We've all received bad emails: typos in the subject line, wordy text in the body that doesn't get to the point, stale sign-offs like "yours truly," and the recipient's name misspelled (sometimes in a few places, with different misspellings!) throughout.
Email reigns supreme as the most popular means of professional communication these days. We often communicate with colleagues, clients, and prospective employers via email before meeting IRL (if we even do at all), which means it's key to maximize the impact of the emails we're sending.
We tapped the expertise of a few professionals in the field on what makes the most effective subject lines, what time of day elicits the highest rate of response, and to settle the question, once and for all, of how many exclamation points are too many exclamation points.
Ahead, we'll tackle the most common work email mistakes so you can put your best e-foot forward.
What should go in a subject line?
When it comes to subject lines, being concise is key. They're the preview to what's in the body — a.k.a. what prompts the recipient to either click on the email, save it for later, or, worst case, delete without opening. Getting your recipient to open your email, especially with genuine interest, is the hardest part, which is why an effective subject line is so crucial.
In an email to Refinery29, Aye Moah, co-founder and Chief of Product of Boomerang for Gmail, said: "The subject line should succinctly portray the purpose of the email, but also have a slight touch of personalization. If you’re writing to someone about a specific job opening, a project or article they worked on, or work that their company has done, note that briefly in the subject. We recommend a format of [topic], [request/question], and [deadline, if any]."
Moah also stresses the importance of sending error-free subject lines. The most frequent faux pas: starting a subject sentence with a lowercase letter. According to this Boomerang study, subject lines of three to four words receive the highest volume of responses.
When's the best time of day to send an email?
Does first thing in the a.m. increase your odds of getting a response, or will yours just get lost underneath the barrage of emails piled on top of it by mid-morning? Or if it's a hefty, daunting email that you're nervous about sending, should you try EOD on a Friday before your boss takes off for the long weekend when you know she's already in a good mood?
According to Moah, the best time to send an email is at the start of the workday: "Most people take a 'last one in, first one out' approach, where they’ll read and reply to messages at the top of their inbox first. We’ve found that people tend to write the most emails on weekday mornings before noon, with 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. being the key window of time to reach recipients."
What about after hours? If you work a 9-to-5, is it appropriate to send an email off the clock? Executive Recruiter and Managing Principal at Merito Group Carolyn Thompson says: "Sending an email in the evening, late at night, or over the weekend can sometimes be misunderstood as imposing on someone’s ‘off time,’ even though you might just be catching up on things. Sending emails at night can also suggest to others that your work environment is 24/7, which can good or bad, depending on the context."
How many exclamation points are too many?
The exclamation point is a fickle punctuation mark. Use too many, and you're too cheery, too casual, or run the risk of being interpreted as screaming. Use too few, and you're negative, curt, or even passive aggressive.
So where do we draw the line? While there's no hard and fast rule about exclamation point usage, and it certainly varies by person, industry, and relationship between sender and recipient, the most important thing is to avoid making the tone of your email too positive — or too negative. Tone is already hard enough as it is to communicate via text, and overdoing it on exclamation points can often result in miscommunication. You don't want to get a rep in your office as "Exclamation Point Lady."
Moah says: "Use an exclamation point to show excitement over an achievement, but be sure using one doesn’t showcase anger or that you are yelling."
What's the best way to set up a meeting over email?
Coordinating meetings with multiple people (especially those senior to you) can be awkward and stressful. Rather than clogging everyone's inboxes with scheduling questions or sending out a blind invite and hoping the time works for everyone, try to minimize the number of emails you send out and get the logistics squared away before sending the final invite.
Thompson advises: "Ask the person you’re emailing for some days and times they’re available to meet, or offer them some specific options that work for you. Once the details are confirmed, send them a calendar invite. Don’t send invites for multiple days and times — that can be hard to read or interpret. "
What should go in an Out Of Office message?
If you're going on a trip, it isn't necessary to explain in your OOO where you're going or even that you're taking a vacation at all. According to Moah, Out Of Office messages just need to follow this simple formula: availability + return date + who to contact instead.
You want to alert everyone to how reachable you are — whether you'll be checking email intermittently or completely offline. You also want to include a timeline for when you'll get back to the sender, and who they can go for assistance in the meantime while you're out.
How should you start and close an email?
Sometimes "dear" can feel weird. But then "hi" might, too, if the recipient is someone you've never communicated with before. The way you open your emails should vary on a case-by-case basis, but as a rule of thumb, the way you casually hit up your work wife on Slack shouldn't be the way you begin an email, which is a much more formal format in general.
According to Moah, by and large, informal greetings like "hey" and "hello" usually receive more responses than emails that begin more formally. Similarly, closing emails with "thank you" or "thanks in advance" yields a 36% higher response rate than closing with the more traditional "kind regards" and "best" (the latter of which reigns as the worst performer among email closers).
More conversational emails tend to get more engagement, and including your recipient's name is an easy way to add a personal touch, too.
So, in conclusion, what makes a good work email?
Moah advises writing emails at the third grade level. It might seem silly, but this method "forces the writer to use shorter words and sentences to clearly deliver information." She continues, "This approach provides a 36% lift in response rate over emails written at a college reading level and a 17% higher response rate than those written at a high school level. Sentiment also plays a factor in writing good emails, as you need some sense of emotion behind the text. Emails that are slightly to moderately positive or slightly to moderately negative elicit 10-15% more responses than emails that are neutral."
Moah also advises keeping email word count between 50 and 125 words, as well as posing a question in the body. Emails asking between one and three questions get 50% more responses than emails asking no questions.
So when should you opt for communicating by phone, video chat, or in person instead of sending an email? Thompson says to opt for a more direct form of communication if the matter at hand "requires more than three simple paragraphs or a specific emphasis."
Thompson also adds that it's important to remember that the stakes are high, and emails have the potential to go viral on social media in our age of screenshots. So if you're upset, wait a beat before sending something you might regret. "If you need to vent, a live conversation allows for easy emphasis and inflection, as appropriate." And always remember: "Using all caps is interpreted as yelling."
Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
12 College Planners To Help You Live Your Best Life
These Are The Coolest Coworking Spaces In New York City
How Much Of The $900 Million Mega Millions Jackpot Would You Keep If You Won?