Introduction
Now a days, emails are playing vital roles in our life. We all used to send or reply at least one mail per day. Most of the mails are important too. Emails are not just some letters or contents. It describes your nature, your professionalism and so on.
Background
I used to make some mistakes when I sent mails in the early stages. So I thought to share those with you, so you can eliminate those problems.
Things to remember
There are a few points, I am listing them below. Please note that I have listed these points I have experienced in my professional life. You may need to take care of other points as well.
Be sure you have selected the correct recipients.
You must be very serious when you select the recipients. If your mail is confidential, you need to send it to only the correct people, right? What happens if you add a third person in that? You may encounter some serious issue from your higher officials. In our world, you may want to quit your job. So please be sure you have selected only the necessary recipients.
Or
Select recipients once you draft the mail.
There is one thing I used to do. I selected the recipients only after I finished typing the entire mail. I select the people only after I drafted it.
Appropriate subject
The next important rule is to provide a correct subject. The subject says what the exact contents of the mail is. Please make sure that the subject is not a long sentence. Make it precise and small.
Example: Asking for permission, When you need to ask permission from your higher officials.
When reply a trail mail ( A mail which you are replying again and again) , be sure the subject has changed when you are discussing another topic.
When you follow or reply to a mail you got and if you follow the same thread you must take care of the subject. You need to provide a separate subject to each mail you send only if you are discussing or sending about another topic . Normally the subject will start with FWD :...
Address recipients
Addressing takes an important role. When you don't address the recipients correctly, you may lose your recipients impression on you. So addressing is like a give and take of respect.
Meaningful and precise body content
When you set the preceding points in your mail, the next is the body. I know you know what you want to send, still make your body precise and meaningful. Avoid repeated sentences.
Avoid long sentences
Please avoid long sentences when you reply to mail. Make small sentences when needed. This will create a strong understanding of your mail. It is important that the recipients understand what you send, right?
Unique formatting for the content
I know we are all good in design but please don't do any design work (styling) in your mail. Make it professional. Please use the same style for the entire content.
Avoid more line space
As the heading implies, please avoid excessive line spaces. When you provide more spaces between lines, it may look unreadable for the recipients. When a person spends time to read your mail, you need to be sure it is readable enough. Remember, time is the most precious thing in this world now.
Start with appreciation content
This is very important. When you reply to a mail, always start with appreciation.
For example, “Thanks for your reply”. This will make the recipients think that you value their responses. This will definitely make a good impression.
Avoid short forms
In our day to day life, we are all lazy. We won't use full words when chatting with friends or family. Yeah it is fine when it is between friends. But things change when it comes to professional mails. You should not use any short forms.
For example: “U” instead of “You”.
Perfect conclusion
Finally for the conclusion, a perfect conclusion makes recipients feel happy that he has spent time wisely when reading your mail. It will make him/her to provide a reply to your mail.
For example: Include “Looking forward to hear from you” when you are expecting a reply.
Professional signature
The signature is very important. We may use our name alone in our signature, right? Yeah I was also doing the same mistake. But a signature should not be just a name. It must be a replica of your address. You can add your business website link also.
For example:
Sibeesh Venu
No.3/34, Ignaccimuthu Illam, 3rd street,Thiruvalluvar Nagar
Alandur,Chennai Tamilnadu,India - 600016
+91-8XXX411XXX
http://www.XYZ.com
Last but not the least
Always use any of the following after you are over with your conclusion part and before the signature part.
Regards, Best Regards, Kindest Regards....
I always use Kindest Regards.
Always do a re-check before sending
Once you have done everything, always re-check what you have typed so far. It will help you identify the small mistakes you have made.
Always turn on spell check
It is better to turn on the spell check always. As you know, spelling mistakes give another meaning to your content. In our professional life it is very important. It implies your character too. Use correct spelling; take your own time to follow that.
Most Important point
Be polite . We all are having issues in our professional life. But it is not necessary that your recipients must know about that.
Always remember that you are representing your company. When you do a mistake , it reflect your company reputation.
For Example: On Friday you wanted to send an email about your work status to the client, and you are sure that you have already sent it on Friday itself. But what if you are getting a mail from your client saying that you have not send that mail on Monday? What will be your reply?
Let me guess :) . Following will be your reply !.
"I have already send you the mail on Friday itself."
Am I right?
But it is not the correct way. The reply must be as follows.
"Dear Sibeesh
Thanks a lot for your mail. I will send the mail now. Please be noted that I actually sent the mail on Friday itself. Please do not hesitate to reply if you still don't get my mail. I will see what I can do with that. "
Conclusion
I hope you liked my article. Now please provide your valuable suggestions.