05 Jun 09 How to make People read Your E-mails

How often has it happen to you that you sent an important mail to someone, and the person did not reply? When you called up to enquire, the person confessed that he or she has not read the e-mail sent by you. If this rarely happens to you then it is the reader who is to blame for his or her laxity, but if this happens sporadically then maybe it’s the e-mail writing behavior of yours that is to blame. Whatever might be the case, the fact is your message went unread.  In this post I am suggesting your some ways to fine-tune your e-mails to improve its readability.

Subject Line: This is the most important part of an e-mail. This is the window that gives your reader a glimpse into your mail. Make the view worth exploring.

Call to action: Most of the time the users need guidance. They need to know what response is expected of him.

Inverted pyramid structure: Write the most important thing at the top of the mail and then write the second most important thing followed by the third one.

KISS it: Keep it Short and Simple (KISS). The mail should be short, and simple. No one wish to read an epic in the mail.

Run a spell check: Typos not only put people off, but it also makes the message lose its meaning midst all the errors. Check the spelling before sending an e-mail across.

Check the recipient: People often commit this error and do it quite often. Check if the recipient’s address is written correctly.

Tags: E Mail, Epic, Fine Tune, Glimpse, Guidance, Inverted Pyramid Structure, Laxity, Mail Check, Midst, People, Read Mail, Sending Mail, Simple Kiss, Spell Check, Spelling, Subject Line