写英文邮件的技巧规则：如何写好一封英文Email

The subject line is what people will see first. Boomerang says that subject lines with three to four words are the best for getting a response.

The response rate goes down they found with each word you add. So remember when writing your subject line -- less is more.

Write simply

The reading level of the language you use in your emails matters. Boomerang found that a third-grade level works best and gets the most responses.

So use simple words in simple sentences. Do not utilize convoluted terminologies I mean use complex words when simple ones will work just fine.

Keep it short. But not too short!

Boomerang found that the “sweet spot for email length is between 50 and 125 words.” Experts say the response rate for emails of this length is above 50 percent.

But do not write all 125 words into one long paragraph. Break them up into a couple short paragraphs. It is much easier to read this way. The brain and the eyes like to see “negative” spaces.

Ask a question

Now remember. You are trying to get a response to your email. So a good way to do that is to ask the reader a question. It gives them something to do.

Boomerang found that the emails that asked no questions had the lowest response rate. Emails that ask between one to three questions are “50 percent more likely to get a response than emails asking no questions.”

However don’t ask too many questions. With each extra question you ask in your email your response rate drops.

Show some feeling. But not too much.

The tone of your email matters very much. The tone is the feeling or attitude expressed by the words that someone uses in speaking or writing.

When writing an email be positive (but not too positive) or negative (but not too negative.) Beingneutral -- neither positive nor negative -- gets you nowhere.

Do you think the following email is appropriate to write to a professional acquaintance or colleague?

“Hi! I haven’t seen you in so long!! I’m wondering how you are. I would very much like to see you again soon!!! Would you care to have coffee with me tomorrow afternoon?”

This email is too positive too emotional and too formal – a strange combination. The sentences involve too many personal pronouns. This adds too much feeling. It may make reader feel uncomfortable. It sounds a bit creepy.

The writer of this email also uses too many exclamation points – something you really want to avoid. Using too many exclamation points is a sure sign that your email is too positive and therefore quite possibly annoying.

Try this instead:

“Hi there! Hope you’ve been well. Let’s catch up over coffee soon. Are you free anytime next week?”

“Hope you’ve been well” is very common to include in an email to both friends and co-workers. It’s a nice thought to share. But it also has a second purpose. It says that the writer and reader haven’t seen each other recently. An English speaker will readbetween the linesand understand this hidden meaning.

You could also write “How’ve you been? It’s been a long time!” By simply stating that a lot of time has passed you put the importance on time and not your feelings.

So it’s positive but not overly emotional. The tone is casual but still professional. And it won’t seem creepy to the reader.

This email also asks a direct question without pressuring the reader. They can pick a time when they are free for coffee or say that they are just too busy.

However let’s say you have to write an email describing a negative experience and you want a response. As we have learned the study found that it’s actually better to be negative than neutral. But try not to be too negative. If you had a bad experience at a store write about it simply.

For example:

“During a visit to your store I had a very bad experience. One of your employees was extremely rude. He refused to replace a broken television. How can I get my money back for the broken television or get a replacement?”

You might not get a response if you wrote something like this:

“Your store is awful!! I tried to return a broken television and your employee was rude! He was a stupid fool! I will never go back to your store again!!!”

Not only does is the tone of this email too negative the writer sounds crazy.

So again find the balance – the sweet spot.

Use the right closing

Brendan Greenley studies data at Boomerang. He explains on the company’s website that another email study centered only on closings.

Experts studied over 350 000 email conversations of Boomerang users that involved people asking for help or advice. The study found “that certain closings deliver higher response rates.”

Here are the top 8 email closings and their response rates:

Thanks in advance (65.7%)

Thanks (63%)

Thank you (57.9%)

Cheers (54.4%)

Kind regards (53.9%)

Regards (53.5%)

Best regards (52.9%)

Best (51.2%)

So if you really want a response to an email remember these writing tips. And remember that in most cases less will get your more.

I’m Jonathan Evans …

… and I’m Anna Matteo.

Anna Matteo wrote this story based on several online articles. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

_____________________________________________________________________

Words in This Story

favor– n. a kind or helpful act that you do for someone

subject line – n. the place in an e-mail where you can type what the e-mail is about

sweet spot – n. informal : the best point or combination of factors or qualities.

tone – n. style or manner of expression in speaking or writing

positive– adj. a : having a good effect : favorable a positive role model b : marked by optimism the positive point of view

negative – adj. not hopeful or optimistic : expressing dislike or disapproval

neutral– adj. not strong in opinion or feeling

appropriate – adj. especially suitable

acquaintance – n. someone who is known but who is not a close friend

colleague– n. a person who works with you : a fellow worker

annoying– adj. to cause (someone) to feel slightly angry

creepy – adj. strange or scary : causing people to feel nervous and afraid (to creep someone out)

read between the lines– phrase : look for or discover a meaning that is hidden or implied rather than explicitly stated.

无论你有什么样的工作，你在某些时候都必须回复一封Email。

假设你正在申请工作，或者要求同事寻求帮助。所以，你发送一封Email。你真的想得到一个答复。你怎么表达是否能增加你获得回应的机会？

是的可以。

对Email的研究发现，有几个因素会影响你是否收到答复。

Boomerang公司做了研究。 Boomerang的目标之一是帮助企业提高生产力。其主要产品之一是智能手机应用，可帮助公司管理他们每天收到的所有Email。

Boomerang的专家要求用户分享哪些因素最受影响，无论他们是否对他们的Email做出回应。他们发现许多因素影响您的Email响应率。

一个因素是Email的长度。它应该很短，但不要太短。另一个因素是写作的语调。你的语言是非正式还是太正式？不要忘记年级。词语和语法结构是否太简单或太先进？

即使您的主题行的长度可能会影响您获得回复的机会。您关闭Email的方式还可以确定是否收到回复。

Boomerang研究发现，对于大多数这些因素，有一个“甜蜜点” - 事情工作的点或程度很好。

不要忘记主题行

主题是人们首先看到的。 Boomerang说，三到四个字的主题是获得回应的最佳选择。

他们发现，响应率下降，您添加的每个字。所以，记住写作你的主题 - 少一点。

简单地写

您在Email中使用的语言的阅读水平很重要。 Boomerang发现，三年级的作品最好，得到最多的回应。

所以，在简单的句子中使用简单的单词。不要使用复杂的术语，我的意思是，使用复杂的单词，简单的工作就可以正常工作。

简短但不要太短！

Boomerang发现“Email长度的最佳位置在50到125字之间”。专家说，这个长度的Email的响应率是50％以上。

但是，不要将所有125个单词写入一个长段。把它们分成几段短的段落。以这种方式阅读更容易。大脑和眼睛喜欢看到“负面”的空间。

问一个问题

现在，请记住。您正在尝试回复您的Email。所以，一个好办法就是向读者问一个问题。它给他们做点什么。

Boomerang发现没有问题的Email的回复率最低。问一到三个问题的Email，比Email不问问题的可能性要多50％。“

但是，不要问太多问题。随着您在Email中提出的每个额外的问题，您的回复率将下降。

表达一些情绪但不要太多

您的Email的语气非常重要。口气是某人在说话或写作中使用的话语所表达的感觉或态度。

写Email时，是积极的（但不是太积极）或消极的（但不是太负面）。中立的 - 无论是积极的还是消极的 - 让你无处可去。

您认为以下Email是否适合写信给专业熟人或同事？

“嗨！我在这么久没见过你了！我想知道你是怎么样的我很想很快再见到你！你明天下午要和我一起喝咖啡吗？

这封Email太积极，太情绪化，太正式 - 一个奇怪的组合。这些句子涉及太多的人称代词。这增加了太多的感觉。这可能会使读者感到不舒服。听起来有点令人毛骨悚然。

这封Email的作者也使用了太多的惊叹号 - 你真的想避免的。使用太多感叹号是您的Email太积极的一个肯定的迹象，因此很可能令人讨厌。

改为：

“你好！希望你一直很好我们稍后赶上咖啡。你下周有空吗？“

“希望你一切顺利”是很常见的，包括给朋友和同事的Email。这是一个很好的想法分享。但它也有第二个目的。它说最近作家和读者没有看到对方。一位英语演讲者将在线之间阅读并理解这一隐藏意义。

你也可以写“你好吗？已经很久了！“通过简单的说明，时间已经过去了，你把重点放在时间上，而不是你的感觉上。

所以，这是积极的，但不是过度的情绪化。口气是休闲，但仍然专业。读者看起来不会令人毛骨悚然。

这封Email还提出了一个直接的问题，而不会迫使读者。他们可以选择一个时间，当他们免费喝咖啡或说他们太忙了。

但是，假设您必须编写一封描述负面经验的Email，并希望得到回复。据我们所知，研究发现，实际上比中性更好。但尽量不要太负面。如果您在商店遇到不好的经历，请简单地写下。

例如：

在逛你的商店时，我遇到了一个非常糟糕的经历。您的一位员工非常粗鲁。他拒绝更换坏电视。我怎么可以把我的钱还给破碎的电视机或取代？

如果你写这样的话，你可能不会得到回应：

“你的店很可怕！我想退货一个破碎的电视，但你的员工非常粗鲁！他是一个愚蠢的笨蛋！我永远不会再去你们店了!!!“

这个Email的语气不仅太负面，而且听起来很疯狂。

再次找到平衡 - 最好的地方。

使用正确的结尾

布伦丹·格林利（Brendan Greenley）研究了Boomerang的数据。他在公司的网站上解释说，另一封Email研究只集中在结尾上。

专家研究了超过35万个Boomerang用户的Email对话，涉及到人们寻求帮助或建议。研究发现“某些结尾提供更高的反应率”。

这是排名前8的Email结尾及其回复率：

先谢谢（65.7％）

谢谢（63％）

谢谢（57.9％）

干杯（54.4％）

亲切问候（53.9％）

问候（53.5％）

最好的问候（52.9％）

最佳（51.2％）

所以，如果您真的想要回复Email，请记住这些写作技巧。并记住，在大多数情况下，少一些会让你更多。

我是乔纳森·埃文斯

...我是Anna Matteo。

安娜马特奥（Anna Matteo）根据几篇在线文章写了这个故事。阿什利汤普森是编辑。

近期文章：

“没钱”用英语怎么说？

“你说的没错”用英语怎么说？

“别客气”用英语怎么说？

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