How to Structure Routine Emails

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

Emails can be used for various reasons.   They can be used for answering questions, writing to customers, delegating responsibilities and filing incident reports. To write good routine emails, you should know the differences between them.  

Here is a list of 4 routine emails you may find yourself writing.

The techniques you use will depend upon what kind of routine email you are going to write.

1.  Request messages:  This is a message you send which requires a response.
Normally this message uses the direct approach with direct openings   Tell the reader what you want immediately.   In the body of your email you will have the reasons why you are making the request. 
Close off  with a date and when the reply is needed. If your request requires persuasion, use the indirect approach.  The indirect approach has the request in the body of the email,  after the opening statements.  Using the "you" approach is a good technique when you need to persuade.  The 'you' technique explains to the reader how they will benefit if they help you . 

2.  Response messages:  This is a return message for someone else's request. 
In your opening statement acknowledge to the reader you will be responding.
In the body summarize, your responses and give the details of your responses.
Close with an offering  of any further assistance.

3.  Procedural messages: This is to explain procedures and to give proper instruction.
Begin your sentence with an active verb to command an action.  For example, "Write a job description  rather than, "You should write a job description." (Guffey, Rhodes, Rogin, 2008, pg. 219)
Your email body must be written clearly be readable and understandable. 
It needs to be proficient and efficient without being too dictatorial.   
The closing line should have the contact details for the contact person on this procedure to direct your questions or comments.

4. Confirmation messages:  This creates a written record and you are able to file information.
Open with a statement outlining your previous conversations with dates.
In the body of the email precisely list your topics.
The closing statement should request feedback if anything is unclear.

Closing Techniques for Email

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

Closing of an email is just as important as all the other parts of an email.  Let's 'sign off ' with a proper closing.

The above example is a thank you email from a person who was granted a job interview.  The sender uses in the closing, sincerely, that defines their appreciation for the interview.  The signature block includes, their full name, email address, telephone number and a social website in which they are registered.

Other signature closings used in business are, yours truly, best regards, all the best and your first name only.
I like to  use these signature closings for:

                    1. Yours truly         -   customer inquiries

                    2.  Best regards      -   Business to business

                    3.  All the best        -   Answering a request

                    4.  First name only  -   Inter company

Choosing your signature closings will be a personal choice.  The guidelines I use for a good signature closing reflect my companies core values.

Business emails can be closed with a Complete Signature block.
A complete closing signature block includes:   your full name, company name, company's full address, email address and telephone number.

Another email closing used all the time in business is for inter company emails.
A inter company closing signature email includes:  your full name, title and telephone number.

When replying to a customer's inquiry your email signature may not include:  telephone number with your extension number, direct email address and a social network you are linked to.

In my email program at work, I've created and saved a few different email  signatures.  You are able to do this in the signature icon in your email program.  You can create and save numerous email signatures and choose the signature that contains the contact details you want to use.

Rule to live by before hitting that send button,

Proof read, proof read and proof read!

Examples of Good Content in a Body of an Email

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

Blog entries February 24 showing Bad Content:  Feb.24 Blog Entry

Example 1 revised: 

SUBJECT LINE:  PROJECT ON SAVING THE SEALS

Dear Amy Write,

Thank you for the project information you sent over on Saving the Seals fundraiser.  After our review we have come up with the following questions:

1.  How many other companies are involved in the fund raising of, "Saving the Seals?"
2.  Who will be our contact at "Saving the Seals"?  

Will we have any company Expenses such as:

1.  Do we need to send employees during work hours for volunteer work?
2.  Will our company need to pay for the meals and travel expenses for the volunteer work?

A meeting is scheduled to go over the listed questions on April 3, 2013 at 1 pm in our offices.  A that time we will make the final decision on the amount we will allocate for this project.

Regards,

Melinda Filice
Manager of Advertising & Promotions


Example 2 revised:

SUBJECT LINE:  EMPLOYEE BENEFITS 

Amy,

We have been receiving employee requests to restructure our employee benefit plan that will keep up with what they feel is industry standard.  These requests are coming through our employee feedback questionnaire program that is sent out to employees on a semi yearly basis.

Our plan does not cover the following:
1. Long Term disability or life insurance.  
2. Registered services, such as, chiropractors & physiotherapists
3. Teeth cleanings, twice a year


Offering these benefits to employees will keep a competitive edge with other companies.   As a company we should do what we can to build and keep good employees.

Our current employee benefit plan provides:
1.  50% coverage on doctor prescription
2.  25% coverage on dental procedures, excluding cleanings

Our coverage is below the standard by 25% on each item.  We have collected data from the Human Resource Employment Standards Organization to prove this statistic.

With the above changes to our plan our cost will increase to: $24.60  per employee.
During the first year of this benefit change the cost can be in-place of employee increases.

Our benefit plan renewal is due March 25th.  Please let me know if I can make these changes before March 25.

Thank you Amy.

Sincerely,

M. Mazza
HR Department

These examples above are improved from bad emails to good emails.  

My first example was a response email from a request  for a fundraising project.  It needed more clarity on what was involved for this project and what the expenses would be. Some of my adjustments were, not to underline the subject lines, and I added numbering to have a well formatted email for easy reading.  The closing line lets them know when a decision will be made.

My second example was based on a request email. I used the direct approach writing exactly what I wanted in the first statement.  I added the 'you' approach and started what the benefits we could receive and left the costs until the end.  I kept the email professional by leaving out any personal conversations and I closed with a deadline request to receive feedback.

Email 3 x 3 Writing Process

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

Writing the body of an email is the most difficult part of any email. We need to write the email clearly so the reader can understand it.

The 3x3 Writing Process has 3 categories, prewriting, writing and revising.

Please view this informative video on Guffey's 3x3 Writing Process:

Let's revise the bad content of an email that you can find in my blog entry dated Sunday February 24, see the link:  Feb 24 blog entry
This example was a request email sent from one co worker to another worker between company departments.

Using the 3 x 3 writing process above,  how can we write the email request in a proper easy to read format?

1. Prewriting: 

    a)  Analyse      - What is the purpose of my memo?
    b)  Anticipate   - Who is the audience?
    c)  Adapt         - Who requested the information? 
                            - Direct or Indirect pattern of writing?

2. Writing:

    a)  Research  - Write down all the information you are unclear about.
    b)  Organise  - In bullet form, write your questions and the benefits.
                          - Prepare a closing with a deadline.
    c)  Compose  - Prepare a first draft.

3) Revising

    a)  Highlighting  -  Use tools to emphasize main questions of concern.
    b)  Proofread    -  Make sure all of your grammar is correct.
    c)  Evaluate       -  Is this email easy to understand and easy to read? 

Seven Deadly Sins of Emails

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

TIP OF THE DAY. 

Seven Deadly Sins of Email:  (Ashton, 2005, p.13)

1.  Don't copy emails unnecessarily to colleagues
2.  Don't use email for complex or emotive issues
3.  Don't be too informal
4.  Don't hit the reply all button by mistake
5.  Don't be too verbose
6.  Don't send structureless messages
7.  Don't subscribe to email publications you don't read

How many can admit committing one of these sins?
I ADMIT IT!

Let's take a poll.  Comment:  Yes or No?

Examples of Bad Content in a Body of an Email Message

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

Has this bad email issue been handled correctly?  

When we write an email we need to research, organize and compose the body.  This is very important to put your ideas in an organized fashion so that the reader clearly understands what you are saying.

Examples of bad content in a body of an email message:

Example 1



SUBJECT LINE:  PROJECT ON SAVING THE SEALS

Attention: Amy Wright:

In reviewing our project on saving the seals from Florida.  We have came to the conclusion we still need more information on this subject to be allowed funding for this project.  Can you give me more information on where the donated funds will be directed to?  These are some of the questions raised in our meeting last week with the CEO.  Also will we need to send employees there for work?  Will we need to fund the airfare and expenses if travel is involved?  How many other companies are involved in the fund raising of "Saving the seals?"    We will need to set up a meeting shortly to discuss this further.  I am sure I have more questions, I just can't think of them now.


Regards,

M. Mazza
Manager of Advertising & Promotions


Example 2

SUBJECT LINE:  EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Attention: Amy Wright:

How are you today?  It was great seeing you the other day at lunch.  I loved your casserole.  I will try that recipe next week.  Please give me your feedback when I finish it.

I find the employee benefits are not covering the basic necessities for dental/health and I have been receiving complaints that a half hour break for lunch is not long enough.  Employees keep complaining and they would prefer to work longer and have a more enjoyable lunch break to get their personal errands done before coming back to their desk to work for the rest of the day.

Our dental and health benefits cover $400 a year for dental and 50% coverage on prescriptions and we do not have any privilege for professional services, such as chiropractors and physiotherapy.  Can we get this changed? 

I hope you think it is a good idea.


Sincerely,

M. Mazza
HR Department

Please let me know how you would re-write the above bad body of content examples to good bodies of content?

How To Write a Good Body of Content in an Email

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

We've decided to write an email rather than use another communication channel.
We went through differences between bad subject lines and good subject lines. 
Now lets find out how to write a good body of content for emails.

Take a look at this informative video from MindTools Corporation. 

James Manktelow & Amy Carlson explain some tips and rules for writing effective emails.





Good Email Subject Lines



THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

What?????  I don't understand!

See Blog entry for Bad Subject Lines:  January 27 blog entry


EXAMPLE 1: subject line 'Help!'  

Readers may immediately ask themselves what kind of help? Is there an emergency?  Is this urgent?  Having a one word subject line is very vague.  When your in the middle of your busy day this is the last thing you need.  This email can be easily deleted out of anger.

EXAMPLE 2: subject line 'Re. Re. Re. advertising.' 
       (response in the body of email)       Yes I totally agree!

Readers may immediately ask themselves what are they answering yes too?  I don't have the best memory and I can't even remember what I had for breakfast some days.  You can tell this email has been passed back and forth a few times.  You can tell this by how many 're's there are in the subject line.  The subject line was not recently changed.   The reader will have to go back in the email trails to find where the question was for them to answer, 'Yes I totally agree!'

Bad Subject Lines revised to Good Email Subject Lines 

Line 1 : Subject:  I need help to reorganize the store room closet.
Line 2 : Subject: Does everyone agree on the advertising promotion flyer?
        (response in the body)   Yes I totally agree!


During our busy work day we have hundreds of emails a day. Time is money and time is precious in most companies.  The best subject lines are very clear from the start. This will make the reader aware of what the subject will be about.  They can decide the level of priority and if they need to read it right away.  Remember always inform your reader as best as possible in the subject line what you are writing your email for.

Starting the Email Process; The Good Email Address; The Bad Subject Lines

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD EMAILS

My name is Melinda and I will be sharing facts and opinions about email writing and the differences between good and bad emails. 

Electronic mail (email) is transmitted from an author to one or more recipients.  Network based emails are exchanged and carried by the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and this is the Internet Standard.   httcp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Email

Email is one popular method of communication used in business today.  When we are composing an email we need to think about how we want our sentences structured.  We want the receiver to be clear on our intended message.  When we choose to speak face to face or on the phone we can easily convey emotion in our voices and we can get immediate feedback if our message is understood.  Therefore, in an email, you have to be careful that your message, including any emotional content, is clearly conveyed in words and sentence structure.

Do I write an email or do I pick up the phone?

Ask yourself these questions, do I need to write an email so I can have written record?  Could I make a telephone call instead?  Do I want to portray emotion when I need to smooth over disagreements?   When you need to smooth over disagreements choose to make the call instead of an email.

Email can be easily saved in your inbox, sentbox and outbox folders.  When your composing your email analyse, anticipate and adapt the message.  

Consider the following before you begin to write: 

What is your purpose of the email?
How will the reader react?
How to coordinate your words?  

I speak out loud when typing emails as if I were speaking with the recipient. I try to be courteous and to the point. Clear and easy language works best.  Prepare your email for easy reading with bullets, headings and labelled lists.

Remember that what you write can always be forwarded to another person.  Therefore, I wouldn't make a mistake and write how I feel about that nagging co worker or use vulgar language.   The writer may have to face future consequences of this action, so I say, writer beware.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

THE EMAIL ADDRESS

The receiver's email address must be transferred or copied correctly in the email's (to) box.  Only a correct email address will ensure that your message is delivered.  You will  receive a rejection notice.  This notice is an automated message letting you know the message was 'rejected or undelivered'.  When we write a letter and put it in the mailbox and a mistake is in the mailing address, the letter can sometimes still arrive to the receiver.  If the line of the postal code is correct,  the mail could still end up at the receiver's door. Were not that lucky when it comes to email addresses.  Each character and number needs to be correct in the address.  I like to keep an address book with the first and last names of my contacts with their corresponding email address.  The easiest way to create an address list is to save the email addresses from the emails you receive.  This is the safest way to avoid errors.  The copy and paste tool is great to use to ensure that the transfer of words, numbers and pictures remain exactly the same.

TIP:  I find it useful  to type the receiver's email address after I have finished writing my email. This makes me feel secure that the email won't send by accident before I am finishing my editing.  

In addition to the (to:) line, email has a (from), carbon coy (cc), blind carbon copy (bcc) & (subject) lines.  The (from) line is where your email address is automatically recorded   The (cc) line is when you want to send to more than one person.  When your choosing to use the (cc) line you are keeping those informed and do not expect a response.  The (bcc) line is used for sending out a copy of your email by putting in the email addresses and your the only one that knows these copies have been sent.  Subject lines are used to write a summary of the email topic.
                                                                                                                                            

Subject lines are very important to the reader.  Do you know why they are so important?

Examples of bad subject lines in an email message:

Here are two BAD email examples in bold:  (Guffey, Rhodes, Rogin, 2008, p.215.)

1) To: Melinda Mazza
From: Mike Pallo
SUBJECT: Need Help!


2) To: Melinda Mazza
From: Mike Pallo
Subject: Re: R: Re: Advertising
Yes, I agree totally!

In example 1 and 2, can you write a GOOD subject line?