Effective Email

Writing
Nor Lailatul Azilah bt Hamdzah

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 Layout
What is E-mail ?
How to Make an Effective E-Mail.
Few common e-mail habits that cause
Problems.
Structure of E-Mail..
I. Addressing.
II. Subjects.
III. Message Text.
IV. Attachments.
V. Signature.
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 What is E-Mail ?
• Text-based mail sent via the computer from
one person to another
• A Push Technology
• It is One-to-Many and almost Free

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 How to Make an Effective
E-mail
• Selecting Your Audience Correctly
• Using Distribution Lists
• Composing Your Messages
 Make the heading meaningful
 Keep each message short and clear.
 Start each message by stating its purpose/context
Few common e-mail habits
that cause Problems…
Changing the topic without changing the
subject.
Including multiple subjects
Misaddressed recipients
Displaying addresses of recipients who are
strangers to each other
Replying vs. forwarding
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 Before you compose
• The first step in writing e-mail message is to identify
the purpose of the message and determining what
the recipient reading the message has to do.
• Focus your objective. Achieve the five I's: inform,
inquire, influence, instruct and incite.
• Focus your content. Don't let unnecessary ideas
intrude on your principal message.
 Structure of E-Mail
• Addressing
• Subject
• Message Text
• Attachments
• Signature

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 1. Addressing
• It’s the address of the recipient.
• Use BCC to protect Email addresses unless everyone
knows each other.
• Maintain address book.

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 Salutations
• Do not use "Sir" or "Mr." unless absolutely certain that your
correspondent is male.
• It is safer to use "Ms." instead of "Miss" or "Mrs."
• Beware of using a diminutive ( Chris, or Bob) if you aren't certain your
correspondent uses it. It might rankle Judith to be called Judy; Robert
might hate being called Bob.
• If you are addressing a group of people, you can say "Dear" plus the
unifying attribute. For example:
Dear Project Managers: Or:
Dear Team Members:
 Salutations
• Be careful about cultural differences. In United States, you
can usually get away with a first name, but Germans are
quite formal; they can work side-by-side for years and never
get around to a first-name basis. Starting a message to
Germany with “Dear Hans” might be a bad idea.
• "Good Morning" and "Good Afternoon" don't make sense
with email, as the sun may have moved significantly by the
time your correspondent gets around to it.
  The To: line
• The To line and the Subject line are integrated.

• Each individual on the To line is responsible for

taking the action (or part of an action) outlined
on the Subject line and the message relates
directly to them.
  The Cc: line
• No action or response is expected of individuals
on the Cc line. The recipient needs only to read
or file the message.

• The individuals whose work is indirectly

affected by the communication should be
included on the Cc line.
  Bcc: line
• Use Bcc field sparingly.

• In general, it's best not to use the Bcc line to slyly

escalate matters. There is always a chance that
the individual on the Bcc line could hit "Reply
All" and unintentionally reveal that the matter
was escalated.
2. Subject
 Precise headline for the message
 Makes easier to handle of e-MAIL
 Avoid sending e-mail with No subject

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 Q. Why is the subject line so
important?

Good subjects line helps reader answer these questions:

1.When should I read this e-mail?
2.What is this e-mail about?
3.Will I need to do anything?
4.Can I delete this e-mail without reading it?
 Ineffective subject lines
Subject Date&Time

Hi 9:17 am

questions 10:11 am

Meeting 12:44 pm

One more thing........... 3:02 pm

Some thoughts 4:21pm

 Email on seeking information regarding course
details
To: Recipient’s mail id
Subject: Regarding Course Details
Dear Sir,
I have passed the B.Sc. degree examination with Electronics
as the main subject. I intend to have a course in Computer
Science and would like to know the details of the courses
taught at your institution. Could you please send me a
copy of your prospectus?
Yours faithfully,
Your name
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• Email on official intimation of your resignation
To: Recipient’s mail id
Subject: Resignation
Dear Sir/Ma’am,
I am planning to pursue my higher studies in the coming
academic year, and hence I would like to inform you of my
intention to resign from the post of (Designation) at (Name
of the Institution), effective three months from now.

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 I appreciate the opportunities for growth and
development you have provided during my
association with (Name of the Institution). It was
indeed a privilege working here, and it was a
valuable work experience, which has helped me
grow personally and professionally to a great extent.
Please accept this letter as the formal intimation of my
resignation.
Thank you for your guidance and support.
Yours sincerely,
Your name

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 3. Message Text
• Keep the message focused and readable
• Keep it short
• Brevity and clarity
• Use paragraphs
• Break into paragraphs; skip lines between
• Avoid fancy typefaces

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 4. Attachments
Cut and paste relevant parts of attachment into text of
Email.

Use URL links instead.

 Upload attachments to website and cite URL.

Compress large attachments and send attachments only

when they are absolutely necessary.

Have a good virus scanner in place. People will not be

very happy with mails full of viruses. 21
 5. E-mail Signature
 Use an appropriate signature
 Brief (4-5 lines)
 Informative
I. provide all contact
information
 Professional
I. do not include pictures,
quotes, animations.
II. Whenever a piece of contact information
changes, make sure your signature
updated accordingly.
 Before Sending…
• Improper spelling, grammar and punctuation
give a bad impression, and can sometimes
even change the meaning of the text.

• Read the email through the eyes of the

recipient before you send it.
 Acronymns
• ASAP: as soon as possible
• BTW: By the way
• CU: See you (good-bye)
• FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions
• HTH: Hope this helps
• TIA: Thanks in Advance
Netiquette:
The Rules to Email
and Communicating
Online
 What is Netiquette?

• Netiquette is the code of the internet

because the internet is a network
and etiquette is a code.
• It comes from network and etiquette.
 The Basic Rule
The basic rule of netiquette is
to use good manners.
 Core Netiquette Rules
Always spell check & proof read before sending or
posting. Also, if you are emailing an employer or
possible employer, you should avoid slang.
 Core Netiquette Rules
Do not use ALL CAPS, because online it looks like
you are shouting.
Any Question?