Do you or your staff write emails on a daily basis? Perhaps you’re interacting with vendors, colleagues, or even patients. No matter the content, you want your reader to fully engage with your message. Whether you’re solely passing along information or eliciting some sort of response, your emails need to be effective.
We’ve already given you some information on how to write engaging subject lines because we know that getting readers to open your emails is the first crucial step. Now we want to help you provide content that your patients take the time to read and retain.
In a recent study, Fractl and BuzzStream surveyed over 1,200 people about acceptable email etiquette. They collected tons of great data. But for the purposes of your business emails, we’ve pulled out six pieces of information that we thought you’d find most useful.
1. Greetings – A simple greeting goes a long way to efficiently introduce your email. Your content quickly becomes the highlight. Consider using one of the top five preferred greetings: Dear, Hello, To, Afternoon, or Hi.
2. Sign-offs – The same principle goes for closing your email. Your readers will appreciate a brief goodbye. These are the top five sign-offs: All the Best, Sincerely, Regards, Thank You, or Your Name.
3. Signature features – Patients want to know that you have authority within your practice and have a way to get in touch with you if need be. The most important features to include in your email signature are your title, email address, and phone number. A link to your website and social media icons are also immensely helpful to connect your customers to your online presence.
4. Email length – In general, keeping your content short and sweet makes an email more readable for all age groups. However, readers between the ages of 55 and 64 are less tolerating of long emails. If your emails are sent to colleagues and patients from an older generation, keep them concise.
5. Unacceptable mistakes – Obviously you’re doing your best to send clean emails, but sometimes mistakes happen. Here’s a quick list of top mistakes that readers think are the most offensive:
- Spelling and grammar errors
- No subject line or subject lines in all caps
- Excessive punctuation
- Profanity
- Different font sizes
6. Adding humor – If done subtly and in good taste, humor can be an affective way to engage your readers. To validate this idea, 62% found adding humor in an email to be completely acceptable.
If you’re already comfortable sending emails as your preferred communication method, these tips will help you refine the drafting process and further engage your readers. Good luck!
