A quick primer on how to get your emails read and acted upon.

1. EFFECTIVE EMAIL COMMUNICATION
STRATEGIES
Ann Hudspeth
Design Manager at Magento Commerce

2. DESCRIPTIVE SUBJECT LINES
• Just like writing a headline in journalism
• Target five words max, put in order of importance
• Consider the life of the thread
• How will someone search for this in six months?
@annhud
BAD
I have a quick question about the project we
are working on!
GOOD
Project Muskrat design timeline

3. BRUTALLY BRIEF BODY LENGTH
• Target two lines of text - short!
• Break up longer text into paragraphs or bullets.
• Your goal is for someone to read and respond to it the first
time they glance at it, not to think they have to come back to
it later.
@annhud
BAD
I have a quick question about the project we
are working on! I’m not sure the designer will
finish on time. I’m actually pretty worried
because the way she has postponed her check-
ins makes me think that she isn’t totally clear
on what the assignment is and that she won’t
ask questions…
GOOD
Have you talked to the designer this week?
She may need clarifications on the Muskrat
project.

4. CLEAR AND ACTIONABLE
Think about “The UX of You”:
• What is the experience going to be of someone reading your email?
• Have you presented a clear plan of action to them?
• Is it easy to understand what they need to do next?
• Have you overwhelmed them with things to do or is it bite-sized
enough to tackle right now?
• Can they answer yes or no?
• If you were asked a yes or no question, did you answer yes or no?
@annhud

5. MISTAKES TO AVOID
• Use the correct medium: Some communications belong in IM, some in
meetings.
• Be credible: Proofread and fix mistakes. Yes, it matters.
• Don’t be a stranger: Identify yourself quickly to people you don’t know (“Hi, I’m
Ann, the design manager for the Cloud feature. Do you know the timeline for…”)
• Don’t clog the tubes: Don’t send attachments if at all possible. Link instead.
• Write when calm: If you are angry, stop, breathe, try to see the situation from
another perspective, ask some clarifying questions, write something that can
result in a win-win, get someone else to proofread, and don’t hit send until you
are calm.
• Never assume privacy: Don’t write anything you don’t want on the front page of
the New York Times.
@annhud

6. THANK YOU.
@annhud