Difficulty Of Getting Message Across To Anyone Photo By KMG
Did Lady Gaga’s lyrics from her hit song ‘Telephone” attract your attention? A lesson lies here in on the difficulty of getting message across to anyone at a time when everyone is so bombarded by technology’s quests for pieces of our time and mind. We may even turn down requests for human contact, if it comes via electronic means.
“La Ga” mastered the art in her media. When attention is granted, however, we must all deliver content of value be it visual, verbal, as text on social networks or in email. Of the mini message options, versus old style correspondence, email is the one most often used to exchange business information and to complete sales.
No less powerful for how fast they are exchanged, or how compact they are, emails account for the bulk of our communications in most workplaces. In surveys, roughly 70% of managers, support staff and professionals admitted they feel overwhelmed by the volume. Here’s how to get your message opened, read and hopefully dealt with, favourably.
E-ffective email success tips – Part I
In the absence of opportunities to engage or influence at in person meetings, or even on the phone, your mastery of composing the brief, clear and interesting Email is critical.
Think about your news, message or personal status update as a headline. Can you capture the essence of your message as in headline form? Try it. This challenge yields big rewards.
Email success is measured by its ‘open rate’. Your #1 goal is to get readers to open your mail rather than disregard or delete it. Your secret to success is your subject line.
Emails that offer informative and effective subject lines get opened. Adopt and apply the headline attitude to create interest grabbing emails.
How to write great email subject lines
◦ Identify yourself — Increase your open rates by including your name, or brand. If the ‘From’ space does not carry your name, include it in the subject line. Sending a regular e-zine? [Put its name in this format]
◦ Keep it Short — Keep the subject line to 50 characters or less to expose your message fully to the reader’s eye.
◦ Choose your words well— Eliminate unnecessary words taking up valuable space. Check punctuation, spelling and take out symbols like the ! and the $ which can transmit a ‘spam’ connection.
◦ Keep it Simple — You have a split second to entice readers to open your email, clearly state what they can expect inside.
◦ Create urgency — Prompt readers to open your mail and take action by setting a deadline on the content or offer inside.
And just like in the video our headline was taken from, well thought out messages can transmit positively, while bad words and form can be, poison.
In part 2 we’ll look at the body of your mail and part 3 will deal with your signature block.
VIP: Your very important point is to remember to update your subject line if the content of your exchange of several emails has changed topics. You can keep the continuity of information while presenting the current conversation topic, for easy reference.
Helena works with executives, consultants and business owners to define their message so that it makes them money and helps them get the results they desire in print, in person and online. http://helenakaufman.com Twitter, Face Book @HelenaKaufman.
