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Do you know how many e-mails are sent every day all over the world?

210 billion e-mails are sent every day around the globe. Research by Radicati Group estimate this figure. They also estimate that there are approximately 560 million business e-mail boxes in the world. We can’t avoid e-mails anymore. How many of these are actually read?

How many e-mails does a person send or receive daily?

In 2008, the average business user sends/receives 156 emails/day, according to e-mail research done by Radicati Group.

How many of these e-mail messages are actually read?

This is an impossible question to answer. Spam is a great nuisance. Everyone wants to get rid of spam as they waste so much time. Spam also spreads computer viruses. People use methods such as spam filters on their e-mail programmes to try to get rid of them. According to PR Newswire, 74% of all e-mails in USA get deleted because they are seen as spam. In India the figure is even higher, at 91%.

How readers decide which e-mail to read?

If the e-mail is not from a person they know, the typical reader will then look at the subject line or heading. S/he will open the e-mail only if it’s interesting. Even in e-mails, communication is a relationship.

In the recent survey conducted by Opt-in News, 35% of respondents say that the subject line is the main factor in determining if they would open the email. Also, the subject line is often the only thing people see in their inbox beside the “from” line with the sender’s name or e-mail address.

So you need to get the heading, title or subject line correct.

What is a good heading in e-mail?

A good heading is

• Relevant – there is information that reveals immediately that the e-mail is relevant to the reader, and not machine generated. “Memo of 23.10.08 meeting at Barcelona” is better than “Meeting” or “Memo”
• Precise – rather than writing “sales meeting in London”, write ‘confirmation for XYZ Ltd. sales meeting in London on 20.11.08′
• Clear purpose – why you have written the e-mail. “Request for delivery confirmation of order No. 1234″ is more precise than “Re:-order”
• Short – there isn’t much space in the subject line. If you write “Customer Service”, it can refer to anything, even the endless Viagra spam ads. Write rather specific details such as “Attached Plan for In-house Customer Service Training.”

A bad heading is

• Vague and irrelevant – “look through”, “check this” or “satisfy her” are examples of bad headings, which get deleted
• “Spam words” – Avoid “spam” words – don’t use words like “Viagra” or “penis” in your heading as many servers automatically classify them as spam and might delete them
• Spelt carelessly with mistakes. Use capitals for names and proper nouns. Using all capitals is shouting and rude, so avoid it.

Use Sub-headings

Now that you’ve got a precise heading, you have to make the reading easier for the reader. Most readers are busy, and some have nano attention spans. Chunk your information by dividing it into sections with headings, it makes reading easier and faster.

If you have many topics in your e-mail,

• Use bullet points
• Use short headings

What you want the reader to do should be in the end.

‘Would you kindly send me your yearly figures for the CRM’ or “Please confirm that you will attend the meeting.” should stand as a separate section. Otherwise, it may get lost and you don’t get what you want.

Don’t forget to be polite!