How can you make your emails easier to read?

The following unwritten rules of email communication should help us curate a message/draft, which is purposeful, resonates with the recipient, is simple and easy to understand, and creates a lasting impression: - Frame the content, keeping in mind the target audience. - Address the recipient by his/her name. - Give a catchy, crisp, succinct, and compelling headline. - Provide a well worded first paragraph. - Ensure that there are tons of white spaces. - Keep the language simple. - Articulate your thoughts cohesively. - Provide relevant touch points at the end. - Give appropriate links or attachments. - Offer a polite word of thanks.

Subject is what persuades people to open your email. I only open those emails which have a very clear and unique subject line So how to write a click worthy subject line 1. Start with a boring subject line. 2. Then write some varieties of it 3. Test these titles in your email 4. Learn from the results

I found appending prefixes to subject lines invaluable. They help readers decide whether they need to read the email now or later. They can also help the reader identify actionable emails easily. For example, - I add project names: "Project Name - Status Update". - I add urgency: "Urgency - Issue found in product" - I add whether action is requested: "Action Needed - Review before meeting" Any one of these can help recipients decide what action to take without opening the email. Try it next time you have to write an email. You'll be amazed at how effective it is.

One of the best pieces of writing advice that I’ve heard is “Skimmable is readable”. Structure and formatting is often the easiest place to make a bad email better. Keep it to one thought per paragraph where possible, use bolded headers or emphasized conclusions to call out specifics, and use lists and bullets to break down complex information. Any structural / formatting changes you can make to call attention to the MOST essential points and action items will help your reader to skim, decide whether to dive deep, then go back to read deeply and fill in the gaps.

I like to write the context and main action point as the very first sentence of an email. Then I use numbered bullet points to outline what needs to happen next (what I want from my recipient). Emails are meant to be quick and easy to read, with little fluff. If you see a long email with a lot of text, you are more likely to read it "later" compared to an email with a few sentences.

Try to keep your email to one subject and one action - this makes it easier for your recipient to complete the task. If you include multiple tasks in an email, it becomes a big burden, and it's unlikely everything you need will be completed.