Fathom: 10 Tips for Writing a Better Email


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Like sending text messages, email is a difficult tool for communicating because it withholds social cues such as body language, tone of voice, and facial expression from you during a face-to-face conversation. The way you use words, sentence structure, and punctuation are important tools. If you’re not careful, it’s easy to communicate incorrectly. These email best practices will help you maintain your manners and get your message across clearly and concisely.


1. Be professional at a glance.

Using fun colors and fonts in your emails is tempting, especially if you have a creative personality, but don’t overdo it. If you stick to a familiar, legible font like Times New Roman, Arial, or Trebuchet MS and a dark, clearly identifiable text color like black or navy, your email will be a success search as professional as it sounds. Be kind to your recipients. Consider increasing the font size slightly to make your email easier to read – but not too big or the message will be visually overwhelming.

Your email signature should also appear professional and straightforward.

Also, make sure you’re sending from a professional email address. “[email protected]” looks a lot more legitimate than “[email protected]”.

Be kind to your recipients. Consider increasing the font size slightly to make your email easier to read – but not too big or the message will be visually stunning.


2. Fill in the subject line.

Never leave the subject line blank. Be clear and concise with what the message is about; B. “Quick question about mortgage” or “Available for an open house?”.


3. Use a professional greeting.

“Yo Bob” is only acceptable if you and Bob are close friends or co-workers. Otherwise, greet your customers and colleagues more formally. Acceptable greetings are “Dear Bob”, “Dear Mr. Martin”, and “Hello, Barbara Kilgore”.

Greetings to avoid include those that are specific to the time of day, those that are excessively formal, and those that relate to the recipient by job title rather than name.


4. Introduce yourself.

The first time you email a customer, introduce yourself and remind them who you are. “My name is Greta Greene and I’m with Fathom Realty. Your contractor, Bob Martin, gave me your contact details and told me you were looking for a real estate agent.”

The first time you email a customer, introduce yourself and remind them who you are.


5. Pay attention to your writing.

As mentioned in the Guide to Best Practices for Communicating by SMS, punctuation marks can determine or interrupt the meaning and tone of a sentence. Exclamation marks are like candy. Use them sparingly. Avoid ellipses. They can indicate indecision or uncertainty, however not the end of a sentence. Ending a sentence with an ellipsis is a slip.

Another mistake to avoid is capitalizing it. IT MAKES YOU LOOK like you’re screaming. Most e-mail programs have a feature in italics that encourages politeness while still making a point.

Speaking of being polite, be careful with your tone when composing an email. If you are feeling rushed, frustrated, or upset, these emotions can easily creep into your message by influencing your choice of words. It can be helpful to imagine that you are passing the information on to someone else, such as a loved one or a respected colleague.

After all, the importance of proofreading your email before sending it cannot be emphasized enough. Like it or not, people judge not only your professionalism but also your intelligence based on the quality of your written communication.


6. Send attachments wisely.

When attaching a file, let your recipients know in the body of the email so they don’t miss it. Be considerate and compress or zip your documents so that your attachments take up less space in your inboxes and are easier to open on your computers. Alternatively, you can upload your documents to a shared storage location such as Google Drive or Dropbox and provide your recipients with an access link. When including a URL in your message, use a link shortener like TinyURL or convert the URL to a hyperlink to avoid including a URL of unsightly length.

If you are attaching a file, let your recipient know in the body of the email so they don’t overlook it.


7. Reply promptly but be patient.

Professional etiquette recommends replying to emails within 24 hours or less. However, if you’ve sent an email and are waiting for a reply, give the recipient at least a few days to reply; If you haven’t heard from them by then, send a gentle reminder or follow up by phone or text message.


8. Use CC and BCC accordingly.

When sending an email to a group of people, it is important to know the difference between CC (Carbon Copy) and BCC (Blind Carbon Copy). BCC prevents the email addresses of all your recipients from appearing in the header or in the To / CC fields of the email; in other words, it prevents your recipients from seeing the other recipients’ email addresses. It would be appropriate to use in a situation where your recipients don’t want or want others to be known about them. In contrast, CC would be suitable if there was a need to transparently document who received your email.


9. Use out-of-office replies.

The last thing you want is to lose customers or prospects while on vacation because they think you are unavailable. By using the automatic reply function, your customers will be informed when you are unavailable. The subject line of your reply should clearly state “Absent, [date] to [date]”and the text should explain that the response is automated and that you will return to the office on the date indicated. Also include the name and contact details of someone you can reach in the meantime.


10. No funny things.

Often a remark that sounds funny to our heads comes across differently when it is written. Without additional context such as body language, facial expressions and tone of voice, sarcastic or otherwise humorous comments can be misinterpreted. It is best to avoid any type of humor in professional emails because what is funny to you can be offensive to others.


Bonus tip: be human.

As a real estate agent, your relationship with your clients is built and strengthened by your warmth and personality, so don’t completely sacrifice them in the name of professionalism. You’re not writing an essay – you’re emailing someone to entrust you with their past and future homes, a transaction that involves a lot of complicated emotions and a need for human connection.

Pay attention to your punctuation, proofread, and be polite and you’ll be fine.

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