Sending E-mails that are likely to get read.
The Harvard Business School “Working Knowledge” sectionhad a very very helpful article today on Tips for mastering e-mail overload.
Helpful tips under two major points: How to send better e-mails, and how to read and recieve e-mail. I think the first issue greatly alleviates the second, so I’m including the major points here. I recommend reading it.
How to send better e-mail:
- Use a subject line to summarize, not describe. (I think that some of the time, message text isn’t even necessary!)
- Give your reader full context at the start of your message. (They are probably thinking about something else.)
- When you copy lots of people (a heinous practice that should be used sparingly), mark out why each person should care.
- Use separate messages rather than bcc (blind carbon copy).
- Make action requests clear.
- Separate topics into separate e-mails … up to a point. (when mixing controversy with mundania)
- Combine separate points into one message. (rather than sending sending 500 tiny messages a day. Or try calling them!)
- Edit forwarded messages. (Only give me relevant info!
- When scheduling a call or conference, include the topic in the invitation. It helps people prioritize and manage their calendar more effectively.
- Make your e-mail one page or less. (very few people will read beyond one or two pages. The message should fit in the preview pane.)
- Understand how people prefer to be reached, and how quickly they respond.
Blind carbon-copy absolutely has a place. Mostly in practicing the corporate rule of CYA.
I am also highly annoyed by people that use the subject line as a 4 sentence summary and include NO text in the actual email. “Well, some people don’t read their emails beyond the subject.” Congratulations, now I don’t read yours at all.
Biggest keys to ‘good’ emails: executive summaries and bullet points.
My list of ways to get your e-mail read:
1. Title it “URGENT!!!!!!”
2. Begin with “TOP SECRET — do not read unless you have level 5 security clearance.”
3. Add boring details to the middle.
4. End with “Whatever you do, DO NOT REPLY to this e-mail!”
Pat - BCC definitely has its place. I think their point was, don’t BCC someone into a business e-mail unless it would be very apparent to them why they are being BCC’d. (see their example).
Subject lines over 1 small sentance are a cardinal sin, I’m pretty sure… Lust, Gluttony, Pride, Envy, Long Subject Lines…
Megan - BRILLIANT!
I definitely started deleting emails with URGENT in the subject line, based on the sender. The problem is that they never actually were. Who knows what I may have missed, but when someone is shouting, “Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! Wolf! Wolf!” all day long instead of, “Bake Sale! Boring Meeting!” you just kinda ignore them, too.
You know, I think I’ve got it: the best way to have effective emails is to not send stupid ones all the time.
We’ll put that one in my book.
hey matt, where do you get your domain names from?