Although you don’t see the person face-to-face, writing emails can be nervous.
You want to come off as professional when you are asking for a favor or even writing a thank-you email.
Read on to learn about tips and tricks on writing emails that won’t get ignored.
1. Include the word ‘yet’ in critical emails to coworkers to soften the tone
One trick to convince your coworker to make improvements on their work, without discouraging them, is to use the word “yet” to soften down the tone.
Here is an example of how you would put it: “I don’t think these designs are where I want them to be yet.”
The word “yet” helps people want to make progress and keep trying until they get it right.
2. Send a test email to yourself before sending it out to busy people
There’s a higher chance for emails to get opened first on a mobile device, so you want the message to look neat on a phone.
If the email is getting sent to someone busy, a good way to prevent for an email to look epic – in a bad way, is to send a test email to see if it’s mobile-friendly.
One thing to always remember when writing an email is that an email should be concise and right to the point to avoid getting ignored.
3. Use of exclamation points does not always come across as unprofessional
Emails are tricky, because it’s almost impossible to catch emotions over the electronic device. It’s been said that whatever enthusiasm you intend to convey gets taken down a notch in emails.
So if you, as a sender, think you sound overly enthusiastic in your email, you will be conveyed as normally enthusiastic to the recipient.
The right amount of exclamation points in emails will make you seem friendly, if not neutral.
4. When emailing someone for a favor, put your request right upfront
After a few sentences of short introduction to establish your credibility, get straight to the point if you want your request to be read.
If the recipient has to scroll down to read your request, it will not capture his/her attention.
5. Include a potential solution when asking for something to your boss
A bad example of asking or requesting your boss about something is going off, “What do you think about X?”
Always propose a solution when asking.
If you are requesting time off, for an example, explain that it will be a slow period, your coworker has agreed to cover for you, and it will help you come back rested for the next big push.
6. Don’t feel pressured to say yes to emails with professional requests
If someone emails you, asking for a professional introduction someone in your network, you don’t have to feel pressured to comply with the request. You can always politely reject a request, if you don’t feel comfortable.
But just be sure to explain why you are not able to, without offending the person, by kindly explaining your position,
“I wish I could help you out, but my relationship with [person’s name] is still pretty new, so making introductions at this time wouldn’t feel comfortable to me.”
7. Be sure to send a thoughful thank-you email after someone does you a professional favor
It always gives a warm feeling when you find out that you’ve helped someone. Also if you make sure you show appreciation after you’ve been helped, it’s likely that you or someone else will be helped again.
An example of a thank-you email would be: “Hi Sarah — we’ve been making more sales after you’ve redesigned our website. I am so glad that we have met someone so talented like you. We appreciate your great work!”
8. Write a subject line that shows people how this email will help them
The first thing that the recipient sees of your email is the subject line. You want to make sure it gives them a brief understanding of what the context of your email is.
JobKoreaUSA | Irene Na
