The way you communicate greatly reflects who you are, both as an individual and as a business. Considering that email is such an essential part of the world we live in today, the last thing you want is for your clients or colleagues to feel confused and aggravated every time they correspond with you. That said, if your firm is looking to keep your email etiquette in check, here are 9 professional email tips that will help:
Be Clear and Concise
No one enjoys wasting time digging through a long email in an attempt to find the main point hidden deep within irrelevant chatter. Instead, just get to the point, already! If you have multiple ideas to convey, consider using bullet points as a way to organize your message in a visually comprehensive layout. It seems pretty obvious, but the easier you make the email reading process, the more willing people will be to communicate with you.
Keep it Organized
There's nothing worse than a disorganized inbox (and I'm sure everyone can agree with me, here)! If you use Gmail, there are so many tips out there to keep your inbox from getting chaotic. Here is one of my favorites from Zapier: A Guide to Organizing Gmail: 30 Tips, Tricks, Hacks, and Add-Ons. And if you're a Merus user, organization is simple: all you have to do is link your emails to their corresponding cases. No folders, no cluttered inbox, everyone in the firm can read all client communication, and you'll never end up with lost emails!
Proofread Before You Press Send
Emails can never be undone once you press that send button (unless you're using Gmails 'Undo Send' feature), which makes it essential that you look twice over what you have written. Nothing says 'I'm lazy and won't give your case the proper care and attention it needs' like an email riddled with spelling and grammar error. A handy safeguard against accidentally sending an email too soon is to hold off on typing in the recipient’s email address until after you have proofread everything so that there are no accidental sent-too-soon slip ups.
Know Your Audience
Mary Redzic, lawyer and legal blogger, had this to say about keeping your tone in check when you're communicating via email: "Emails are an effective way to communicate, but I prefer project management and communication tools that are more efficient and effective, like Asana. But until we all switch to these new tools, my only advice when sending emails is: always use an appropriate tone and language. Text talk is fine... for some people, like your BF or SO, but I doubt a CEO you've met once would appreciate your “TX” or “TTYL.” Stick to plain English and complete sentences. TY ;)."
Use Your Signature
How many times have you received an email and you have no idea who the sender is or why they're contacting you? Happens to me all. the. time. It's important not to assume that your recipients will automatically know who you are. That said, your signature block is a great way to introduce yourself, who you represent, and serves as a reminder for those that may need to give their memory a little jog. You can even take advantage of this space by providing links to your website and social media accounts. If you're using MerusCase's inbox, you can actually add a rich text signature to the end of your messages and include your law firm logo as well!
Use the Subject Line
What you put as the subject for your email will absolutely determine the priority in which your email gets read. That said, it's important to make sure your subject lines are truthful, helpful, and convey the important information that your recipient needs to know. For example, instead of "Just a few quick things" your subject line should read, "Details for conference call at 1PM on 12/2/2015." Instead of "Hello" for a new contact, try "Connecting after reading your blog post" and, if the recipient needs to respond, make it obvious by including "[Action Items Inside]" or "[Response Needed by 12/5/2015]." Truth be told, we all have more than enough emails to sift through each day, so let's all make a mutual agreement to be better about our subject lines and, consequently, help each other increase inbox efficiency, deal? Deal.
Timely Response
Don't take multiple days to respond to an email. Just don't. Even if you may not have a complete answer right away, it's best to let the recipient know that you received their message and are working on getting back to them by [insert timeline here]. A typical rule of thumb is to reply to every email within 24 hours. But what if you do let an email slip and weeks go by before you respond? The Muse has 5 email templates that will save the day if you're not totally sure what to say.
Think Before You Send
Jeff D'Andre, lawyer and MerusCase client, shared his biggest email pet peeve with us: “Don’t hit reply to all unless absolutely necessary. Nothing clogs up an email inbox like an endless email string and often it is simply more productive to pick up the phone and discuss the issue." Along with using the 'Reply All' feature sparingly, be sure to double check the recipients before you send the email: you don't want to be the person caught sending a confidential email to the entire company. Moreover, don't forget to use your better judgment to know which topics just shouldn't be discussed over email at all.
Leave the Yahoo! Email Addresses in the '90s (Where They Belong)
Our final and most important tip? Stop using Yahoo! or AOL (or Hotmail) mail to host your law firm's email addresses. If setting up a personalized domain name for your law firm's email addresses is out of your budget or scope of knowledge, stick to Gmail.
And that's all we have for professional email tips! Have your own to add to this list? Let us know in the comments below or Tweet us at @meruscase!
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