Harvardbusiness.org included four tips for improving e-mail. Consider the following before hitting the send button:
- Include a call to action. Does your e-mail ask the reader to do anything—like participating in community activities, taking steps to ensure the safety of themselves and others in the community, or complying with rules and regulations? If not, why are you sending it?
- Say it up front. Can the reader tell from the subject line and first sentence what you are writing about without going further? If not, why are you insisting that they guess?
- Assume nothing. Are you relying on what the audience knows or what you think they ought to know concerning acronyms, terms or references rather than providing a simple explanation? Are you unintentionally hiding information your readers need to understand? If so, why do you want to surprise them later on?
- Do the thinking. Does your e-mail include your considered opinion and options for readers to respond to? If not, why are you making them try to read your mind?