5 Tips for Better Emails.

Practical email writing techniques that help small business owners communicate more clearly, get faster responses, and reduce costly misunderstandings.

Email is still the primary communication tool in most small businesses, yet it’s one of the most overlooked skills.

In this episode, Henry shares five simple but powerful tips to help you write better emails that get faster responses, reduce misunderstandings, and improve your professional credibility.

You’ll learn how to:

• Communicate your message clearly and quickly
• Structure emails so they are easy to scan
• Avoid common mistakes that lead to delays
• Write with professionalism and clarity
• Make it easy for others to take action

Better emails lead to better business outcomes. This is a simple skill with a high return on investment.

Key takeaway: clarity and focus beat completeness every time.

5 Tips for Better Emails:

1. Don’t Bury the Headline
2. Make It Scannable
3. Less Is More (One Objective)
4. Don’t Write Emails Like Text Messages
5. Clear Subject Line + Clear Ask

Henry Lopez  00:12

Welcome to the how of business podcast. This is Henry Lopez, and on this episode, I share five tips for better emails if you want faster responses, fewer misunderstandings and less frustration in your business. It starts with how you write your emails. It’s one of the key methods of communication. Obviously, within a small business, most people overlook this skill, but mastering it and helping your team master it as well can instantly improve how you communicate and get things done, both internally with your customers, with your partners and with your vendors. You can find all of the Howard business resources, including the show notes page for this episode, and learn more about my one on one and group coaching programs at the Howard business.com I also invite you to please join the Howard business community on Patreon and subscribe wherever you might be listening so you don’t miss any new episodes. Email is still the primary communication tool in most businesses. It’s how we communicate internally, externally, amongst our teams, with vendors, with prospective customers, with existing clients. It is the key method of communicating in most of our environments. Yet what I see as a recipient of emails is how often they’re so poorly written and ineffective, which can lead to confusion, delays, frustration, and so I think it’s well worth what might seem as something very simple and not that important. I think it’s worth developing strong email skills, because really what you’re developing is stronger communication skills. So strong email skills writing effectively crafted emails leads to faster decisions, better relationships and higher credibility. So let’s start with tip number one. Tip number one is, don’t bury the headline. That’s a term that comes from the newspaper world, which is that the way newspaper articles are written is that between the headline and maybe the first or second paragraph, you’ve gotten all of the information that you need, and then you can decide if you want to read more about more details, more facts, but you’ve got the gist of it. You understand what it’s about by reading the headline in the first paragraph. And so that approach or design is a good practice to follow for emails as well. Another term for it is the bluff method, B, l, u, F, which comes from the military world, which is about clarity and speed and communication. And B, l, u, F stands for bottom line up front. So you start with, what is this about, what you need? And by when, so think about that structure very clearly, either in the subject line or the subject line in the very first sentence, you tell me, as the recipient, what is this email about? What do you need? And by when, if the recipient of an email gets it and thinks I’ll read this later, when I have more time, because immediately, what I see is all of this text, this long email that I know is going to take me some time to read, even if it’s important. The reality is that most of us are scanning emails and determining, do I read it now? Do I process it now, or do I come back to it later. And so if that’s the answer, if that’s the response that you get from people, for the most part, but if the reaction is, I’ll read this later when I have more time, then I think you’ve failed in the way of communicating via that email. The goal is that I say, as a recipient, I get the point immediately. I can come back for details if I need to. So if they only read, if the recipient only reads the first line or the subject line in the first paragraph, short paragraph, I’m talking one or two sentences, then they still understand the message. They get the key takeaway, or what I’m asking for, or what it is that they need to do. So that’s tip number one, don’t bury the headline. Don’t make me pay a price to get to the facts or what it is that I need to do, because the reality is that I’m going to skip over it and come back to it later, and we all know what happens. Then I may not get back to it. I might lose it in my inbox, and then that creates delay in communication. Tip number two, make it scannable. So this is related to tip number one, but it’s about how it looks use bullet points early on in my career, I still remember. This was one of my first jobs back in the 1980s I had a co worker who taught me how to use bullet points in memos. Back then, we were talking memos, not emails, but I used to write these paragraphs and these long dissertations explaining it. I thought it was a great writer, and I maybe I was, but it doesn’t matter I wasn’t effectively communicating, because the recipients of those memos had a hard time reading them. So he told me, just, just put it in bullet points, and that’s something that has stayed with me ever since. So use that approach from a formatting perspective, of breaking things down visually into bullet points so that you can organize your thoughts or your reply, especially when you’re replying to somebody’s email and you’re communicating multiple points, or you’re sending the email for the first time and it has multiple points that you want people to consider. Keep the paragraphs short. It’s the same technique that we use on websites, which is, again, we all. Scan. We don’t read. We initially scan through content, and we pick out keywords, and then we determine, all right, does this require more of my time to read it in detail? So short paragraphs, bullet points, white space. Don’t give me one big block, one big paragraph made out of 10 sentences. It’s overwhelming visually. And again, it causes us to think, Oh, my this is more than I can process right now. I’ll come back to it later. And then I like to use bolding. Use bolding or color. You know, you want to keep it professional, but I like to bold the key words or key sentences that I want to make sure the recipient reads the most important key points. The key principle here is that your email should be understood in 10 seconds or less, or maybe even less than 10 seconds. In seconds, the recipient should be able to immediately determine, Okay, I know what this is about. I know what they’re asking me to do, and by when, if that’s a component of it. So make it as clear as possible, as easy as possible to scan that’ll result in faster responses, fewer misunderstandings, and it signals and it shows professionalism. So structure your emails for speed and clarity. That’s tip number two. Tip number three, less is more. So one objective, if at all possible, this is about focus now the scope of the email and how much you include in one email, one email ideally should be about one primary objective or topic. I know that’s not always possible, but think about that. It might be better to break up into two or more emails if you’ve got multiple topics, especially if there are complex topics. So remove any extra content, remove repetition, remove unnecessary detail. Ask yourself, can I say this in fewer words? Should this be in two emails? To ask yourself those questions, avoid writing long, detailed emails unless it’s appropriate, and there are some times when it is, but for the most part, as we’re communicating via email, it’s about keeping it short and to the point. If it requires nuance or emotion, then don’t use email. Sometimes picking up the phone is better, or scheduling a conversation. I understand that it doesn’t always work, and we don’t always have that opportunity, but keep in mind that, as with texting, email or any other written form of communication, those nuances, those tones, that emotion often gets lost. So think about that in particular when we’re trying to communicate and use words that might come across one way if we were speaking them, because we can use intonation and other effects that you don’t have when it is written and how that might be received by someone else. So those things really matter, and you really have to be aware of it. You have to read the email before you send it, and make sure that it’s coming across clearly, that any nuanced emotion is really being communicated clearly. If it is nuanced, it probably won’t come across as clearly as you think it is. This Less is more, though, is about respecting the reader’s time, and more likely, of course, that they will reply or respond or read it. Everybody is overloaded with email, so you want to overcome that. You don’t want to add to that so that you can get what you want in the way of a response from that email. Clarity and focus beats completeness every time. Let me say that again, clarity and focus beats being complete every time. This is a challenge for me, because I’m a detail guy, and so I tend to want to add more and more and more. If I do, what I try to do is provide that summary up front, get to the point quickly, and then I might add a section that says additional details, and I can add it there, and the reader can read that if they want to, but it’s not necessary to understanding what the email is about, or even to responding to my email, it goes back to don’t bury the headline. So Less is more is tip number three.

Henry Lopez  10:28

Tip number four, and this is a problem for me as an old guy, is, don’t write emails like text messages. Email is a more professional communication tool, and it really impacts your professionalism or the perception of your professionalism. So avoid the acronyms that we use or the shorthand that we use in texting. Don’t send one line unclear messages or sloppy, rushed writing. It’s not as acceptable, and it really impacts the perception that the recipient has of you and of your organization. So use complete thoughts, clear structure and a professional tone as much as possible. Remember again that email lacks tone, so it’s easy to misinterpret things, avoid sarcasm and ambiguity and always proofread. And of course, I use Outlook and other email tools have spell checking and even grammar checking. Make sure that those features are turned on and used up. That has helped me improve my writing, because of the tips that it gives me to make sure my writing is that much more clear. There are also third party tools that you might want to install or apply to help you with this. Always proofread names in particular numbers, of course, and attachments. That’s another thing that outlook has. Is the feature I think I have it turned on by default, that if I allude to an attachment, it makes sure there’s an attachment. If not, it prompts me. I love that, because I often will forget the attachment, as we all do, not the end of the world. It is what it is that’s not the key takeaway. The key takeaway is, don’t write emails like text messages. So internal emails can be slightly more casual, of course, especially quick responses. I’m not talking about that external emails, though, with clients and partners that represents not just you, but your company and your brand. So you need to be much more careful with how those emails are written. Your email reflects your professionalism and attention to detail. And of course, these techniques roll up to what’s most important, which is communicating effectively. And tip number five is a clear subject line and a clear ask make it easy to understand and for the recipient to act. The subject line should be specific and outcome focused, if possible, it should include a topic and action and timing. Remember the example that I gave you earlier that followed that structure. Please approve the q2 budget by Friday. That’s a good example that follows that structure, if at all possible, in the subject line. Again, most of us, I know I do, when I look at my inbox, I’m scanning subject lines to see, of course, I’m scanning who’s from, but also subject lines to see if it’s something that I need to respond to or read now, or if it can wait. And if it can wait, it often means I may never get to it, right? So be clear on that, on your subject line and a clear ask. Another example might be approval needed budget by Friday or meeting reschedule time options. Optionally use simple tags like action required. I’m talking about in the subject line, action required or FYI might signal, and this is something you might develop internally within your organization. These tags that identify and help me as a recipient, determine if it’s something I need to respond to or not. Lots of email systems like Outlook have also the ability to prioritize. You can make an email urgent, so use those. But I think it’s good to establish a standard or rule within your organization as to how you use those so everybody’s on the same page and you can take advantage of them. So let me walk through an example here that begins to apply all of these tips. I’m going to read first the before email, and then we’ll break it down and read how it might be rewritten. So here’s an email. This is the before. The subject line is quick question, and the email reads, Hi, John, hope you’re doing well. I wanted to check in on the q2 budget and see if you had a chance to review it yet. And also wanted to get your thoughts on the updated marketing spend since we increased it a bit. And also, if you think we should move forward with the new vendor we discussed last week or wait until next month. And also, just wanted to confirm if Friday still works with the team meeting or if we need to reschedule, let me know when you get a chance. Thanks. I bet you’ve all received emails. Maybe you’ve even written emails like that. I’m sure I have a lot of different points communicated one big paragraph. You can’t see it here as I describe it, but it came in one big paragraph. Didn’t break it down. It’s one big block of text communicating multiple things, so no clear headlines. The intent is buried multiple unrelated questions. It’s certainly not scannable. You can’t see that, but imagine, if you will, that it’s a block of text, one big paragraph. Vague subject line, of course, and no clear ask or deadline. So what am I going to do with that email? I’m probably going to scan it, read a sentence or two, and then move on. I’ll come back to it because it’s too much work right now. I’m busy. I’m going through my emails, and then, of course, we know what happens now I might not give back to it, or might be longer, or take longer than you would like. So here’s how we might improve that the subject line might change to action needed, budget approval plus vendor decision by Friday, in parentheses. So a lot communicated in that subject line that makes it easy for me to scan and understand a there’s action needed here relates to the budget approval we discussed this and the vendor decision that we discussed, and by Friday, that’s my deadline. Very clear. And then the message might read, John, I need your input on the q2 budget and vendor decision by Friday. Very clear. Opening sentence. And now the way that this is structured is by numbers. Number one bullet, approval. Total, 12,500 change, increased marketing spend. Question, do you approve number two? And this is all laid out format wise vendor decision. And then it goes on to number three, so you get the point we’re applying. Now that headline that tells me immediately what this is about and what action I might need to take. It’s scannable because it’s broken down by numbers. Could have been bullet points, but numbers is easy as well. Less is more. So not a bunch of filler words. It’s not a big, long text message. It’s clear written communication. It’s structured and it has a professional tone, and again, the subject is both the subject and the ask. So that’s an example of how you might rewrite an email like that. I’ll have this example on the show notes page for this episode at the Howard business Comm, if you want to refer to it as an example to help you with how to better structure your emails. Better emails equal better business outcomes. That’s the bottom line. And this is a simple skill to develop that has high impact. High ROI doesn’t take that long to think about and apply these rules. I encourage you to apply them for yourself and to help your team develop this email writing skill, because it improves everybody. It improves outcomes. It adds speed to communication, and most important, though, clarity. So before you send your next email, pause and apply this quick checklist. Is my main point in the first sentence or in the subject line or both? Can this be scanned in 10 seconds or less? Is it as short and to the point as possible, and is my ask clear with a deadline? If that applies? If you do just that, your emails will immediately become more effective. I want to encourage you to write emails that respect people’s time, that make your point clearly, and that drive action, and you’ll immediately stand out as a better communicator and a more effective business owner. This is Henry Lopez, and thanks for joining me for this episode of the how of business. I encourage you to comment or reply or email me if you’ve got any further thoughts on these email techniques and other techniques that have worked for you. I wish you the best as you start and grow your successful and profitable small business. I release new episodes every Monday morning, and you can find a show anywhere you listen to podcasts, including the how a business, YouTube channel and at my website, the how of business.com thanks for listening.