Insurance Professionals: What Do Your Emails Say About You?

7 October, 2013

Like nonverbal communication, emails send a lot of unintended messages … they can infer that you are sloppy, disorganized, thoughtful, or even a perfectionist.

Every so often someone will tell me that it took them forever to write me an email. They confess to over-scrutinizing their word choices and grammar simply because they are writing to a copywriter!

True – I’m an insurance copywriter, but I’m also a realist and an opportunist and someone who sometimes sends out emails with typos. While I always strive to write well, I don’t beat myself up over an occasional email typo and neither should you. If you have typos all the time, you have a problem, but if you have a typo once a month, don’t sweat it. In many cases, it’s better to get a message out and crossed off your list than to waste time and opportunity writing and rewriting.

Quick disclaimer – I’m talking about interpersonal emails here – not mass marketing eblasts. Of course, mass communication warrants rewriting, editing and should not contain typos.

A few typos are unavoidable for any busy, overtaxed person and as long as they’re not frequent, your reputation should survive. However, there are some things you can do to systemize your professionalism and increase the power of your email communication.

1.  Always tailor the subject line. If you are replying to someone else, change the subject line to something like: “Response to your question about coverage.” If the email contains the final outcome to a long discussion, say so in the subject line: “Final decision about underwriting appetite for the construction niche.”

2.  Include a greeting. Every email should start with a greeting such as “Good morning team” or “Hello Heather.” It’s just common courtesy.

3.  Succinctly capture the point of the entire email in the first one or two sentences. Your reader is busy so get to the point fast and then include supporting thoughts below.

4.  Use short paragraphs. Nothing is worse than receiving a solid page of text. Make your email easy to scan.

5.  Don’t forget your call to action. If you want the recipient to do something, clearly state your request in the last line of the email. This request should probably be included in the summary at the beginning too. Whatever you do, don’t bury your request in the middle.

6.  Program a standard email signature. If you don’t include a standard signature, your email could be sending the message that you are inaccessible, inconsiderate or not tech-savvy. There’s really no excuse for not using a standardized email signature that includes your phone, web URL and social media contact information. If you lead a department, ask your IT person to set up standardized signatures for your team right away. Most email programs allow you to automate the process.

7.  Tune in to promotional opportunities. For those who communicate with customer and prospects, interpersonal emails represent an often-overlooked opportunity to promote helpful information. Each week, you can customize your email signatures to add a helpful tip. For example:

This Wednesday’s Webinar: Workplace Safety
Register for FREE here!

8.  Turn on your spell-checker. If your spell checker is turned on, it will catch a lot of silly typos.

Share these eight interpersonal email tips with your team and increase the power of your insurance communications.

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