There is a lot to consider when writing emails if the message should not go under. Experts from Duke University give tips.
Every day, countless emails end up in the mailboxes of professors, managers and employees. The challenge: How should you write emails so that they are really read? Duke Today spoke to experts and asked for tips.
According to Candis Watts Smith, professor of political science at Duke University, the number of emails has increased enormously in recent years. This makes it more and more common for emails to be lost in overcrowded mailboxes. Statista predicts around 376 billion emails a day for 2025 worldwide. Clear strategies are required to find hearing in this digital noise.
With concise lines immediately make it clear what it is about
Nathalia Davis, who, as an assistant, manages the emails for Rhonda Brandon, the Duke University Health System's HR, knows how important concise lines are. The reason for the email should already be clearly visible in the subject line: Do you request a résumé? Do you ask a question about hybrid work? Do you want to remind someone to give up an assessment?
Immediately clear what it is about helps to answer an email. Then people know what they see and what they have to do.
Instead of a general wording such as “request”, you should become concrete: “Meeting request: appointment for project discussion” or “urgent: feedback required for presentation”. As a result, the recipient knows immediately whether the message has a priority.
Clear and short instead of long and detailed
James Wilson, employee of the Duke University's HR department, has learned from his own experience: Long emails startle. At first he wrote detailed news with a lot of context, but quickly noticed that short, concise emails are more successful.
[…] Within my first year I started to see what worked and what didn't. Now I want to be quick and concise not to deal with the time of people too verbatim and respectfully.
According to communication expert Don Shortslef from Duke Learning & Organization Development, an email should not include more than 200 words. The ideal length is between 75 and 100 words.
It is also important to clearly structure the information, to accommodate the most important message in the first sentences and to use paragraphs for better readability. If additional information is necessary, these should be provided as an attachment or link.
At that point you have the greatest chance of success
When an email will be sent, your chances of success significantly influence. Wilson makes sure not to send important messages in the afternoon. After 3 p.m. the likelihood of getting another answer is falling on the same day, he said.
According to Duke Today, emails would be opened more often in the morning. So if you want to make sure that a message is noticed, you should send it early a day. Davis often writes his emails in the afternoon, but plans the shipping for the next morning.
Friendly memories are okay
Not every email is answered immediately. However, this does not mean that the message is ignored. According to Smith, a friendly memory is often helpful.
Many people are grateful for such “pings” or “nudges”. In the case of very employed people in particular, a memorial email can give the decisive impetus to process an inquiry. A polite, narrow memory after a few days is therefore completely fine.
Briefly summarized:
- Billions of emails are sent every day, but many go under in digital chaos.
- Experts recommend writing clear subject lines and concise texts, as well as sending an email in the morning and not in the afternoon to increase your success rates.
- Friendly memories can help to focus on overlooked or forgotten messages.
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