5 Business Email Habits You Need to Stop Right Now

1. Vague or outdated subject lines

‘Hello’ or ‘Enquiry’ are not good subject lines. If you expect your reader to open an email, give them an idea of ​​what it will be about. Don’t let your reader guess by using vague subject lines. Likewise, don’t use old subject lines. If your lunch date with a co-worker has passed, don’t keep using the same thread. Create a new email thread or just change the subject line to something more relevant to both of you.

2. Abbreviations or acronyms

Not only are they unprofessional, abbreviations and acronyms can cause confusion or misunderstanding. Not everyone thinks that FYA means ‘for your action’! Take the time to consider your reader and spell the words for them.

3. Write in a long paragraph

Nothing is more daunting than opening an email and seeing that it contains only one very long paragraph. It is difficult to read and makes it difficult for the reader to focus and pick out the key points.

Make your message easy to read by leaving a blank line between paragraphs and starting a new paragraph every three or four lines.

4. Sending wave messages

Before you even start writing, it’s helpful if you plan your message first: Consider the flow from opening to details to action to closing. Check back when you’re done and ask yourself these four quick questions:

• Have you included all the essential information?
• Can layoffs be eliminated?
• Does the information flow smoothly?
• Is the action clearly stated?

5. Send messages that are simply careless

If there are no clear goals in your email, a few misspelled words, long sentences, and if you never bothered to double check it before hitting send, you can bet your email could end up in the trash.

I hope you decide to work to make sure you and your company make a great impression in email. Structure your messages logically with an introduction or some background story (Thanks for your call, etc.), add the details, tell the reader what action you want, and end with an appropriate closing.

The bottom line in all email communication is this: what you write and how you write it will affect what people think of you and your organization, so it’s important to help yourself and respect your reader by using email. properly.