5 Tips for Professional Looking Email

How often do you receive emails that look a complete mess and what do they say about the person that has sent them? Taking a little time to fix the presentation of your messages can mean the difference between response or deletion, ultimately success or failure. The following tips are sure-fire guaranteed ways to ensure that your email look its best.

1. Show Your Name

Instead of your email address. In the list of senders, it looks so much better to see a name rather than an email address; shorter and clearer. The easiest way to do this is from within your email programs settings; just ensure that the ’senders name’ box is filled in correctly.

2. Use Simple Formatting

The main thing that can cause your messages to look dodgy is trying to send them formatted – in HTML or otherwise. If the recipients machine is not set up to accept the format that you use then the message can look a complete mess. You are better off sticking to sending in plain text unless you know that your intended destination can decipher correctly.

3. Place Your Quotes

The top, some would say, is the best place to put anything that needs quoting from the previous message. There, it gets read first and grabs full attention. If there is a plethora of text, it is good practice to cut it down to exactly what needs to be reiterated.

4. Smart Signatures

You can convey some very important information within your signature block. Name, position, emails, phone numbers, addresses, disclaimers etc. can all be placed here. It gives the recipient any information that you feel that they should have, to contact you or to understand a certain point.

5. List Attachments

The most overlooked part of an email message is the attachment block. Often, if the email is printed then it is helpful if a list of the attachments is also to hand so users know what arrived with what text.

Just because email is quicker and cheaper than snail mail or telephones, it does not mean that it is worth any less. Often an email is your first contact with a client or associate and it can give them the all important first impression. Better to get it right, first time.