As a digital marketing company that relies heavily on e-mail in order to communicate with existing clients as well as generate and nurture new relationships, email brevity has become increasingly important.
Although information is important we value productivity and the ability to remain concise. The abundance of mobile devices used by professionals has made email communication as common place as text messaging.
We All Want To Hit “Inbox 0”
People are frequently busy, juggling multiple tasks or traveling and don’t always have enough time to sit and read through multiple paragraphs of information.
A recent Huffington Post article validated our thoughts, highlighting two extremely influential and successful businessmen in Apple’s Steve Jobs and Amazon’s Jeff Bezos and their one sentence, or even one word responses to e-mails.
For various reasons, short emails are more associated with people at the top of the food chain. If you also send short emails it puts you in the company of the decision-makers,” said Will Schwalbe, co-author with David Shipley of Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better. Short emails, he said, are “much more respectful of everyone’s time.
This isn’t to say that ALL lengthy emails are bad. Follow these easy steps to keep conversations flowing:
- Descriptive subject line – You want me to open your email, right? Let me know what the message is about
- Get to the point – A polite one sentence introduction is sufficient
- Call to action – Do you need a response, a meeting confirmation or further information? Give them a reason to respond
A successful email conveys clarity and confidence by remaining concise and to the point. Each email should be viewed as part of a conversation that invites correspondence. Following good email habits should increase the likelihood that a conversation continues.
At Queen City Media we have even implemented penalties for team members that choose to break email protocols. What some of your suggested email practices?
