5 Ways to Communicate Effectively in an Email

This post has been updated on March 18, 2021.

Freelance writers use email to communicate with other writers, clients, members from writers groups, and others. It’s important to communicate effectively in your email. Otherwise, it may get lost in translation. There’s nothing worse than having the recipient misinterpret your email or ignore you all together. The key is to be direct, concise, and to the point.

Sometimes you may be in a hurry to write and send an email, but it’s important to read it before you do. How embarrassing would it be to send an email to a client that’s full of errors? It’s a good way to lose future business! Take a few seconds to read your content and look for typos and grammatical errors. You’ll be glad you did.

5 Ways to Communicate Effectively in an Email

Get to the Point

Emails were created for a reason—to communicate in a short, concise manner what you want. Don’t waste time writing lengthy emails that may get deleted. Get to the point, make it, and move on. Say what you want to say and say it!

Do Not Assume

Thanks to social media, you can network with people you know and the people they know. If you’re sending someone an email because you’d like to network with them, don’t assume the recipient knows who you are because you’re friends with their contact. You’re assuming they’ll accept your invitation because of a mutual connection. FYI: This may irritate some people.

Here’s an example of an email to send when you want to connect with someone via social media:

“Hello, my name is John Daley, and I’m writing to you because you and I know Jane Smith. I’ve known Jane for years through our local Toastmasters chapter. I would like to add you to my LinkedIn (Facebook, Digg, etc.) network. I think we could help each grow our businesses based on our knowledge and connections. I hope to hear from your soon. Thank you.”

This email gets to the point and asks the recipient to do something. Respond and network!

Write a Great Subject Line

People receive many emails throughout the day, so it’s important that yours stands out. The way to do this is by writing an eye-catching subject line. You may want to conduct an A/B split test and pick the winner to send to the remainder of your audience. If you don’t have a great subject line, your email may get deleted.

Be Mindful When You Ask People About Themselves

If you’re asking people about themselves because you’re looking for a date, you could find yourself in hot water. Why do you want to know about them? What is the point? If you find someone through LinkedIn, Facebook, Digg, Reddit, etc. chances are their bio and websites are listed. All you have to do is visit their websites and find out what you need to know. Keep your email to business matters, and leave the personal “about” questions for Match.com or eHarmony.com!

Proofread

Please don’t send an email, especially to a client, that’s filled with errors. Review what your wrote and correct your errors. Remember, you never know who your client knows. A sloppy email may cost you referral business. And worse yet. Your client may question your professionalism.

Before you go…

Liked this post? Click here and sign up for the Savvy-Writer newsletter.