A Little Goes a Long Ways
Bruce Dierbeck
Strategist. Content creator. Paid social pro. Unapologetic pun man and nostalgist.
Hi readers. It’s easy to overlook the little things as we focus on getting our clients their deliverables in the most timely manner possible. But much like a meal at an expensive restaurant, the presentation matters just as much as the main course, itself.
How we share or present something can impact the perception of it. And for us, that begins with our emails. Yes, emails.
Because we both send and get inundated with so many emails every day, it’s easy to cut corners and sacrifice pleasantries for just the essentials. Especially living in our current, bite-sized communication culture. But remember, the presentation prepares us for the main course. It whets the appetite. Puts us in the right frame of mind, even building our anticipation even more. Fine. Maybe that’s a little lofty for a work email. But we have to aspire, right?
There are 3 areas we can’t overlook in an email. These areas are often the easiest to overlook because they aren’t the content, itself.
- The subject.
- The greeting.
- The sign-off.
Wait. It’s 2018. This can’t be a post about writing an email, can it? No, it isn’t. It’s about crafting an email’s subject, greeting, and sign-off. And evidently, it’s a necessary refresher.
The subject line is important for the skimmers. The subject line is our gatekeeper. The person behind the velvet rope. Before we even get to the greeting, the subject line is how our reader decides whether they’ll read this email from us now or to let it sit, marked unread until later today or tomorrow. The subject should be useful to them when glancing at it, searchable if they need to come back to it later, and able to read at a glance on a mobile device without being cut off. Do those three things, and you’ll likely get that click you covet.
Once you’ve made it past their gatekeeper, it’s time to warm up the reader in the greeting. This is your opportunity to establish, build, or maintain rapport with the person on the other end. Or to at least soften transition to your presentation / ask. Remember, your email is one of about 121 emails that person will receive that day, on average. No, seriously. That’s the latest research. At the very least, lead with a “Hi (name).” If you’re responding to something, “Thanks for …” or “Appreciate (action taken)” as a way to kick it off. It’s polite, references the previous correspondence this is in reference to, and serves as a reminder to what this correspondence is about. All in the span of a few words.
We should strive to bookend emails with a sign-off. “Thank you” is the RSTLNE of sign-offs. That’s automatically given to you at the end. It’s brief, polite, and signifies the email is done and hasn’t erroneously been sent before completing. But this, too, is a super brief and easy way to build rapport, show the recipient your personality, or better yet, that you remember something about them. Doing that, makes your email more than 1 of the 121 they received that day. That could be “Looking forward to…” or “Hope you / to…” for example. Or if they’re previously referenced doing something work-related or play-related, “Enjoy the …” to show that you were listening and are thinking of them. When I hear a colleague or client share a nugget like this, whether it’s an email, on a call, or in-person, I jot this down somewhere so I don’t forget.
None of this has to be Shakespearean in length. But it’s opportunities one to two sentences at a time, where we can show the recipient who we are while bringing value to our correspondence.
Would love to hear some of your correspondence tips, as well.