Are you a non-native English speaker who needs to regularly write emails to your international colleagues?

它可以是一个挑战write effective, conversational emails when English isn't your first language, but this article will provide some helpful tips to help you improve the overall quality of your emails and sound more like a native English speaker.

作为非本地人英语的人,并不意味着您每次点击“发送”按钮时都需要受到恐惧和不安全感的限制。一旦将这些简单的策略应用到您的写作中,您就应该能够自信地向任何人发送电子邮件(即使是来自美国讲英语的国家的人,也应该可以将电子邮件发送给美国。

→ Download Now: The Beginner's Guide to Email Marketing [Free Ebook]

Email Writing Tips for International Teams

Most people won’t tell you this, but crafting a good email begins even before you put down a single word. Writing a good email starts with your mindset.

当您处于正确的心态时,您将能够编写通信和说服的有效电子邮件。

听起来合乎逻辑……但是您如何进入“正确的心态”?

You internalize a few important email writing rules that you should apply to every single email you write. The best part is -- these rules can also be applied to any form of communication, not just email.

Email Writing Rule #1: Imagine Receiving The Email You’re Writing

Have you ever received an email that it was so incoherent you couldn’t even finish reading it, let alone even consider replying? Or included a completely irrelevant proposition?

屏幕截图2018-07-12,下午12.17.34

Ahrefs是SEO工具,但他们收到了一家钓鱼公司的电子邮件bob全站app

One of the biggest problems when it comes to email writing is the lack of empathy for the recipient. Before even writing an email, most people won't even consider whether their email will be well-received by the other party.

如果您想认真对待电子邮件,则需要在开始写作之前能够同情收件人。考虑一下您要发送电子邮件给的人:

  • Why are you emailing this person?
  • What does the person you’re emailing want?
  • 考虑到我要实现的目标,这是合适的联系人吗?

当然,如果您已经接近这个人,那么这些问题就不必要了。您可能可以打开一封快速的电子邮件,但仍然得到答复。

但是,如果您要向新的人或不熟悉的人发送电子邮件,请花一些时间来反思这些问题。您的答案将帮助您写一封更周到,连贯的电子邮件。

Email Writing Rule #2: Write Like You Talk

If you’re not a native English speaker, it’s normal to feel like you should be more formal when it comes to your email writing.

However, this results in emails that aretooformal, and come off as awkward or stiff. For example:

Native English speakers write more informally -- their writing sounds like one person talking to another.

Here is a quick grammar tip that will always help you sound more native: Write in anactive voice并避免passive voice.

An “active voice” shows that a subject is performing the verb’s action, e.g.: “Marilyn mailed the letter.”

In contrast, the “passive voice” shows that the verb is acted upon by the subject, e.g.: “The letter was mailed by Marilyn.”

Instead of writing “your feedback would be much appreciated”, try saying “I would appreciate your feedback.” Instead of writing “your request has been received”, try saying “I received your request.”

Notice how writing in an active voice sounds more human.

How To Write An Effective Email

1. The Subject Line

主题行通常是某人决定打开您的电子邮件之前阅读的第一件事。这也意味着主题行是打开,忽略或删除您的电子邮件的关键。

Unfortunately, non-native English speakers don't always know what to write in the subject line.

Take a look at this example:

这条特殊的主题行(顺便说一句,真实的示例)是含糊的,间接的,并且根本没有暗示电子邮件的内容。

The result? *Delete*.

Subject lines are especially important if you’re reaching out to someone for the first time. The recipient doesn’t know who you are, and can only judge you from your subject line.

Even if you’re sending emails internally at your company, it still pays to write a great subject line so your recipient has an idea of what to expect. Like any busy person, your teammates receives a ton of email every day, and would certainly appreciate the extra effort of a descriptive subject line.

So, how do you write agood subject line?

Be clear, direct and describe the content of your email. Don’t be afraid to take up the whole subject line. Go ahead and tell them what to expect.

As you can see, there’s no need to resort to sneaky tricks or clickbait titles just to induce an open. Remember - you don’t want people to be tricked into reading your email, you actually want them to read it and take some kind of action.

You want to associate positive feelings with your email, not anger and disappointment.

Here are some goodexamples of subject lines:

  • 我将在下一个星期二去镇上 - 您有空吗?
  • 凯文·培根简介
  • FAQ -- will you take you 2 minutes -- need answer today
  • Susan suggested I reach out to you

2.从适当的问候开始。

To kick off the email, you should begin with an appropriate greeting. There are two components to the greeting: the salutation and the opening sentence.

Most non-native English speakers, probably out of fear of offending someone, tend to stick to just one salutation -- Dear [X]. No matter the context, non-native English speakers will use Dear [X] over and over again.

The appropriate salutation actually depends on the situation. If you’re writing a formal email to a bank or government institution, it would be better to start off with Dear [X].

If you’re sending an email to someone you know, or work in a casual environment, then it is perfectly fine to go with a Hi [name].

To help you out, here is a list of salutations you can open with in your emails:

  • 亲爱的[名字]
  • Dear Mr./Ms. [Last Name]
  • [Name]
  • Good morning/afternoon
  • 你好
  • 嘿/Hi there

一旦您获得了致敬,就该采用适当的开头句子了。尽管主题行确定您的电子邮件是否已打开,但您的开头句子确定您的电子邮件是否已读取到最后。

正确执行此操作的最佳方法是研究您正在写的人。找出您的收件人感兴趣的内容。请查看他们的社交媒体资料(例如Facebook,LinkedIn等),如果他们发布的话,请阅读一些博客文章。

在他们的名字上进行Google搜索,看看是否有任何有趣的事情出现。访问他们公司的网站,阅读bob全站app他们的关于我们的页面,并找出他们正在研究或有兴趣合作的内容。

With this information, you can write an opening sentence that builds rapport. Show that you understand them, what they need, and how you can help them.

With this, you can also show that you’re different -- that you’re interested in them, are willing to go the extra mile to find out more. Showing that you understand their challenges helps build trust.

Of course, this is not necessary if you’re emailing a colleague or someone you know, but it is still important to establish some kind of context so that they know what’s happening.

快速提示:If you’re sending out sales emails and need inspiration of exactly what to say, take a look atHubSpot’s free email templates. With this tool, you can access a library of built-in templates designed for each stage of the customer journey.

3.简短而简洁。

According toStatista, we send and receive roughly 269 billion emails a day.

If we average out across everyone in the developed world (~4 billion people), every single person would receive about 68 emails/day!

This alarming statistic make one thing very clear: we spend a lot of time reading emails.

写一封打开的电子邮件,阅读和采取行动并不容易。您必须预先进行工作,以确保电子邮件专业,善解人意且易于阅读。

You have to respect your readers’ time. While you may feel like you need to tell them everything in one email, don’t. No one is eagerly awaiting a three-page essay arriving in their inbox. Here's one I received recently:

啊。

Instead, keep the email short, concise and to the point. Stick to essential and specific information.

Think about it this way: what’s the ONE thing you want to achieve after the person sees your email?

Make sure the email is written in such a way where it achieves the end result you want.

当您需要在电子邮件中包含大量信息时,最好建议打个电话或会议。

Pro-Tip:Use thisfree meEting工具更快地安排会议,避免来回电子邮件。

4. Use standard fonts.

If you’re using a non-English keyboard, your fonts may not show up properly on the other person’s device.

如果您想看起来像母语者,请使用标准字体。某些语言字体有自己的“英语字体”,这是一个死去的赠品,写作的人是非本地人的说话者:

Screen Shot 2018-07-12 at 12.24.37 PM

To prevent all kinds of tech issues from coming up, stick to what is safe. Use web-safe email fonts like:

  • Arial
  • Courier
  • Georgia
  • Helvetica
  • Lucida Sans
  • Tahoma
  • 英语字体格式一种
  • Trebuchet MS
  • 威尔达纳

In fact, this is the exact list Gmail gives:

这将确保你的收件人will receive your message in a normal font no matter what devices or operating system they are using.

5. Writing your closing.

Once you’re done with the content of your email, it’s time to close it off.

您不必花哨 - 只要保持简单明了即可。

So, nothing like this:

Screen Shot 2018-07-12 at 12.25.59 PM

取而代之的是,坚持安全,经过验证的闭合线 - 您应该很好。

You can choose from some of the most common closing lines below:

  • Yours sincerely
  • Yours truly
  • Yours
  • Sincerely
  • Best regards
  • Best
  • Warm regards
  • Warm wishes
  • Kind regards
  • Kind wishes
  • 谢谢
  • Thanks

如果您真的在寻找不寻常和幻想的东西,请查看您可以尝试的电子邮件登录列表。

6.安排您的电子邮件。

Because you’re writing an international email,时区很重要.

由于收到的电子邮件涌入,您在收件人对收件人进行检查时,您在收件箱的底部发送了一封电子邮件。这也可能意味着您花费的所有辛勤工作都会浪费。

Instead, set yourself up for success.

还记得规则#1吗?把自己穿上鞋子。

他们什么时候最容易接受?他们的收件箱什么时候“空虚”?

它可能是在午餐。这可能是周日evening when they are preparing for the week ahead. It might even be Friday -- they're probably in a good mood because the weekend is coming.

Then, use ourfree email scheduling toolto ensure that your emails are sent at the right time to the recipient’s inbox.

7.执行最终拼写和语法检查。

Don’t fail at the last mile.

不要花所有的时间来制作完美的信息,而只是被收件人忽略,因为它充满了拼写和语法错误。

After you’ve finished drafting your email, copy and paste it into Microsoft Word or Google Docs to give it a quick grammar, phrasing, and spelling check. Alternatively, you can also use checkers likeGrammarlyto automate the process while you’re drafting.

快速阅读,以确保您不会笨拙地写作或听起来像机器人。您需要您的电子邮件副本才能声音人类.

Remember -- help the reader focus on the message, not on your spelling errors.

Want more?Learn how to send the right email to the right person and provide maximum value with this free email marketing lesson.

New Call-to-action

New Call-to-action

Originally published Jul 13, 2018 7:00:00 AM, updated June 10 2021

Topics:

电子邮件营销 电子邮件营销Tools