Improve Your Email Writing with These 9 Helpful Posts

Looking for email writing tips?

You’ve come to the right place.

Grammarly’s blog has featured several recent posts on all things email writing. Our aim is to provide readers with valuable insights on how to craft the perfect email for any occasion. We’ve talked about proper email etiquette. We’ve covered ways to maximize your productivity. And we’ve shown you how to step out of office for vacation and avoid a flood of emails upon your return.

Below you’ll find some of the key takeaways from our email-writing topics. Keep in mind, Grammarly’s editor is a great way to improve your copy and ensure the quality of your email messages. Now let’s get to our top email tips of 2017.

1. Properly starting an email is essential in the writing process.

Pro tip: There are several ways to address your intended recipient. Sometimes simplicity can save the day.

Hi [Name], In all but the most formal settings, this email greeting is the clear winner. It’s simple, friendly, and direct. If you want a slightly more formal tone, consider replacing hi with hello.

Source: How to Start an Email: 6 Never-Fail Introductions and 6 to Avoid

2. Keep your subject line short and clear.

Pro tip: You might never get a response to your perfectly worded email if your subject line is not easy to follow.

Keep your subject line short (under thirty characters) so it’s legible on mobile devices. Be specific and intriguing. Never write in all caps or use a generic line such as “Hi” (this may be mistaken for spam). To create a great subject line you can…

Source: This Is How to Properly Introduce Yourself in an Email

3. That opening line in the email is always tricky. Don’t rely on a shortcut.

Pro tip: We know you hope someone is doing well, but there are other ways to write an icebreaker and get down to the business of your email correspondence.

If you’re writing a high-stakes email that needs to get results, it never hurts to do your homework. You don’t have to stalk someone on social media, but doing a little research can go a long way. Include a sentence or two at the opening of your email to show you’re familiar with the recipient’s work.

Source: 5 Other Ways to Write “I Hope You Are Doing Well” in Your Email

4. Mastering the art of writing emails is essential in today’s business world. You’ll also have to become a pro at crafting out-of-office messages.

Pro tip: You’ve worked long hours and deserve a well-timed vacation. Setting yourself up for success upon return involves extra planning on the email front.

Your out-of-office message can be simple. Just let people know you’re unavailable, when you’ll return, and who they should contact with any urgent needs while you’re gone. If you’d like to have a little more fun with your message, here are some options.

Source: 6 Wonderful Tips on How to Catch Up on Emails After a Vacation

5. Some emails require a delicate balance of personality and professionalism. Knowing the rules of email etiquette will go a long way toward helping you avoid a blunder.

Pro tip: Think of how you’d speak conversationally as you review your written emails.

Lay off the exclamation points I know you’re excited! Seriously!!! But you can convey excitement without exclamation points. (Golly gee! Save those for when you’re really exclaiming.) Exclamation point mania is another spam filter trigger, so use them sparingly and never, ever use two or more at the end of a sentence. Unless you’re a preteen. Then have at it.

Source: 17 Email Etiquette Rules to Know and Practice

6. If your goal for writing an email is to get a response, you have to compose your message with that goal in mind.

Pro tip: You want a response? Don’t be generic.

Add a personal touch to your emails whenever you can. If you met the recipient at a conference, say so. If you read an article they’ve written, mention your favorite takeaway. If you’ve interviewed with them for a job, reference a highlight from the interview.

Source: How to Write a Follow-up Email That Gets a Response: 7 Action Tips

7. Email writing can get trickier when you factor in cultural norms and protocols.

Pro tip: Do your research when crafting a professional message to a specific audience. For example, if you’re a non-native English speaker, there are ways to make the email-writing experience less daunting.

Professional emails shouldn’t be epic in length. Be respectful of your readers’ time, because if they feel your message is unduly long, they’ll likely start to skim.

If a weighty subject requires lengthy discussion, look for better ways to communicate about it than email. Use your message as a way to set up a meeting or discussion, rather than a venue for a dense treatise on the subject.

Source: 7 Useful Tips on How to Write a Perfect Professional Email in English

8. More and more emails include emojis these days. There’s a good explanation for how and when to use them if you’re so inclined.

Pro tip: There’s a time and place to engage in a conversational email thread. If you’re looking to use shorthand language, slang or emojis, consider the audience and topic at hand.

If there’s controversy around emojis in business communication, then why do we feel compelled to use them? Why not forego them altogether? The simple answer: we want to be better understood. Email communication is notoriously problematic in that it lacks the emotional cues we rely on with face-to-face or phone conversations. Without tone of voice or facial expressions to guide us, there’s a lot of room for misunderstanding when we read an email. Messages meant to be positive are often interpreted as neutral, and neutral messages are interpreted as negative.

Source: Can You Actually Use Emojis in Work Emails?

9. Finish crafting your email with a memorable sign-off and not a generic throwaway line.

Pro tip: If you’ve successfully addressed your email recipient, kept them engaged with actionable text, and avoided unnecessary distractions, finish your copy with a well-placed conclusion. Don’t overlook the value in signing off your emails. Leaving the letter blank could be a major pitfall.

We live in a world where people frequently email from mobile devices, so excluding a signature certainly isn’t a no-no as an email chain progresses, particularly if your recipient also drops the more formal sign-off. But not signing an initial email or using only the formal signature you’ve created to append to your outgoing emails comes off as impersonal.

Source: How to End an Email: 9 Never-Fail Sign-Offs and 9 to Avoid

Strikethrough and Why It’s so Popular

A very long time before any of us was born, there were no computers, typewriters, or printing presses. Books were written by hand, on pieces of specially treated leather called parchment or vellum. Back in medieval times, books were not only written but also illuminated, embellished by colorful drawings. And the lettering, even though you might not be able to read it easily, is a testament to the skill and patience of the scribes who wrote them.

Just think about the untold hours spent over rather expensive pieces of leather, writing page after page . . . only to make a mistake in the last sentence. Those things happened, of course, and there were a couple of ways scribes dealt with them. Sometimes, they were able to scratch the mistake off the surface of the parchment. But when that wasn’t an option, they sometimes resorted to drawing a line through the mistaken word—and the strikethrough was born.

Today, we understand a strikethrough intuitively as either crossing out something that is wrong or as crossing out items on a list. There’s nothing like crossing out items on a long to-do list, but also nothing like seeing your article studded by words (or even sentences) crossed out by your editor. But these days, the strikethrough has begun to serve yet another purpose.

If you like to spend a lot of time reading articles online, or hanging out on message boards or forums, you’ll notice that there’s usually nothing wrong with the words that have been crossed out with a strikethrough. This is because, today, on the Internet, a strikethrough is a way of saying something without really saying it. For example, a writer might use a strikethrough to indicate her own thoughts on the subject she’s writing about in a quick and annoying funny way. Did you catch that? The strikethrough is becoming the written equivalent of coughing and saying something at the same time, or mumbling something that you might not want to say out loud, but also wouldn’t mind for people to hear. You might also use the strikethrough to discern between official facts and either your opinions or things that are not official but are known by everyone. If you’re a journalist who does this, you might be accused of opinion journalism. You’re not likely to find a respectable media outlet that uses strikethrough in this way, at least not when reporting.

If you do see strikethrough text on the digital pages of a very serious media outlet, it’s possible you’re looking at information that was corrected after the original text was posted online. When this happens, some websites make a note of revisions at the bottom of the article. However, some use the strikethrough to the same effect—to show that they’ve made a mistake. So traditional media might still use the strikethrough in the traditional way, but new and user-generated media might use it for irony, humor, plausible deniability, or commentary.

Business Advice from CEOs You Should Consider

Do you like avocado enough to trade your house for it?

Some people face this choice every day, according to one prosperous CEO, Tim Gurner. In an interview with an Australian news show, the thirty-something millionaire blamed avocado toast and fancy coffee for this generation’s lack of funds.

“When I was trying to buy my first home, I wasn’t buying smashed avocado for $19 and four coffees at $4 each,” Gurner said.

The Internet responded with a roar of protests, from passionate defenses of the health benefits of avocados to calculations—forfeiting twice-weekly avocado toasts every month for five years will earn you an $11,000 dream palace.

To those millennials, here’s a promise: No avocados, or other superfoods, will be maligned in this article. If you are unwilling to give up your favorite snacks, let’s look at some of the best business advice that we found from other successful CEOs.

“When you innovate, you’ve got to be prepared for everyone telling you you’re nuts.”

This suggestion comes from billionaire Larry Ellison, the co-founder and former CEO of Oracle, a multinational computer technology company that is responsible for many platform services and cloud applications.

While working for IBM, computer scientist Edgar F. Codd invented relational database systems, but he concluded that the premise would see “no commercial potential.”

Ellison, on the other hand, saw the potential and ran with the idea all the way to the bank. He didn’t worry about the people who didn’t share his vision and neither should you.

Don’t be discouraged if you catch flak from doubters; you’re in good company. And what a story you’ll have to tell when you achieve your goals!

“Don’t be fungible.”

Is a definition in order? Probably so . . . Something fungible is replaceable or interchangeable with an identical item. You can thank Larry Summers, former U.S. Secretary of Treasury, for this wisdom.

Working in the treasury must have made Summers an expert in fungibility. Money, you see, is fungible. If you loaned twenty dollars to someone, you wouldn’t expect the debtor to return the exact bill you lent. Any twenty dollar bill will do, right? To advance in your career, however, you want to stand out from other employees.

Summers doesn’t leave you in the dark about how to differentiate yourself from a crowd of coworkers: “Have a distinctive expertise or perspective,” he said.

What’s your strength? Identify it as Summers noted, and let it shine!

“I don’t think it matters how small or how big the task is, if you can do it just a little bit better than what is expected, you will be noticed and rewarded.”

You don’t feel uniquely talented? Then, work harder than everyone else like Jeffrey Katzenberg, the co-founder of DreamWorks. Katzenberg’s production company is responsible for wildly popular films, including The Boss Baby, Shrek, and Kung Fu Panda.

According to Katzenberg, the mission of every DreamWorks film is to exceed the audience’s expectations. On your next project, ask yourself, “What you can do to take it to the next level?”

Don’t be discouraged if you don’t wow your colleagues every time. Even Katzenberg admits that not every movie is as successful as they’d like them to be. However, building a reputation for going the extra mile will ensure that people will want you on their team for the long run.

“Remember that you can do anything you want to do. Don’t let anyone say, ‘You’re not smart enough . . . it’s too hard . . . it’s a dumb idea . . . no one has done that before . . . girls don’t do that.’ My mom gave me that advice in 1973. And it allowed me to never worry about what others were saying about my career direction.”

Meg Whitman of Hewlett Packard offers sage advice for anyone who feels inadequate or ill-prepared for a job because of gender or any other reason. Rather than avoiding challenging tasks, you should seek them. By doing so, you give yourself an opportunity to learn new skills, and you also learn more about yourself. Perhaps you are underestimating yourself! Of course, some abilities may lie beyond your scope. But you won’t know what your boundaries are until you push them. What goal can you stretch toward next? A good rule of thumb is to reach out just a little beyond what you’ve already accomplished for each objective.

By the way . . .

Medical News Today says that eating nutrient-rich avocados can “help to decrease the risk of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and overall mortality while promoting a healthy complexion and hair, increased energy and overall lower weight.”

The money you probably save on doctor’s visits and medicine alone makes it worth the effort.

To be fair, Gurner admits it wasn’t only evading the temptation of smashed avocado toast with feta crumble that paved his way to property ownership. His boss invested in his first place, and he combined the profits from that place with a loan from his grandfather to fund his next venture.

What he really means to say is that you have to work hard and avoid unnecessary excesses if you want to save for a home or business. Let’s cut the guy a break and take inspiration from his counsel.

Smash your (preferably home-grown) avocados yourself and limit your discretionary spending. Soon after, you’ll be the one offering sage business advice as a CEO of a high-profile company.

The Primary Differences Among Major International English Dialects

The British Empire hasn’t been in existence for almost three-quarters of a century. At the peak of its might, it covered close to a quarter of the world’s land area and ruled a fifth of its population. But the empire changed, transformed, and passed as all things pass. When the territories Britain had conquered gained freedom, there was one thing that remained as evidence of how grand the empire once was—the English language. It’s the second most common language in the world in terms of the number of native speakers; it’s the most widely spoken language of all when you include people who use it as a second language. It’s an international language, and as such, it has developed various dialects around the world.

American English

Out of all the international English dialects, American English has the most speakers. Around 250 million people use it as their main language in the United States. And if there are any common values that those 250 million people share, they’ll most likely be found in the way they use their language. For example, American English tends to be less formal than British English, so you’ll rarely hear “Might I . . .” at the beginning of a question, but you’ll hear “Can I . . .” regularly. Shortening words is very common (math, pro, admin). And American English tends to be action-oriented in word choice—you take a shower in American English, you don’t have one. It’s interesting that American English managed to retain some characteristics of seventeenth-century British English that are now lost in the original language. In words like flask and pass, Americans pronounce the “a” as a short vowel (æ), while Brits pronounce it closer to the sound in “ah.” Americans also still pronounce the “r” in words like start or far. But one of the most important features of American English is its eagerness to adopt words from other languages. Some words, such as “squash,” were borrowed from Native American languages. Others come from immigrants, who brought words like pretzel (German), bagel (Yiddish), waffle (Dutch), and zucchini (Italian). (It works with non-food words, too.)

Indian English

India is a country where English is one of two official languages, the other being Hindi. But only a small portion of the population speaks English as their first language—only slightly more than 225,000 in a country of 1.2 billion people. India has roughly 125 million English speakers in total, and their dialect is called Indian English. A very prominent characteristic of spoken Indian English is that some sounds that are common in British or American English are not distinguished from one another, or are pronounced differently altogether. For example, the sounds [v] and [w] are usually not distinguished from each other, and [θ] (the th- sound in think) is usually pronounced as [d]. These sounds are not present in Indian languages, so they pose a challenge for Indian speakers. Noticeably formal sentence structure is another feature of Indian English. It might be because so many people who speak English in India speak it as a second language and want to sound as correct as they can, or it might be because they have retained some stiffness of the Victorian era. Compound words are common in Indian English. Generally, their purpose is to further customize the language and make it more useful to speakers. For example, “cousin-sister”­ is used to denote a female cousin. It’s not a term used in other dialects of English, but it is found in other languages spoken in India.

Nigerian English

You don’t need a letter from a Nigerian prince to figure out that Nigerians speak English, and the English they speak is very distinct. Roughly half of Nigeria’s population, some 83 million people, speaks English as well as a native language. In fact, English is the official language of Nigeria. But Nigeria also has many widely spoken native languages, which exert a noticeable influence on Nigerian English. For example, articles are not a feature of the native languages of Nigeria, so Nigerian English often omits “a” and “the.” You “eat apple” or “take nap” in Nigerian English. Another quirk is that every class of word can be turned into a verb. So, for example, you “off the TV” in Nigerian English, instead of turning it off. An interesting characteristic of Nigerian English is that words are generally pronounced as they are written. Many languages around the world are spelled phonetically, but English isn’t one of them. In Nigerian English, though, you would pronounce the “t” in “listen” or “often.”

British English

Jay-Z becomes Jay Zed when he goes to the UK. Well, he personally doesn’t, but Brits might pronounce his name that way. A very striking characteristic of British English is its richness in dialects and accents. For a millennium and a half, the inhabitants of the British Isles developed distinctly local ways of speaking the same language, so now there are regions and even cities with their own dialects and accents. We already mentioned a few characteristics of British English pronunciation when we talked about American English. There are also plenty of subtle characteristics of British English that might be hard to pick up. Names of bands and teams are always treated as plurals in British English, although group nouns can be treated as either singular or plural. Brits use “got” as a past participle for the verb “get.” They spell some words differently than Americans do, like “colour” and “flavour” instead of “color” and “flavor.” They still use the suffix -t when creating the past participle of irregular verbs like smell or burn, and they wait in queues while Americans wait in lines.

8 Ways to Hack Your Email (With Fun)

You’re not likely to count emailing as one of your top ten favorite pastimes. But you might change your mind after you read this article! Here are eight amazing ways to make your email experience enjoyable.

Challenge Your Friends to a Game

According to Chess.com, the very first correspondence chess game might date back to a competition between the Byzantine emperor and the caliph of Baghdad in the ninth century. If chess isn’t your thing, you can play almost any game by email. Simply email the starting move to all of the players. All the players adjust their boards (virtual or physical) to reflect your move, and the next player sends notice of his move with by using the “reply all” feature. Just keep adjusting the boards and taking turns until someone wins! Back in the days of correspondence chess by mail, it might have taken weeks or longer to receive a reply. Nowadays, email is a great way to quickly and easily play games with your buddies no matter where they are. Who’s up for a long distance game of Jenga?

Create a Work of Art

Pixelation is a bad thing unless it’s intentional; then, it’s retro chic! Amaze your friends with an abstract design or a simple object. To create a design, you can sketch it on graph paper or in draw it in Photoshop using the slice tool. Next, code the pattern in HTML. For detailed instructions, visit DigitalBlock.com.

Hit the Snooze Button

Do you like a clean inbox? If so, you may not be completely happy to see flagged emails cluttering up your screen. Wouldn’t it be nice to put the email away until you are ready to deal with it without the danger of forgetting it? A new Chrome extension, Gmail Snooze, makes it possible. As easily as hitting the button on your alarm, you can now schedule emails to reappear in your mailbox at a date and time convenient for you.

Make It Pretty

Themes are like art for your inbox. Most email programs come preloaded with themes from basic patterns to stunning natural imagery. You can even customize your own theme by uploading your own picture. A side benefit is added security. No matter which computer you use, you will always recognize whether or not you’ve logged in to your account because of your custom theme.

Move It, Move It

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is an animation worth? According to Windows Central, a gif “can express exactly the mood, tone, and expression you are looking to share with someone.” Gifs are basically short looped animations. You can really spice up a message with these types of images. For example, if you are emailing a baby shower invitation, you can include a gif of a dancing baby to make your guests smile. If you use Microsoft Outlook, you can add GIPHY to your email account at the Office Store.

Sneak a Peek

After a conference, you may end up with a handful of business cards and little recollection of which card belongs to whom. Now, you can use the Rapportive app to view information about the person you are emailing. You’ll be able to see their public social network profiles, pictures, and a history of your chats after you’ve made contact. You can also send an invitation to network via LinkedIn without leaving your Gmail account.

Blog in or Blog out

If you are passionate about something, subscribe to a blog! Blogs are a simple way to stay current about a topic. The Email on Acid blog, for example, will keep you abreast of new and innovative ways to use your email account to its fullest capabilities. You may also try your hand at writing your own blog. Share travel stories, hobbying tips, or the latest news about your interests.

Send Greetings

Ecards are a sweet way to keep in touch, but be careful to choose a reputable company to avoid viruses and spam. The article “Send and Receive E-cards Safely” gives some useful pointers. For instance, some companies allow you collect ecards from their websites rather than clicking on a link in an email message. You could also make your own electronic greeting. Design a colorful greeting card in a software program that allows you to save files in PDF format. Then, send it as an email attachment as a personal surprise to family and friends.

Life hacks help you solve problems or save time in surprisingly novel ways. Now you can even hack your email with fun and practical apps, integrations, and ideas. Now that your imagination has ignited, what will you do to level up your next email?