With most emails you send, you are typically looking for a response. Yet poorly written emails are often left to gather digital dust in someone’s inbox, for various reasons: tone, length, too much information, too little, etc. Boomerang, a leader in email productivity software, recently analyzed 5.3 million emails to see which messages prompted a response from the recipient. Alex Moore of the Boomerang Blog summarizes their top six tips:
- Use short sentences with simple words; shoot for a third-grade reading level.
- Include one to three questions.
- Don’t forget the subject line—aim for just three or four words.
- Use a slightly positive or slightly negative tone. Both outperform a completely neutral tone.
- Take a stand: opinionated messages see higher response rates than objective ones.
- Write enough, but not too much. Messages between 50 and 125 words are ideal. iBi
