7 Ways to Write Better Email Messages

If you had to deliver a speech, would you knowingly choose the wrong title, bury your point, or say things that would get yourself in trouble with your colleagues and bosses? Of course not. But many of us unconsciously do these things while writing work emails all the time. That's not just sloppy, though — these common errors can dilute and even destroy the impact you're hoping to achieve as well as sabotage your credibility. Here are seven of the most destructive email mistakes and how you can avoid them.

Mistake #1: A subject line that the thread has outgrown 

Few things are more misleading than a new thought living under an old subject line. When your subject line is “Re: Re: Re: Tuesday?” your recipient isn’t going to know that you’ve hit upon breakthrough marketing ideas since you initially scheduled a routine meeting for Tuesday.

How to fix it: Easy! Amend the subject line to reflect the new topic. Don’t be afraid to change a thread’s subject line if it’s become obsolete or if you’re taking it in a new direction. For instance: “New Idea to Engage Millennials” is more likely to get read than “Re: Re: Re: Tuesday?” What’s more, your colleagues are likely to take you far more seriously overall if you aren’t unintentionally misleading them.

Mistake #2: Your emails don't have a clear point 

Why send a pointless message that wastes both your time and your recipient’s time? You may not even realize that your email doesn’t have a clear point, confusing that with a theme or topic. Here’s a quick test: Can you express your point aloud in one sentence? If not, then you’re simply sending a bunch of ideas organized under a general umbrella and expecting your reader to do the hard work for you. Don’t be that person — what you want instead is a reputation as someone who can get straight to what really matters.

How to fix it: Decide what you want your reader to learn before you hit “send.” Take what you think is your point and add the words, “I believe . . .” to the front of it. If it’s not grammatically correct, you probably don’t have a real point. Once your point passes that test, make sure it appears within your first three sentences, and try to close with another way of saying it. Imagine you’re a bicycle messenger, and think of your point as the package you’re delivering.

Mistake #3: Skipping a greeting

In emails, people often skip the “Hi, [so-and-so],” but there’s value in this friendly gesture even when you’re ditching other...

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