Are your e-mails falling into a black hole? Here's why...

It's so frustrating: you regularly send out emails and then sit staring at your computer, waiting for some sort of response. Don't you sometimes get the feeling that you're just sending words out into a black hole? Of course, you can never "ensure" that emails are going to be read or acted upon. It's a sad result of the information overload we suffer from. People who sit working at their computers for hours every day might have the time, energy and interest to open the numerous messages which fill their inboxes – or they might not. So what is it exactly that tips them over the delicate, crucial line between "read" and "leave for later/delete"? The answer is that most recipients of emails often decide whether or not to read them because of two things: the "subject" line and the "from" line. They must recognise who the email is coming from They must see a benefit or reason to open it So consider these useful tips before you send your next mail:   1. Keep it short Would you immediately open and read an email with this subject line? "When you get the chance, it would be great if you could possibly get in ..." When an email arrives in an inbox, only about 70 characters are displayed in single byte characters. If you use double byte characters, only about 35 characters (70 bytes) are displayed. The rest usually gets cut off. That's why the crucial information contained at the end of this subject line ("get in touch with Paul to set up a meeting before he goes on holiday") will not be seen by most recipients.   2. You want action If busy people receive an email that says "When you get the chance", then obviously they are going to deal with other, more urgent-sounding emails before yours. By the time yours gets read, Paul will be lying on the beach. You need to write a subject line that gives the crucial information at the beginning – and, if possible, starts with an action word. For example, in this case you could write, "Set up final meeting before holiday". Other examples could be, "Advice for next steps required", "Want to see first draft in 15 mins?", "Server down – save documents now", "Is this right? Quick confirmation", "Next paper delivery – July". Try to grab the recipient's attention with just a few words.   3. Don't sound spammy What typifies spam subject lines and might trigger Outlook to send an important mail to your junk mailbox? Choice of words; punctuation; and the use of capital letters (in languages which use them). Certain words have the unmistakable flavour of spam and will condemn your email straight to junk. Examples are "cheap", "promise", "order now", "opportunity",  "guarantee", "compare", "amazing", "explode" and "apply", but there are hundreds more. Of course, you can't always avoid them, but just bear the point in mind. Be careful when you use words which have more than one meaning. For example, in English try not to use the word "free", because it looks like those emails which contain trial offers of exotic products. If you want to ask someone if they are "free" to meet you for an appointment, our advice is not to write it at the beginning of your subject line, in capital letters or in combination with lots of exclamation marks. So instead of writing, "FREE this Tuesday for a meeting?!!?" try: "Meeting this Tuesday – are you free?" or, "Tuesday meeting – do you have time?"   4. Be intriguing Asking a question seldom fails to grab attention, so instead of writing, "First draft of my analysis ready in half an hour", try: "Time to read first draft?" or, "Report – could you read first draft?"  5. The "from" line The decision to open an email is not only based on curiosity but also on trust and recognition – this is crucial. Your subject line must be punchy and attention grabbing; the "from" line should therefore include a name your reader will recognise, proving your email comes from a trustworthy source.   6. Time it right There are better and worse times to send out emails. The first and last days of the working week are not good, as people are either drowning in their inboxes or trying to leave early for the weekend. Otherwise, there are no set rules: you just need to try it out and see what works for your type of communication. The combination of recognition and good subject line copy will help your emails have a better chance of getting read. If you manage to instil in your recipients the magic combination of "trust and curiosity", it will be your mails which get read – first.

.