Technology has a tendency to be impersonal and unfriendly - if you let it. Think of the last time you received an email from someone, read it, and said to yourself, "Boy was that a lifeless, mal-prepared, impersonal message - looks like Randy really cares to stay connected with me."?
You don't want to be like Randy. You want to make the recipient feel like you're right there next to them. You want someone to be excited when they receive an email from you. And you want to reassure people that email can be personable, Viagra SPAM notwithstanding.
Email is one of the major mediums of business communication. As such, treat it with the same level of personality you hope to convey through daily, face to face interactions. In other words, if you think of your emails as real conversations, you will elicit real connections. Here are a few ways to make your emails "smile" so you maximize the comfort and engagement of the recipient.
Write Conversationally
No email will ever beat face to face interaction. But you do enhance the level of friendliness if you write in a conversational tone. Use simple words. They sound genuine. Don't try to impress someone by thesaurusizing your email with terms you wouldn't use in person? it sounds diaphanous, limpid, and transpicuous.
Also, don't be afraid to use one or two word sentences. After all, you use them every day in your face to face conversations ? so why is email any different! I suggest exclamations like "Wow!" and "That's great!" to make the reader feel your presence.
A great acid test for this is to read every email aloud before you send it. When you finish, ask yourself this question: "Does my email make it sound like I am personally engaging with the recipient?" People truly appreciate it when you create a memorable presence.
Use Italics, Boldface and Punctuation!
One of the pitfalls of email its inability to convey emotion. Often your correspondent won't understand if you are serious or kidding, happy or sad, frustrated or euphoric - unless you are expressive. So use italics to highlight key words that show the person exactly what you want to say. Otherwise, your opinions, statements and stories will be misinterpreted. (The same goes for boldface words)
And no matter what anyone says, exclamation points are awesome! They completely alter the emotion of the sentence. Don't be afraid to use them. But don't put one in every sentence! People will think you're on drugs! And they will freak out! Ahhh!!!!
Subject Headings
If there was ever a place in your email to add personality, it's the subject heading. After all, people get dozens of emails a day ? so what do you do to entice them to read yours first? It's almost like the first impression or ice breaker of your conversation. So, have fun with it! Put something to grab attention like a joke, quotation or an interesting phrase. You have plenty of room too (up to 54 characters), so don't be afraid to fill up the space.
One of my favorite subject headings is to pose a question related to the body text such as "Why don't people talk in elevators?" or "Did you see that game yesterday?" Just like your face to face conversations, the difference between a boring and exciting subject heading is all about engagement, i.e., "Hey" vs. "Good morning Paul, how was your weekend?"
Emails Can Smile
The way you write and send your email personifies your attitude, values and interpersonal effectiveness. Unfortunately, friendliness and engagement are the things we sacrifice for technological speed and efficiency. But just because email is faster, doesn't mean it has to be less friendly. And just because email is sent across the country, doesn't mean it can't be engaging.
Therefore, an email that sounds like a person will be treated like a person. If you want illicit excitement, think of your emails as real conversations. Consistently write in a conversational, friendly and engaging tone. Then, the communication within your network will be more personable, fun and memorable - simply because you made your emails smile.
© 2005 All Rights Reserved.
Scott Ginsberg is a professional speaker, "The World's Foremost Expert on Nametags" and the author of HELLO my name is Scott and The Power of Approachability. He helps people MAXIMIZE their approachability and become UNFORGETTABLE communicators - one conversation at a time. For more information contact Front Porch Productions at http://www.hellomynameisscott.com.
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
What is an Opt-in List and what is its significance... Read More
Are you running ads and marketing with tag lines that... Read More
WHY BUILD YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS DATABASE? Gaining your customers' email... Read More
Every day, I receive at least 300 emails. I will... Read More
Writing and publishing a successful newsletter is perhaps the most... Read More
Coming as I do from a direct response and direct... Read More
Have you ever heard email described as, "the killer Internet... Read More
An opt-in e-newsletter is one of the most effective marketing... Read More
Consider if you will the resources, the time and the... Read More
When it comes to your business e-mail communications, you need... Read More
Among internet marketing strategies that most marketers are not using... Read More
Having been connected to the "net" now for about eight... Read More
Tis the season to leverage customer interest data for successful... Read More
Need a fresh idea for your e-zine content? Do an... Read More
E-Mail is still the most widely used Internet tool available... Read More
When I coach my clients on how to... Read More
Whenever we talk to a new or a "we hope... Read More
First things first, I'm not a legal expert and so... Read More
How to use the latest e-messaging strategies to increase profits.Many... Read More
Another powerful reason for making the switch from using the... Read More
How many times have you realized that your email simply... Read More
According to a study by the Winterberry Group, email marketing... Read More
Most Websites are gathering e-mail addresses. When you submit your... Read More
If you've written numerous articles, you can use them to... Read More
To be successful with a newsletter, you have to specialize... Read More
Email EtiquetteIn order to effeciently communicate on the Internet it... Read More
An opt-in e-newsletter is one of the most effective marketing... Read More
It seems that Google is revolutionizing the Net in more... Read More
No matter what type of business you operate, you need... Read More
An autoresponder is a very powerful tool for any online... Read More
Developing and executing a successful e-mail marketing campaign is becoming... Read More
Creating a newsletter is an ideal way to drive repeat... Read More
Let me ask you a question, "What is the most... Read More
Let's recap what you've learned so far...In the first lesson,... Read More
Email marketing is undergoing rapid changes. Now, more than ever,... Read More
An autoresponder is useful for, well, responding to people who... Read More
"I want to sell my company's products on the Web,... Read More
If you are just starting out as an Internet entrepreneur... Read More
It's not a website.It's a smart autoresponder and mailing list... Read More
The war on sp^am has so far been waged on... Read More
Too often, people forget they're anonymous in the internet world.... Read More
Email is still the King in Internet marketing. Many people... Read More
If you are serious about adding email to your marketing... Read More
Firstly, back-end sales is eMail Marketing at its best, so... Read More
If YOU Answered YES, Then Start An Online Newsletter?It's Easy,... Read More
A chained auto-responder is a sequence of emails that gets... Read More
Over 40% of all emails within your marketing campaign are... Read More
No doubt email is still the best way to get... Read More
The importance of building an opt-in list over spamming (a.k.a.,... Read More
First things first, I'm not a legal expert and so... Read More
Whenever we talk to a new or a "we hope... Read More
Whether a company sells light fixtures to large corporations or... Read More
We all know that email is probably today's most popular... Read More
Sending autoresponder messages is one of the most powerful email... Read More
Let's give a definition to autoresponder first. So, what is... Read More
One of the underlying benefits of smart autoresponders is that... Read More
With all the safelists and different methods for using them,... Read More
Thought I would share with you a very effective technique... Read More
Unless you use the Internet only for surfing and never... Read More
Every day, I receive at least 300 emails. I will... Read More
One of the most important and often overlooked methods of... Read More
Being online for the last five or so years has... Read More
There are more than 100 million e-mail users in the... Read More
I am frequently asked how to create and send HTML... Read More
If you're looking for low-cost ways to promote your business... Read More
One of the greatest challenges facing business owners and managers... Read More
Email Marketing |