"We all send and receive so many emails every day that it’s easy to forget that email is a tool—a tool most of us were never taught how to use. Knowing how to create and send effective emails, while also making the most of an organized inbox, can save you a lot of time, improve your email communications, and boost your productivity.
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Successful women understand the power of leveraging email to their advantage, so let’s break down seven email tips, tricks, and hacks that successful women utilize daily to be at the top of their email a-game.
7 Game-Changing Email Secrets Successful Women Know
1. They know the power of a strong subject line
Successful women know that first impressions matter and that a well-crafted subject line can make or break an email’s impact. They opt for concise, specific subject lines that summarize the main purpose or request of the message. By captivating the recipient’s attention with a compelling subject line, you increase the likelihood of the recipient opening and responding to your email promptly.
For example, instead of writing “Meeting Request” they might opt for “Meeting on Project X Due Friday”. This subject line clearly communicates the intention and urgency of the email, capturing the recipient’s attention from the start. Or instead of using a subject like “Project Update”, they would write “X Project Update: Milestone Achievement and Next Steps Discussion”.
2. They use confident and authoritative phrasing
Phrasing plays a crucial role in conveying messages effectively. Successful women choose their words carefully, ensuring their emails are clear, concise, and free from unnecessary jargon. They aim to get their point across without overwhelming the recipient with lengthy explanations. By mastering the art of phrasing, they make their messages more digestible and easier to respond to.
Successful women also avoid excessive apologies or self-deprecating language, as it can undermine their confidence and authority. They choose words that convey professionalism, respect, and assertiveness, while still maintaining a friendly tone.
Here are a few phrases that you can benefit from learning to avoid including in your upcoming emails:
- Sorry: While apologies have their place, overusing the word “sorry” can undermine confidence and unnecessarily take responsibility. Instead, focus on addressing any mistakes or issues directly and offer solutions or alternatives when necessary.
- Just or only: These words can downplay your confidence and diminish the importance of your message. For example, saying “I just wanted to check” or “I only have a quick question” may make you appear unsure or less credible. Be direct and assertive in your communication.
- Actually: This word can accidentally come across as condescending or corrective. Instead, strive to provide information or clarify points without using language that may appear dismissive.
- I think or I feel: While it’s important to express your opinions, using phrases like “I think” or “I feel” can weaken your message. Instead, state your viewpoint confidently as a fact without hedging or apologizing for your perspective.
- Abbreviations or text-speak: In a professional setting, it’s best to avoid abbreviations or text-speak like “OMG” or “LOL.” Opt for complete and proper sentences to maintain a polished and respectful tone.
3. They tailor salutations and signoffs
The salutation and signoff set and enforce the tone for an email. Successful women tailor their salutations based on the level of familiarity with the recipient. They use “dear” for formal or unfamiliar contacts and “hi” or “hello” for more informal relationships. Similarly, they select signoffs like “best regards” or “sincerely” for formal correspondence and “thanks” or “warm regards” for more casual or friendly interactions. Paying attention to these details showcases professionalism and respect and can help you maintain healthy business relationships.
4. They have templates for everything
To save time and maintain consistency, successful women create email templates for commonly used messages. Templates act as a starting point, allowing them to customize the content as needed. Whether it’s a follow-up email, a request for information, or a meeting invitation, templates streamline the email composition process, ensuring efficiency without compromising personalization.
Templates are especially helpful for any email communications you send out repeatedly with detailed instructions. For example, if you onboard a lot of contract workers as a part of your role, you’ll want to have an email template ready to go with clear onboarding instructions. That way, you can skip repeatedly writing tedious emails while also making sure no important details slip through the cracks.
5. They organize their inbox with filters and folders
An organized inbox greatly benefits successful women. To help stay on top of things, successful women implement strategies such as creating folders or labels to categorize emails, prioritizing messages based on urgency or importance, and utilizing filters to automatically sort incoming emails. By keeping their inboxes clutter-free, they can locate important messages quickly and efficiently and respond to critical matters that could easily get lost in the inbox abyss.
For instance, they might set up filters for things like “Clients”, “Projects”, “Personal”, or “Newsletters” to easily sort and locate emails based on their respective categories. In addition to using folders, successful women prioritize their messages based on urgency or importance. They may create folders like “Urgent”, “To-Do”, or “Follow-Up” to highlight emails that require immediate attention or actions. By adopting this approach, they can swiftly identify critical matters and ensure that nothing important falls through the cracks.
6. They know how to manage their email time
Successful women have a lot to get done in a day. This is why they understand better than anyone the need to set boundaries and manage their email time effectively. They allocate specific time slots for checking and responding to emails, avoiding constant interruptions throughout the day. By establishing designated email windows, they maintain focus on their core tasks and prevent email overload from derailing their productivity.
So—when do successful women tackle their inboxes? A good rule of thumb is to check your inbox when you first start your work day to see if any urgent matters came up and right before signing off for the day to make sure no one’s waiting on an important response. In between those times, successful women use small pockets of time between meetings when deep work isn’t possible or when they’re experiencing an afternoon slump to catch up on emails.
7. They use AI to make their lives easier
AI tools like Chat GPT and Grammarly are invaluable for successful women seeking to improve their professional email writing. Stumped for words? ChatGPT can help you figure out how to phrase your email effectively. Just tell the AI chat tool all of the details you want to cover and it will give you a clear response. You can then experiment with different suggestions to refine your email drafts. Once you craft an email, you can turn to Grammarly or Hemingway for a quick grammar and spell check. Typos aren’t professional, so going the extra mile to avoid them counts.
The Takeaway
Mastering the art of email communication is essential for professional success and successful women have honed their skills in this area, enhancing their productivity, making lasting impressions, and navigating their inboxes with ease. Eventually, with enough practice, these tips will run naturally in the background of your mind, and you’ll be able to make the most of your email every day.