Good ole email. It comes in handy, doesn’t it? I mean, everyone has an email address nowadays, right??
And yet, it’s astonishing just how many people don’t know how to utilize email correctly. Or who fail to pay attention to the little things, like subject line and who exactly is receiving those emails.
I get a lot of emails. It’s my lifeline to family, friends and clients. But not everyone uses email properly. You can find 18 common email mistakes here, I’ve listed the ones that drive me insane down below:
Failing to include basic greetings. This one SERIOUSLY annoys me. Would it KILL you to say “hi” or “how are you?” before coming right to the point? It comes off as rude and brusque. And granted, I’m sensitive to language and how it’s used in any given situation, but I’m especially sensitive when it comes to reading between the lines. Pay attention to how your message comes across and I don’t care what anyone says, I think smiley faces go a long way toward friendly, well-received emails.
Underestimating the importance of the subject line. Oh. My. Lord. This one annoys me TO DEATH. I mentioned I get a lot of emails, right? So this means that I’m constantly having to go back over emails to pinpoint the request and nothing annoys me more than having to open about 20 emails because I can’t find what I’m looking for because the subject lines on all of them just say, “website.” Did I mention this one annoys me the most?
Not putting an email in context. This one annoys me almost as much as not using the subject line correctly. I know it SEEMS like everyone should know what you’re doing or be able to read your mind, but HELLO, they don’t. Please don’t assume I know what you’re talking about and save us both the hassle of having to play email tag.
Also? Proofread your emails before hitting that “send” button!! I had a client email me quite regularly and I can’t even tell you how many HOURS I would spend trying to decipher what in the world she wanted. It was like she would start writing out a thought, but then would never finish it before going on to the next thought. And to make matters worse, her spelling was terrible and she never used punctuation.
It was truly a mess.
Now granted, that’s an extreme example, but seriously, consider the recipient of your email. Grammatical errors, incomplete thoughts, no punctuation or slang language really have no place in a business email. Actually, it really doesn’t have a place in casual emails, either.
Just like when one interacts with the public — using our “inside” voices, not using our cell phones while waiting in line at the grocery store (because really, no one cares what insane thing your best friend did that week), obeying traffic laws, exercising courtesy and showing respect — carefully crafted emails go a long way toward getting things done.
Just a bit of friendly advice from a word nerd. 🙂
Write From Karen 