8/12/2019 6 Ways to Ensure Your Email Gets Read
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6 ways to ensure your email gets read
If youre like a lot of us, you get so much email every day that
you might spend as little as
15 seconds scanning a message to determine how it applies to
you. Now, imagine that
other people are reading your email the same way. If they can't
uickly identify the
purpose of your message, theyll pro!a!ly delete it or leave it
in the In!o" for #later#$ if
later ever comes.
In this article, I give 6 tips to ensure that your email
messages are read and get the attention they deserve.
1. Make the purpose of the message clear
%hen recipients receive your email message, they should !e a!le
to see at a uick glance how the message
relates to them and why its important. &hey may !e looking
at a preview of your message in icrosoft (utlookor
on a %indows phone or %indows o!ile device, such as a personal
digital assistant )*+-. (r they may see only
u!/ect lines in their In!o". If your u!/ect line is confusing
and irrelevant, your email will surely get deleted in a
hurry. 0ere are some e"amples of what can !e included in u!/ect
lines to make sure the reader opens your mail
standard su!/ect heading such as #ction 2euested,# #2esponse
2euested,# #34I,# or #2ead (nly,#
depending on the action indicated in the !ody of the
message.
&he meaningful o!/ective or supporting pro/ect that the
message relates to, for e"ample, #34 '5 !udget
forecasting.#
&he reuired action if applica!le, for e"ample, #onsolidate
departmental !udget spreadsheets.#
&he due date if applica!le, for e"ample, #+ue !y 7uly
8.#
n e"ample of an effective u!/ect line is #ction
2euested$onsolidate all department spreadsheets for 34
'6 !udget and return to me !y 7une 15th.#
2. Tell recipients what action you want them to take
9e completely clear a!out the actions you want the recipients to
take. 9e specific and put all the material that is
related to an action in one place. &o get even faster
responses, talk a!out how the action relates to the recipient's
o!/ectives, and always give due dates. It's also important to
clarify what type of action you want the recipient to
take. &here are !asically four types of actions you could
reuest. If you make this level of detail clear, the
recipient will !e most likely to read the email and take the
action right away. &he four actions include
Action:&he recipient needs to perform an action. 3or
e"ample, #*rovide a proposal for a 5: reduction in
&ravel ; .. on 3riday.#
Read only:&he recipient needs to read your message to make
sure they understand something. No
response is necessary. 3or e"ample, #*lease read the attached
sales plan !efore our ne"t staff meeting
on ugust 1?th.#
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/display-the-three-line-autopreview-for-e-mail-messages-HA010355606.aspx?CTT=1http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/display-the-three-line-autopreview-for-e-mail-messages-HA010355606.aspx?CTT=1http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/display-the-three-line-autopreview-for-e-mail-messages-HA010355606.aspx?CTT=1
