Almost everyone uses email today… and almost everyone makes minor or major mistakes. Some of them are trivial, others are reprehensible. Make an examination of conscience and count your mistakes.
Unreliable e-mail address
You can have a polished e-mail content, but you will agree that sweet123@gmail.com does not sound very professional;)
In business communication, the nickname shows a lack of professionalism. Like an address that contains numbers. But that's not the end - everyone can set up an account using Gmail or any other electronic mailbox provider. So how does your recipient know that company@gmail.com are yours?
The address in your own domain will be much more reliable and professional. Own domain costs about PLN 100 per year. Find out if it's worth it.
Bad title
As many as 40% of people do not open emails with an uninteresting title. Click-through rate is unlikely to be overwhelming if you write in the title: "Bicycles: offer". What offer? What type of bikes? For whom? This title does not encourage clicking. Of course, the attractiveness of the title should not be exaggerated ... If you include a clickbait in the title that does not refer to the content of the message, recipients may opt out of opening further emails from you. The title should be short, summarize what's in the body of the message and draw attention.
Hello
This is one of the most common mistakes. Only the host or hostess with guests may greet the phrase "Hello". Such a start of the message indicates the sender's superiority, so the recipients may react negatively to it. Nobody likes to be lower in the hierarchy. It's best to completely abandon this phrase in the Internet space - the old English "good morning" fits everywhere :)
Omission of official polite forms
Official correspondence should begin with a courtesy, but mailing is governed by its own affairs and you can loosen these rules a bit. The rule of thumb is that we should adapt the form of addressing to our style, business and addressee.
It goes without saying that you need to say goodbye and say hello to the recipient. You can start with the phrase "Dear Sir / Madam". If the form of the e-mail is less formal, you can start with "Good morning". If you want to personalize your e-mail, you can say hello with the phrase: "Mr. Mateusz" or "Mrs. Małgorzata". Remember not to start your message with one word, for example: "Dear”. It sounds artificial and unprofessional.
Abbreviations
You may think that every recipient of your mailing knows industry abbreviations. However, it's better to be careful not to misinterpret the message. Abbreviations can also be perceived as disrespectful. If you do not run expert mailing, it is safer to give up on them.
Commas in wrong places
Correct use of punctuation marks in both Polish and English can be problematic. Most mistakes concern putting commas after saying hello and goodbye. In Polish the rule is simple: we put a comma after the words of greeting, and no comma after a final formula, such as: "Regards", "Yours sincerely". Remember that after the signature, we do not put a period!
How should it work in practice?
"Mr. Mark,
(email content - beginning with a lowercase letter)
Regards
Janet "
Emoticons
Not all customer emails need to be 100% formal, but you have to be careful with the use of emoticons. First, emotes can be interpreted in many ways. Second, the use of emoticons is often perceived as being unprofessional and overly familiar. Third - using them in large numbers can distract and distract from the content of the email.
If, despite everything mentioned before, I still did not discourage you from using them, remember to add them only where they are relevant to the content and will certainly be correctly interpreted by the recipients.
Uppercase and lowercase letters
The topic of punctuation is clarified, now it is time to move on to the next topic that often causes many doubts. What about uppercase and lowercase letters?
- When addressing the addressee, always use a capital letter: "Lord", "Lady", "You".
- After greeting, start the text with lowercase on the next line.
- Do not scream - content written in capital letters means screaming, and this - just like in the real world, is not advisable in some situations ... If you want to highlight a certain part of the text, just make it bold.
Content matters
Before sending an e-mail, make sure that it is error-free, understandable and clear. It's best to start each new thought with a paragraph. If you start with the words: "Dear Sir / Madam", the rest of the e-mail should also be kept in a formal tone. If you refer to the recipient as "You", also keep this form until the end of the message.
The most important advice - take a moment after writing the text and read it again. This allows you to spot mistakes that you missed while typing. Many people point out that the most glaring errors in newsletters are linguistic errors. Pay special attention to them. There are many free tools that check your text for linguistic and spelling correctness. I personally recommend you the LanguageTool plugin.
Do not underestimate ending
The e-mail should be ended with courtesy. Depending on who it is aimed at, you can choose a different form. In formal e-mails, you can use the phrases: "Sincerely", "With kind regards". Less formal e-mails can be ended with: "Regards" or "Best regards".
It is tactless to use sentences that force the addressee to answer, for example: "Reply quickly!".
Remember about links/attachments
If you attach an additional medium to the message (e.g. a YouTube video or a link), it is worth informing the recipient about it. Thanks to this, he/she will not skip the attachment and he will know what is in it. Do not submit unchecked links. The last thing your recipient needs is a virus ...
Footer
This is the last but not least element of your email. It's a kind of business card. During business contacts, you do not share rumpled and yellowed cards with an address, right? So make sure that the footer is not something that repels your recipient
In addition to contact details, it should comply with the requirements of the GDPR. You can also use its potential and link to your social media accounts. Thanks to the footer, you can also show your achievements, mention certificates, distinctions and awards. Of course ... everything in moderation :)
What else ...
Or maybe I forgot something? Maybe there are some other things worth mentioning? Or maybe you completely disagree with one of the points?