Four Tools to Help You Write Better (and Typo-Free) Emails
October 9, 2017
Did you know that there are 269 billion emails sent every single day? And the average worker receives 121 emails to their professional account each day? It’s no question that this age-old technology is still the powerhouse of our daily communications. And as such, it’s important to pay attention to just how we’re using it. Sending emails may hardly seem like a craft to be mastered, but the truth is that a few tweaks in how you send emails can help you look more professional, increase your business leads and ultimately improve your bottom line. Here are a few apps that make it easy to polish your email communications, before you hit send.
Grammarly
Studies have shown that a single spelling mistake on a website can cut a company’s online sales in half! While website typos are a bad look, spelling mistakes within emails can squash your next deal before your client or customer even makes it to your domain. Grammarly is a convenient Google Chrome extension that serves as your own personal grammar police across all of your browser programs. Whether you’re sending a proposal to a client, or providing instructions to your team in tools like Trello, Grammarly monitors your communications to help make sure you look professional. The tool checks for grammar, punctuation and contextual spelling. When something looks awry, the tool underlines the area in red and makes recommendations for corrections. Upgrade to their premium plan for $29.95 / month and the tool can also be used within MS Word, personal blogs and more.
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Respondable
The latest tool from Boomerang, Respondable helps you write better emails – literally. If you’re performing outreach via email this plugin is an absolute must-have. The tool uses artificial intelligence to help you write “better, more actionable emails.” Respondable uses criteria including subject length, word count, question count, reading level, positivity, politeness and subjectivity to score your email. You can dive further into each of the criteria to understand your score and how to improve it to craft the “perfect” email. Boomerang created the tool based on data from millions of emails and continues to hone in on their algorithm over time.
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Just Not Sorry
Are you one of those people who uses the word “sorry” all too often? While there are certainly times for apologies in a business setting, cutting the word “sorry” out of your vocabulary in professional communications is a good career move. Just Not Sorry is an app that knows that is easier said than done. The tool helps you eliminate passive and weak phrases from your emails by underlining the words / phrases in question and providing explanations for why you would want to consider different phrasing. This is a great tool to help you communicate confidently not just with clients, but with coworkers as well.
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Crystal
If you’re looking to make email communications more personal, Crystal will certainly peak your interest. The tool gives you personality insights for anyone you’re emailing so you can understand how to best communicate with them. Though it can be a bit creepy to think about just how they gather this data, the bottom line is that Crystal can get you more email responses and more business. It categorizes individuals based on the DISC model, determining how dominant, influencing, steady and calculated they are, then shares the information so you can speak directly to them in “their language.” The expert version of the tool comes in at $49 per month and extends the technology to your LinkedIn communications.
What tips and tricks do you use to enhance your professional communications? Let us know in the comments!