Far from being frivolous and minor, work emails play a crucial role in the running of a business.
They can also have an instrumental role in worker wellbeing, with an article in 2018 indicating that millennials in particularly obsessively checked their inboxes at inopportune times. A tool for both growth and destruction, what began as a simple messaging service now takes some degree of care in when it comes to approaching them in the right fashion.
But how can you make the most of your work emails? What things do you keep in mind to use them safely? Find out with our quick guide below.
Know Their Uses
First, it is important to know what types of matters constitute the need for an email to be sent.
Many might agree that you should not expect a reply to an email immediately, and that their sending is most appropriate for matters that are ‘in the pipeline’, so to speak. This means that any emergency, work related or otherwise, should go through a text message or workplace chat system such as Slack, Microsoft Teams, or even Discord. That way, timely responses are more assured.
Remember, if you are bombarding superiors and colleagues with update after update of information, you risk clogging their inboxes and drawing their ire. Therefore, it is best to simply reserve emails for matters of high importance that are sufficiently scheduled and may even take some time for deliberation.
Keep it Brief
Sticking with the theme of avoiding bombarding others with your work emails, it best to keep the content of your messages brief.
This is so that all the information presented is completely comprehensive by all parties concerned. Not everybody has the patience or attention span to dissect a wall of text, so it is best perhaps to not overwhelm the recipients. Articulate your point with a strict word economy, and the email may make more of an impact.
It might be the case that the context of the situation demands a longer email. This is fine but try to make sure that you break up the text into digestible paragraphs. Bullet points can also be highly effective when sharing larger volumes of information. Present things as clearly as possible, and avoid any form of rambling.
Launch Email Campaigns
Once you have mastered the art of condensing large volumes of information for an email, you should then consider how to manage larger quantities of recipients. This is the forte of email campaigns.
Email campaigns will help you optimize both your marketing and communications, helping you stay in touch with a wider array of clients in a way that is more professional and prestigious. The right support services can help you choose the design and templates of your campaigns too, with newsletter examples being just one of the more popular options companies go for. This supports firms in further promoting their image of efficiency.
From promotional content to word on sales discounts and limited offers, email campaigns can be a great way to refresh the image of your firm and update your client with brand-new ‘insider info’. If you curate things here carefully enough, you can grow a steady list of subscribers to your campaign and have a direct line to the parties who are most receptive to your influence. Ultimately, all these factors bode great things for your firm.
Mark Suspicious Senders as Spam
These days, suspicious senders flood workplace emails in their dozens. Therefore, it is important to flag anyone you are doubtful of immediately and to mark them as spam. They may even pose as someone you know if the scammer has enough data on you, so double-check all email addresses that send messages to you also.
If you are uncertain of any parties trying to commune with you, pass their addresses on to your head of IT or your boss for affirmation as well. They should either clear you to respond or demand that you do not. After that, they may thank you for your discretion and promptly send out a company-wide message to ignore the scammers in question.
View Emails at the Right Time
Emails should be viewed only at the appropriate time, improving the quality of your responses.
This might mean refraining from checking your emails after the workday has concluded. After all, as the events of the last year have caused homeworking to surge, with some employees reporting that their personal lives are being invaded by their careers completely. It is an alarming predicament to be in, and one that can be quickly remedied by switching off your email at the end of the working day.
Balancing domestic and professional duties is not always a good mix. While homeworking has taught people to divide their work and personal time acutely, mixing the two after hours will inevitably lead to bad things. Everybody needs rest and time away from their machines, and you do not want to be navigating important emails with distractions or half-heartedness. Keep your emails off in your personal time.
Ella Woodward is an entrepreneur who has built a career as a freelance writer and building a business from her skill with words and understanding of the needs of corporate readers.
