Jezebel’s article “How to Sound Awesome Over E-Mail” includes great tips for writing e-mails. Here’s an excerpt from the interview with Natasha Terk.

According to Terk, one of the biggest pitfalls of email-sending is “sending really long emails,” especially “long emails where the main point is buried at the bottom.” She explains, “people just move way too fast and depending on where they’re reading your email, it could very well be on some sort of PDA, and the tendency is to read the very beginning of a message.”

So don’t spend a lot of time dancing around the issue — after a salutation and quick personal introduction (if necessary), get right to your main point. When, for instance, you’re asking someone to do something (so often the case with emails), go ahead and put it right out there.

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Our books Professional Writing Skills and E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide both include information on these topics:

• Crafting subject lines
• Identifying your main message
• Organizing the points your reader needs to hear
• Putting your main message right up front

E-mail Write It Well or call us at (510) 655-6477 to find out how our customized trainings and line of books can help your organization and all its writers communicate more clearly and concisely.