8 quick and dirty tips to help you write better emails

Don’t outsource your brain to ChatGPT. Follow these simple tips to write better emails – and boost the impact of those everyday messages.

Hands up if you love writing emails?

Thought not.

Yet you probably write dozens of functional emails every day.

Before I share my advice for writing emails that get results, I’m going to be controversial: pick up the phone.

Sometimes it’s easier, quicker, and all-round more efficient to have a two-minute chat than it is to spend time struggling for the best way to give feedback, make plans, or express your feelings in writing.

Convinced email is the best method for what you need to say?

Then let’s crack on.

(Note: I’m not here to tell you how to write cunningly convincing sales copy – that’s a whole other post. Get in touch if you need help with that.)

1) Grab attention

The subject line is the place to summarise the content and objective of your message, so don’t leave it blank.

Be clear on what your message is about, right here.

And remember, your goal is to encourage your reader to click. What’s in it for them?

2) Start with a goal

How many times have you finished reading a long, rambling email only to realise you’ve no idea what the sender wants you to do? Pretty frustrating, eh?

Before you start writing, be crystal clear about your goal.

What action do you want your reader to take after reading your message?

This will help to focus your writing and write better emails.

3) Get to the point

Your readers are busy people – don’t waste their time. A little planning goes a long way.

Imagine you’re telling your customers about a launch event for a new product that could really help them. What do you need them to know?

As well as providing a teaser of the benefits of the product – to pique their interest – they’ll need to know where and when the event is taking place, whether it’s free or paid for, plus other information such as a link for directions and the fact that parking is free at the venue.

Think about summarising the key points of your message upfront.

Include the who, what, when, where, why and how in the first paragraph, if you can.

4) Keep it short

We’re all suffering from information overload. Your message needs to cut through the chatter – so keep it brief.

• Use short, punchy sentences and paragraphs.
• Make every word count. (See my 18 simple word swaps to help you ditch the waffle.)
• Avoid filler words that add nothing, like THAT, JUST, REALLY and VERY.

❌ “I JUST thought THAT I’d write to suggest THAT we meet up to discuss the project further.”

✅ “Let’s meet to discuss next steps.”

5) Keep it simple

• Use clear language and plain English.
• Avoid business speak, buzzwords and jargon. They’re meaningless to your customers and create a distance between you and your reader.
• As a general rule, if you wouldn’t say it in person, don’t write it in an email.

❌ “We would be delighted to assist you in this matter.”

✅ “We’d love to help.”

❌ “We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”

✅ “We’re sorry.”

6) Know your audience

The most powerful and persuasive emails are those that address the fears and desires of your audience – because it’s these that motivate them to take action.

Think of your writing as a one-to-one conversation with your audience. It’ll help you get inside their head, as well as getting the tone right.

As Nelson Mandela famously said, “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.”

7) Include a clear call to action

Make it blindingly simple for your reader to take action.

Avoid giving them too many choices – information overwhelm is one of the main reasons emails go unanswered.

Instead, guide them gently but firmly to act.

• Need to book a conference call? Suggest a couple of alternative times for the recipient to choose from.
• Providing a quote for a piece of work? Tell them you’ll follow up with a phone call in two days.
• Want your reader to book tickets for your event? Include a link to the booking page.

8) Check, check and check again

Check your language, spelling and punctuation. Read what you’ve written out loud – or get your computer to read it to you. You’d be surprised how easy it is to hear mistakes you can’t see.

Don’t rely on spellcheck as a substitute for proofreading. Spellcheck doesn’t know if you’ve repeated a word, or left one out; neither does it know if you’ve used the right word.

Beware of homophones – words that sound the same, but have different spellings and different meanings – such as:

• your, you’re
• to, too, two
• there, they’re, their
• sight, site
• board, bored

When it comes to these tricksy words, my Little Book of Confusables 1 + 2 have your back.

For just £11.95, my four-times award-winning books take the mystery out of over 1,000 misused words with fun, memorable tips that’ll help you avoid embarrassing mistakes.

In summary…

Keeping your audience and your goal in mind from the off will help you write better emails. You’ll soon start getting better results from those everyday messages.

Let me know how you get on!