Tips For a Successful E-mail or Online Message 1. The Subject Line: Why is the subject line so important? The subject line is the must-read line of the message. It is understand the message’s topic and urgency. Readers depend on the subject line to explain what the mail message is about and what, if anything, they should do after reading. A subject line should be concise and relevant. Reorder words to place the most important information first. Change the subject line when the content of the message changes.
2. The Salutation Line: How do you address the person you are sending your message to? It is polite to use Mr./Ms./Mrs./Dr. when addressing a recipient. If you do not know the recipient’s gender, just address their full name, e.g. Dear Sam Smith, to avoid offending him/her. If you do not know the name of the person, a general “Hello” or “Greetings” will suffice, and is more friendly than the conventional “To Whom It May Concern”.
3. The Message Body Text: What is the best way to clearly communicate your message? Summarize the content in the beginning: the most important information should be placed at the beginning of the message and not the end. This ensures the reader understands right away what are the message’s main concerns. Try to make the message easily scannable for important details. White space is essential in a content heavy message, and proper grouping of the information helps direct readers’ attention. Use formatting, such as bullets and bolded text, carefully and sparingly. Avoid ALL CAPS. Readers can perceive all capital letters as raising your voice.
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4. Before Sending: What else is needed to create a successful e-mail or online message? If sending an attachment, first make sure you have included the file. Also, mention the attachment in the message and explain why you attached it. Request a confirmation receipt only when the message is about time-sensitive enrollment or attendance. If your message is a reply, erase unnecessary previous conversations. Only keep what is most relevant.
5. After Sending: What do you do after you have sent your message? Monitor if your message was delivered successfully.
First, check if your inbox receives an “Undeliverable” or similar notification. If so, then read carefully why your message may not have been delivered. This is usually because the recipient’s address was entered incorrectly or file attachments are too large.
Second, if after fixing these delivery is still unsuccessful, then send a separate messsage to the recipient to make them aware of the problem. Wait for them to respond to you with a solution.
Note! If you did not receive an “undeliverable” notification from the server or the recipient, then do not repeatedly resend the original message, especially one that contains file attachments. This can easily overflow the recipient’s inbox preventing any message from arriving successfully.
Wait an appropriate amount of time before requesting a reply.
It is courtesy to give the recipient a few business days to reply to a message that requires a response. There is no obligation that a recipient reply to a message if it does not clearly require a response.
If necessary to receive confirmation, then send a follow-up message with only text and no attachments, generally, at least one week after you sent the original message. Reference the date you sent the original message and summarize its contents.
Keep in mind that a business can receive hundreds or thousands of e-mails or online messages per day. One well constructed message can go far in helping you to accomplish what you want to get done as quickly as possible. [2]
Frequently confused words: “Sound Alikes” and “Look Alikes” accept/except ad/add addition/edition advice/advise affect/effect aid/aide all ready/already beside/besides choose/chose ensure/insure loose/lose maybe/may be morning/mourning passed/past principal/principle than/then their/there/they’re we’re/were your/you’re
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