Carefully structured emails are essential for effective web based collaboration. Poorly structured emails are likely to end up in the trash. Use S.M.A.R.T.S. to structure your emails. It will help you get your readers attention, get your message across, tell your reader what you want to happen and why and then follow on with the key details. Your signature block gives you an opportunity to leave a lasting impression.
Let me show you how to put SMARTS into your emails
Putting S.M.A.R.T.S. into your emails
- Subject line: meaningful first impression
- Message: get it across in the first line
- Action: tell them what you want to happen
- Reason: give them a reason to do it
- Trigger: make it easy for them to take action
- Signature: leave a lasting impression
Subject line, use it wisely
Good subject lines give the receiver a reason to open the email. Meaningless or blank subject lines risk leaving the email unopened or worse, trashed.
A good subject line states clearly, what the email is about. Best to avoid terms like “an offer you cannot refuse” “read this” or “open this first”. Most people find the can easily ignore such blatant attention seeking.
Message
Most people make up their mind about an email in the first few lines. So it is foolish to leave your message until the end.
A good start-up goes something like “A quick reminder of things you need to do before next week’s team meeting.” A bad one is “Oh well another Monday. Just a follow up on our conversation last week when I said I would send you a reminder about next week.” I am not saying the tone of the whole email should be brisk. You can deal with the niceties later but first get your message across.
Action you want as a result of the email
Make sure you don’t leave people with that “So what?” feeling. Make it clear what action they should be taking as a result of the email. If there is no action let the receiver know that as well. “This email is to keep you informed. John and I have got it covered.”
Reason they should take the action
People always like reasons they should take action, so unless you are the boss and have an autocratic style, give them one. “We are all getting a bit pushed on this project and the CEO would like the meeting to run smoothly and efficiently so everyone can get back to their tasks.”
Trigger for action
You want a response from your email, a reply or a resulting action. A trigger is something that makes it easy for the recipient to do what you want. Give them the details of a meeting, a hint at the best way to get started or a little push to get going. “The meeting is on the 11th and starts at 11am prompt. It think it is going to be really useful.” or “We need to get going with this one, we don’t want the last minute panic we had last time.”
Signatures leave a lasting impression
Your signature block gives you a great opportunity to leave a lasting impression. Have several signatures that you can choose from. Include a link to your website (consider linking to a web page directly relevant to the email message). If your email software has the capability of attaching an e-business card - use it.
Remember put S.M.A.R.T.S. into your emails
- Subject line: meaningful, first impression
- Message: get it across in the first line
- Action: tell them what you want to happen
- Reason: give them a reason to do it
- Trigger: make it easy to take action
- Signature: leave a lasting impression
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