We all want to spend less time on email, right? Whether you’re a typical office worker logging in the 40 hours (plus) per week, or a freelancer hustling to make money, you are working a lot. And much of that time is time spent on email. It’s not anecdotal. It’s real. You’ve probably seen the numbers, like that we spend one-third of our work hours on email. Bleh! But what if there was a better way? What if you could spend less time on email? What could you accomplish if you weren’t stuck in your inbox? What higher...
Originally published May 2020. Updated September 2024. Why should you care about effective business emails? Because they save time, both for you and for the people you email. How do they save time? Because you write fewer emails when you are better at it. When you’re a competent and considerate writer of emails, you cut down on the unnecessary back-and-forth email traffic and the clutter in your inbox. And your reward? You get back time. Better emails = better brand + time saved In my last post on business email writing, I talked...
Originally written April 2020. Updated September 2024. Writing emails at work is something we do on automatic pilot but shouldn’t, because how you email matters. Would you show up for work in rumpled pajamas and bed hair? Would you slouch in your chair scrolling through your Instagram feed on your phone while in a one-on-one meeting with your boss? No and no, because you know your appearance and body language are a reflection of your professionalism (and brand) in the workplace. But do you realize the same is true of the emails you...
Originally written October 2017, Updated January 2024. As someone who wants to help people develop better business writing skills, I have no shortage of raw material to work with to point out how to write better! As proof, this email showed up today. At first glance, you might think, “Now this reads fine! Why is she going to pick this apart??” Well, I’ll tell you, after I let you read it through… Dear____, I hope your year is off to a great start. I wanted to take a moment to introduce myself. My name is [employee name] and I will...
How business email best practices can make everything better… I was soooo lucky and I didn’t know it. How? During my 20 years as a freelance copywriter, I worked primarily with smart people who communicated well and made smart use of email. That means I thought the average person was equally good at email. I was wrong. When I closed up We Know Words at the end of 2019 to focus on our farm and Better Faster Writer, I also started doing a lot of volunteer work as part of a marriage ministry that we had to take over. (That’s a...
A huge part of the average worker’s day is spent reading and writing business emails. Yet there are many ways to reduce the time you spend in the email vortex, as you can see here and here. But here’s the deal: You’ll drastically reduce the time you spend on business emails when you make sure your emails are read and understood. …drastically reduce the time you spend on business emails when you make sure your emails are read and understood. Get Your Business Emails Read Let’s tackle the first challenge for a minute: Getting...