Stop These Common Email Mistakes | E-Neighborhood Advisor

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Email has been around for decades, and even though a lot of companies are moving to communication platforms like Slack, it’s not going away anytime soon. You’d think years of using the tool would make us proficient, but email is considered one of the biggest time wasters at work. Consider these tips reported in Fast Company: Using All Caps in Your Subject Line Skip the all-caps subject line. It’s the internet equivalent of yelling, and no one likes to be yelled at. Scammers and people trying to spam your inbox use these techniques, and they’re no longer effective. While all caps are bad, a completely lowercase subject line is also bad. Emails that were started with a lowercase letter got a reply 28.4 percent of the time, compared to a 32.6 percent response rate for those with proper subject capitalization, according to research by Boomerang. Unclear Subject Lines Avoid putting something generic in the subject line, such as “Hi.” And don’t forget to change the subject line if the conversation shifts. Emails that are sent to a large group of people can often have a subject drift. Not Using Cc and Bcc It’s tempting to send emails with every recipient in the “to:” section, but using the “cc:” and “bcc:” fields can convey information without having to write it. Adding people on an email in the ‘to:’ heading notes that input is expected, while ‘cc:’ informs recipients that they are being brought into the loop but that no action is required. ‘Bcc:’ lets recipients know that their involvement as bystanders is in secret. Writing Too Much or Too Little While writing a short email is good, it depends on the topic of the message. A big mistake is when people don’t appropriately convey the complexity of topic. Don’t be glib about a serious topic; make sure the gravity corresponds with the length of the email you’re sending. But don’t send 5,000 words if all you want is to get some pizza together. Not Closing an Email with an Expression of Gratitude When appropriate, close your email with an expression of gratitude, such as “Thanks” or even better “Thanks in advance.” These sign-offs increase response rate by 36 percent compared to other methods, according to Boomerang. Sending Emails on a Monday While it’s not wrong to send an email on Monday, people are not always in the best mood, and they’re more prone to making mistakes. Monday is the first day to start waking up early after the weekend, and people make more mistakes in their email; that affects the response rate and reflects badly. If you have to send an important email on Monday, take time to make sure it’s mistake-free. The Boomerang study found that Monday is when people are the most negative in their subject lines, and negative emails are the least likely to get a response. Expecting an Immediate Response Even though sending an email is a quick and immediate process, getting an immediate reply is not guaranteed. Many people have conflated email and text messaging, and they are not the same thing. When you’re sending a non-urgent email to a coworker, it’s important to remember that they might have other things to do that may be more of an urgent issue or may not have even seen your original message yet. Living in a culture of increased instant gratification is resulting in us becoming more accustomed to it and has made people increasingly impatient. Your Flooring Consultant, Matt Capell Email: sales@capellinteriors.com Phone (208) 288-0151 P.S. Here's a joke for you! All these people getting emails from the Prince of Nigeria. I got one from an Egyptian Pharaoh. Turned out to just be a pyramid scheme.