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How to Create an Effective E-mail Message

By Andrew LaPointe © Copyright 2000

Studies have shown that e-mail is the most powerful contact tool on the Internet. A properly written e-mail will dramatically increase your chances of success. While nobody can guarantee your e-mail will be read by your recipient, there are specific steps you can take to increase your success. Most importantly these steps are simple and easy to implement. Now let’s learn how to compose an effective e-mail.

How to Write an Effective E-mail

Writing an effective e-mail is vital to your Internet success. Here are four steps you can follow that will increase your odds of having your message opened and read. The five steps to creating a successful e-mail are:

Write an attention grabbing subject line

Write a proper body

Create an effective signature

Review your message

Write an Attention Grabbing Subject Line

The subject line of your message will be your introduction to your reader. It has been said, “You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.” In e-mail marketing, if you don’t make a good first impression, you’re deleted! Period! So how do you make a good first e-impression? You must write an attention grabbing subject line. The subject line will be the first words your reader sees when browsing their incoming e-mail. Here are several things to do and not to do when writing a subject line for your e-mail campaigns.

Things to do:

Always relate the subject line to the actual content of your e-mail. Make the subject line a quick snapshot of your message. For example, if you are marketing a book that teaches people how to start an online business your subject line could read “Step-by-step guide to creating an online business”.

Limit your subject line to 6-10 words. E-mail fields can be modified. Some people may limit the width of their field, so place your most important words at the beginning. This helps ensure the most important part of your message is seen.

Things to Avoid:

Don’t be a SPAMMER. A Spammer is anyone who sends unwanted e-mail. The term Spam, as it relates to the Internet, comes from the movie Monty Python's Flying Circus. The skit shows the Vikings sitting in a restaurant as a husband and wife enter and proceed to order. The waitress tells them all the meals have Spam. The Vikings begin chatting “Spam, Spam, Spam” Their song becomes louder as the skit progresses. It is a great skit and movie.

Don’t deceive your readers. This is a popular tactic of SPAMMERS. They create a deceptive subject line to encourage the recipient to open their message. They create subject lines like: “Payment Not Received”, “Your Electricity will be Cut-Off”, “Information you Requested”, etc. This is the fastest way to get deleted. This type of subject line will destroy any chance of your recipients purchasing from you today or in the future. Nobody likes to be tricked, so don’t deceive your recipients.

Don’t insult your addressee’s intelligence. Subject lines that read: “Do you want an extra $10,000 a week?”, “Quit your Job Today”, “Guaranteed $5,000 Per Day Income”, etc. This is not a good way to make a first impression.

Don’t leave your subject lines blank. Some people believe if they don’t include a subject, the reader will open their message out of plain-old curiosity. Don’t do it. This is just another way of tricking people into opening your message.

Write a Proper body

Once you have written a compelling subject line, the next step is to properly construct the body. When construction the body of the e-mail, ask yourself this question: “Why am I writing this e-mail to this person?” Are you writing a persuasive, encouraging or instructional, etc. type of message? Once you have determined why you are writing this message, decide how you will write. Read my report “How to Make your Site sell” report for insight into writing copy for the Internet.

Here is what to do and what to avoid when writing the body of your e-mail:

Things To do:

Keep your sentences and paragraphs as short as possible and use a lot of white space. E-mails with short sentences and paragraph with a lot of white space are easier to read and understand. I’m sure you have seen those e-mails that have long sentences, huge paragraphs and very little white space.

Make your point fast. Don’t have your message wander. Follow these writing guides:

“Tell them what you are going to tell them.

Tell them and tell them what you told them”

I don’t know the original author of that outstanding advice, but if you follow it, your e-mails will succeed.

Things to Avoid:

Don’t use fancy formatting (bold, italic, etc.) Many e-mail programs are unable to display these features. In addition, your readers will see the ugly corresponding code instead of the formatting.

Don’t over sell your product. We all want to be successful, however don’t lie to sell your product. This is the quickest way to the deleted file.

Create an effective signature

An e-mail signature is like sending a business card with your message. It contacts the contact information you want your customers have. In addition, it should contain a brief description of your site. Here is a brief list of what to include and not include in your e-mail signature.

Things to do:

Include in your signature the following information:

Name of your site

An attention grabbing statement about your site

A link to your web site

A click-able e-mail link

Things to Avoid:

Avoid making your signature more than 5-7 lines. Long signatures appear as another paragraph.

Avoid formatted text and graphics. Some e-mail programs are unable to read formatted text.

Review your message

Nothing is worse than receiving an e-mail full of misspelled words and bad sentence structure. Here is a four-step checklist to follow prior to sending an e-mail message. 

1. Spell check your message. It only takes a few seconds to ensure your words are spelled correctly.
2. Read the entire e-mail message out loud. This will ensure your message is written properly and conveys the message you want.
3. Make any changes your found in your review process and conduct second spell check on the document.
4. Send the e-mail.

E-mail Etiquette

As the use of e-mail correspondence increases, the need for proper e-mail etiquette becomes increasingly vital. It only takes a few moments to learn e-etiquette, but the rewards will last a lifetime. 

Communicating by e-mail has the same set of guidelines as talking in person. With a little experience and understanding, you’ll soon be an e-mail pro.

Things to do:

If possible, use the person’s name in your correspondence.

If you are writing to a company or organization and don’t have a contact name, address your e-mail as: Dear ABC Company Associate. Don’t use: Dear Sir or Madam: or To Whom this may concern: some people considered these salutations to be outdated for the Internet age. If you know the person’s names you are writing, use it. This Internet is the great equalizer in the corporate world. It is acceptable to use the person’s first name when writing an e-mail.

Things to Avoid:

Don’t use all caps in your writing. ALL CAPS IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING AND IS HARD TO READ.

Don’t compose and send an e-mail if you are angry or tired. You will inevitably regret it. Wait until you are in a better mood or more alert.

Don’t send chain e-mails or Spam. Have you ever received an e-mail with dozens of other addresses on it too? This type of activity is frowned upon, so don’t do it.

Use the information in the report to write effective e-mail messages and increase your success ratio.

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