While email is a great way to communicate with you audience, it's not the only way.  See my video below fo examples of when you may want to use other channels of communications.

You may want to consider using these channels depending on how and when you want to reach your audience.

1. In Person:  Sometimes in person is the best way to connect with your audience, especially if the topic is sensitive, confidential or needs to get into details that are too complicated for an email.

2. On the Phone:  Don't let reply all's and flamewars continue to fill up your inbox without a resolution in sight-- pick up the phone to come up with a game plan to tackle issues and become the hero of your team.

3. Instant Messaging:  This is a great way to share information quickly from one individual to another.

4. Slack or Forums:  These channels are great to use when you are leading a project or creating a community of people so they can learn from each other. By asking and answer questions in a group platform, everyone can learn and it's a many-to-many communication model. 

Were these tips helpful?  Contact me today to set up a session with your team by dropping me a note at thecommslady@gmail.com. 

There are many ways you can write an email, but it's best to think about your audience before you draft one up.  The video below outlines some questions you should ask yourself before you press send. 

VIDEO RECAP:

Ask yourself these questions prior to emailing your audience:

1. Do they know who you are?
--Do you need to introduce yourself or provide some background so they know that what you are sending is credible?
-- Did you give a high level overview of why what you have to say matters?

2. Do they know why you are contacting them?
-- Did you get their name from someone?  
-- What do you want from them?  
-- How did you get their information?

3. Are you speaking their language?
-- National language
-- Be careful of jargon they may not be familiar with
-- Spell out acronyms and abbreviations the first time you use them

4. Does your email provide the right level of detail?
-- Summarize if you are forwarding an email thread or sending a spreadsheet of data
-- Are they technical enough for those details?  Can you provide a higher level/non-technical version, if needed?

Were these tips helpful?  Contact me today to set up a session with your team by dropping me a note at thecommslady@gmail.com. ​

Once you have used an effective subject line to get your audience to open your email, you must make it as easy as possible for them quickly extract what they need to know. 

The best way to make sure people read and understand your note is to use formatting to create consumable content as discussed in the video below. 

To make your emails easier for your readers to consume and take action, follow the tips below:

1. Avoid blocks of texts that require your reader to sift through details to find the main points

2. Bold out the main point of your note-- what's the one takeaway you want them to get?

3. Use Bullets as a way to pull out the main points instead of having them buried in long paragraphs

4. Number steps or instructions to make it easy for them to provide you what you need-- bonus points if you can provide them a template with instructions/give examples of what you are looking for

Were these tips helpful?  Contact me today to set up a session with your team by dropping me a note at thecommslady@gmail.com. 

One of the biggest challenges with email communication is getting your audience to actually open it!  

The video below talks about ways you can write effective subject lines that will motivate your target audience to open your email and take action.

Use effective Subject Lines to...
1) Call to Action
Examples:
"Action Required: ID approval needed"
"For Bob Review: Report for Monday's Meeting"

2) Give them a due date to help them prioritize your email
Examples:
"Action Required by 7/31: Submit your expenses"
"For Your Action (Takes two minutes): Two-question survey "

3) Drive productive discussion and collaboration
Examples:
"Meeting Materials: For reference during tomorrow's Ops Review"
"Notes & Next Steps: Monthly Ops Review"

4) Avoid ineffective subject lines that get lost in an inbox
Examples:
"Hey Ashley"
"Hi, how are you?"

Were these tips helpful?  Contact me today to set up a session with your team by dropping me a note at thecommslady@gmail.com. ​

One of the best ways to effectively communicate to your audience is to make sure you have the right people included on your emails.  Sometimes it can be confusing on who to and not to include on certain communications.

The below tips will help you distinguish between who should be on the To, CC, and BCC lines of your emails.

Who should go on each line?

To:  

• The person who you are specifically targeting with your communication
• The person who needs to take an action 

Carbon Copy (CC)

• Someone who needs to know the information, but has no action to take
• Someone who needs to know that the communication has been sent
• As a way of introducing the people on copy to the person in the "to" line
• As a point of escalation when you can copy upper management to ensure a timely response/action (Try avoiding any escalations until you've made several attempts to contact them.)

Blind Carbon Copy (BCC)

• Use sparingly - ask yourself "Why am I using BCC instead of CC?" and ensure the answer is not for a deceptive reason
• Use for mass email communications to a large distribution list to prevent reply alls
• Use to protect privacy of those you are sending the communications to

Were these tips helpful?  Contact me today to set up a session with your team by dropping me a note at thecommslady@gmail.com.