Did you ever wonder what your email says about you? Or about the person you address it to? A lot, I think. The tone of your email says a lot about the sort of person you are and the relationship that you share with the addressee. For instance, if you begin your email with dear so and so, that would mean a formal kind of relationship. I usually write that kind of email when I am asking why my magazine subscription is late or something. As for people I deal with regularly but are not actually friends, I would address as hello so and so, then as I get to know them a bit, that will become just a Hi!. As for really close friends, I don’t bother with a salutation of any kind, just plough on with what I have to say, or begin with the person’s given pet name: “Greetings pug face” or “What up Wonder girl” or whatever.

Also the tone that you use for an email defines the relationship that you have with the addressee: when you communicate with a stranger you tone has to be formal, even sober; that person doesn’t know you from Adam. When you get to know the person a bit the tone can get chatty, even breezy, and a humorous quip or two would not be taken amiss. Good friends don’t mind anything and you can be as affectionate, loving, grouchy, crabby or whatever you want to be!

As for the email for marketing purposes, entire books have been written on the subject. How to frame the perfect subject line so it will catch the eye and people won’t junk your email without even opening it. How to write the body of the email in a way that immediately conveys what a great, unique product or service or offer you have for the person reading the email. No one is going to trawl thru a long and winding email searching for what the writer is trying to say. People lose patience and hit Delete with practically no provocation, so get to the point right away. In this kind of email it does not pay to be verbose. Pithy and succinct work a lot better.

I thought I would just end with some of my favorite email cartoons, which I found here, enjoy!