been around for decades. You’d think years of using the tool would make us proficient, but email is considered one of the biggest time wasters at work Since email is like the Wild West of communicating, mistakes abound.
Here are five of the most common that you’re probably using when you email someone:
1. Using all caps in your subject line.
Skip the all-caps subject line. It’s the internet equivalent of yelling, and no one likes to be yelled at. Scammers and people trying to spam your inbox use these techniques, and they’re no longer effective.
Users who wrote an email with an all-cap subject line received a reply 30% less often, according to a Boomerang study. If something is truly urgent, skip all caps and simply state the urgency in the subject. If you have a deadline, explicitly state it in the subject line.
While all caps are bad, a completely lowercase subject line is also bad. Emails that were started with a lowercase letter got a reply 28.4% of the time, compared to a 32.6% response rate for those with proper subject capitalization, according to Boomerang research.
2. Unclear subject lines.
Avoid putting something generic in the subject line, such as “Hi.” If the subject isn’t clear, [the receiver] might not know what the conversation is about.
And don’t forget to change the subject line if the conversation shifts. Emails that are sent to a large group of people can often have a subject drift. If you add information or ask a question that isn’t directly related to the thread, update the subject line.
If you don’t write a new subject line, the thread can’t be easily found later. Update it or start a new thread.
3. Not using CC or BCC.
It’s tempting to send emails with every recipient in the “to:” section, but using the “cc:” and “bcc:” fields can convey information without having to write it.
Adding people on an email in the ‘to:’ heading notes that input is expected, while ‘cc:’ informs recipients that they are being brought into the loop but that no action is required. At the same time, ‘bcc:’ lets recipients know that their involvement as bystanders is in secret. By using these headings wisely, you can save time, effort, and provide information to recipients covertly, if needed.
4. Writing too much or too little.
While writing a short email is good, it depends on the topic of the message.
A big mistake is when people don’t appropriately convey the complexity of topic. Don’t be glib about a serious topic; make sure the gravity corresponds with the length of the email you’re sending. But don’t send 5,000 words if all you want is to get some pizza together.
5. Sending emails on a Monday.
While it’s not wrong to send an email on Monday, people are not always in the best mood, and they’re more prone to making mistakes.
Monday is the first day to start waking up early after the weekend, and people make more mistakes in their email; that affects the response rate and reflects badly. If you have to send an important email on Monday, take time to make sure it’s mistake-free.
The Boomerang study found that Monday is when people are the most negative in their subject lines, and negative emails are the least likely to get a response.
Source: Fastcompany.com
