Email fails - what you're doing via email every day that drives your customers away

The web can be an unknown world to navigate and sending your online communication through cyberspace can be challenging and filled with a range of possible issues if you’re not up to speed with the do’s and don’ts of emailing.

We’ve all probably failed at emails in a wide array of severity, replying all by mistake with devastating consequences, sharing an offensive joke to the entire office including (gulp) your boss, mistakenly sending kisses at the end of your email to your colleagues, sending a targeted email with a glaring error inside or even accidently sharing information that is not meant for the recipient.

While all these email fails are epic and usually super embarrassing, are you doing something daily in your emails that drives your customers to the hills and fails to convert your leads and sales?

Below are some of the daily email fails that marketers should try to avoid to ensure the best email correspondence with colleagues, clients and new business contacts:

Avoid overly affectionate emails - sending ‘kisses’, emoticons or smiley faces at the end your emails is both unprofessional and annoying. Keep your emails professional and don’t type what your wouldn’t say or write on paper.

Too much capitalization - capitals in emails are viewed as shouting or yelling, so avoid capitalizing all words in your emails unless it is relevant and your recipient doesn’t think you’re shouting. Capitalization comes across as ego in emails, so ensure you’re grammar, spelling and sentence structure is professional, and you only use capitals in context and when completely necessary.

Aggressive subject lines - adding a subject line such as ‘Please reply’ or similar will put your recipient off side possibly before they even read the body of the email. While your email may be of the highest importance, be aware of common courtesy and title your email with a subject that allows the recipient to understand the content of the email, not just your perceived urgency.

CC incorrectly - while it’s important to keep some people in the loop, always be aware of when to CC or BCC colleagues and when it is just plain annoying to be part of an email trail. Just like dragging colleagues into unnecessary meetings, CC’ing for the sake of it and not because it is necessary wastes time and you might just find your emails ignored or moved to the junk folder.

Not removing people off lists - from time to time if you’re in the business of sales, marketing or business development and send eMarketing messages you may be requested to remove people off certain contact lists as the content is not relevant for their role. Ensure you update your CRM with this info when the remove request is made, there is nothing worse than continuously being contacted when a recipient has already asked to be removed from your database.

Super size signatures - size does matter, but not when it comes to an email signature. Often people include every platform known to man in their email signature plus huge images which clog up your inbox and can be annoying when working off mobile optimized devices. Keep it lean in the email signature department and let your work speak for itself.

Emails that go on forever - while your topic may be interesting and important, never-ending emails are a tad over the top and if your email runs over 500 words, consider creating a document for your information or even calling your recipient to discuss your project. Emails aren’t novels, and should be a brief and concise conversation. If you’ve got a lot to say, include links to docs, and plan your email so that your recipients can follow along without the need for a handbook.

Passive aggressive comments - emails should be able to be read and understood at a glance, avoid passive aggressive tones and short one-word sentences. Be clear and concise so you are not misunderstood, unlike a conversation where we have the added benefit of sarcasm and voice tone, emails can be misread which can leave the writer in a whole range of trouble. Avoid aggressive or confusing comments, which may be best left for face-to-face conversations. Consider living by the principle if you wouldn’t walk up to the recipient and say it to their face, don’t be a keyboard warrior and say it via email.

Avoid slang, acronyms and lazy typing - FYI is ok, the rest of it you should avoid. Not everyone speaks in slang or understands abbreviations, so take the time and write out your conversation in full, and use English that everyone would understand. Gen Y and Millennials may consider abbreviations common practice, however you need to write to your audience and be aware of all the age groups involved in your communications.

Forgetting to attach docs - if you want a document to be viewed and responded to immediately, take the time to ensure you have attached all necessary docs to the email. The sender looks unprofessional and disorganized when attachments are forgotten and it is annoying for the receiver to waste their time to ask for the docs to be resent.

Introductions void of courtesy - starting an email without saying ‘Hi’, ‘Hope you’re well’ or simply starting by using the recipient's name is quite rude and can be perceived as aggressive in standard conversation. No matter how busy you are, take the time to be polite and start the email in a positive tone. Steamrolling your recipient isn’t going to get you the result you hope for.

While there are always reasons why you may have slipped and done one of the faux pas outlined above, being aware of these email no-no’s is vitally important for digital marketers who need to ensure their digital communication is up to speed and engaging every step of the way. I for one have done almost all of these listed above and while it is awkward to point it out, it's far better to be aware of these tips to avoid the embarrassment in the future.

Consider asking a few trusted and honest colleagues to critique your email technique, are you aggressive, do you waffle, is your email correspondence difficult to follow, all feedback is good feedback and will help you fine tune your craft so that your email communication drive new business, as opposed to driving it away.