E-tiquette: 5 (more) things Emma Gad didn't tell you about writing good emails

How do you make email recipients happy to hear from you? Our first 5 tips were just the beginning. Here’s the rest of the formula for putting the joy back into email writing (and reading).

Tips 6 to 10

6. Make it easy for the reader to reply
You may have noticed that when you ask a few different questions in an email, you often don't get all the answers. How do you make your reader pay attention?

You can: (1) put your questions in a numbered list; or (2) limit yourself to two clearly stated questions. Anything more tends to get lost or overwhelms the reader. If you have a long list of questions, you're often better off just picking up the phone and going through them together.

7. Write a good email signature with all your contact details
Your signature should include your name, title, company name, address, phone numbers, fax number and company web address. We recommend avoiding philosophical quotes, jokes and the like. Not all readers will understand and appreciate them – and they might compromise your professional image.

8. Watch out for sarcasm
Research tells us that when it comes to human interaction, around 90% of communication is non-verbal. This means that the inflection in our voice and body language carry a great deal of meaning when we communicate with others. Email – just as any other written medium – does not let us use inflection or gestures to indicate when we’re joking or being sarcastic. So when it comes to email, humor can easily be misunderstood – and can even be offensive. Save jokes for face-to-face meetings, where they will be better received.

9. Proofread, use correct punctuation and run a spell check
When we send about 20 emails a day, we can get a little sloppy. Make it a habit to read through your email again before you send. Always run a spell check (but be careful – spell-checking programs are not perfect). And keep in mind that SMS-style abbreviations are not universally known. BTW (By the way), BRB (Be right back) and TTYL (Talk to you later) might confuse your reader.

10. Follow up
Email is efficient, easy and convenient – but it's not as personal as more old-fashioned communication. Remember that a phone call can often accomplish more in less time – and may even strengthen your relationship with the person on the other end. That's something we can all benefit from.