10 Tips For Effective Email Writing

In my post on Effective Email Communication I mentioned that I would follow-up with a post on the art of writing effective emails.

I found a really great article on the Clickz.com site. It lists 20 Rules Of Writing Effective Business Emails. I like this list because all the rules are common-sense and easy to implement.

The 20 Rules are :

1) Be accurate. Whatever claims you make, benefits you offer, or statistics you quote, make sure they are true and not inflated. Nothing is worse than starting off a relationship with exaggerated or even false information.

2) Be brief. Your job with B2B email is to capture interest, then provide more information if it's wanted. You need to identify the most important benefit to the recipient and sum it up in a short paragraph. Think of it as the 30-second "elevator pitch" in email form.

3) Be clear. Most business people are turned off by email messages with bad grammar, misspellings, and/or unintelligible content. If you personally struggle with writing, hiring a professional writer to prepare your messages is a worthwhile investment.

4) Be genuine. Forget the hype that works with consumers. The B2B relationship is built on trust. Make sure everything you say conveys you are a genuine, upstanding, honest person running a reputable business.

5) Speak their language. Whatever you're going to say, write in words they understand and are comfortable with. Don't write down to them or above their comprehension level. People tend to understand and react better to words they use in everyday conversations.

6) Put yourself in their shoes. Try to picture the daily routine of the people you're contacting and reflect that in your writing: "I know you're busy, so I'll get right to the point."

7) Watch out for a "knowledge gap." Don't assume recipients have the same knowledge about your product or service you do. After you've captured their interest and have reached the "additional information" stage, try offering a step-by-step walkthrough of whatever you're marketing to help them understand what you're trying to say.

8) Write business emails as letters, not as ads. In the B2B world, a forthright communication in letter format is much more effective than an email that looks and smells like an ad.

9) Take your time. As you would with B2C (and any other communication, for that matter), let your B2B email message sit for a day or two after you complete it. Show it to colleagues and other business people, and get their opinions. In almost every case, the passage of time and other people's input will help you improve your messaging and writing.

10) Remember your email is likely to be passed around. Because it's so easy for email to be forwarded, assume your message will be sent to others if the initial recipient has any interest. You may want to include links to information that is relevant to others, including technical details, operations info, and financial data.

For the remaining 10 rules, please go along to the Clickz.com site - here.