Whether you’re a content writer, a marketer, a developer, or a working freelance, email is an integral part of our modern world. In fact, it is the most standard form of communication among freelancers. Because of this, it is important to learn the best practices and etiquette for sending emails if you want to attract and retain clients. 1. Practice Quick Reply Since freelancing business depends on email communication big time, prompt response has become an expected standard. Unless you’re spending time with family and friends, you should always aim to reply to all your emails within an hour. If that is not possible, reply on the same day during the client’s business hours. 2. Clarify the Point at the Start Your clients don’t need to read your email until the end, or worse, multiple times, to understand the point you’re trying to make. If you’re writing an email, be sure to clearly state your message right at the beginning—either in the subject or the body. The subject should be short and specific. In the body of the email, emphasize your most important details by using bullets points. 3. Double Check Grammar and Spelling Your email is a reflection of who you are. It’ll show what the clients expect from you in terms of work quality. Even the most experienced professionals make typos, especially while typing from smartphones. However, clients won’t get a good first impression from such mistakes. After you’re done composing, read the email aloud so that you can find out grammatical mistakes. You can also use online tools for additional assistance. 4. Keep It Concise If you’re a writer coming from a literature background, it might be difficult to resist yourself from writing in flowery language. However, for an ordinary person, it’ll only become a code they’re unable to decipher! Always keep your emails short and simple. Write in small sentences and use words everyone knows. If you have to convey information that’ll not fit in a few paragraphs, it is better to schedule a virtual meeting or phone call. 5. Answer All Queries This point might seem contradictory to the previous pointer, where we asked you to keep the email short. Well, skipping any question of your client for the sake of conciseness will be a disrespectful action. Address the queries asked on each section of the email in separate sections. So, the client knows that you read their email attentively. When you are not able to answer a question right away, mention it when you can. 6. Follow Single and Standard Format While writing emails to your clients, use a single format for all the emails. Make sure to use the same typecase, font size, font color, and text structure on each email. If you don’t have any standard format, a single email thread will look weird. For business communications, you can use fonts like Arial, Calibri, and Verdana. For size, 12 is safe. Using colorful fonts isn’t advisable for this kind of professional […]
