Email: that thing that we have to have, but hate to have; that thing that can be perpetually annoying, yet so, so necessary.
As a yoga teacher, yoga studio manager, and yoga podcast host, I spend a lot of time on my email – both sending and receiving to other yogis and yoga business owners. Over the last couple years I’ve found that of all the people I work with, yoga teachers tend to have the worst email etiquette, and it’s about time we addressed that.
Here are 5 tips for better email etiquette:
1.Respond to emails in a timely fashion
Do: Respond within 24-48 hours of receiving an email.
Don’t: Take a week or longer to respond to an email that requires a response.
I know we can’t be perfect all the time, myself included, but taking a week to respond to an email is just too long. It signals that you are disorganized and that you don’t value other people’s time.
Tips to improve your response time:
If you struggle with responding in a timely fashion, set up a system for yourself where you schedule time in your day to just check emails. Make it a part of your day-to-day routine and make that non-negotiable. It’s a part of your business, so it should be a priority.
Mark emails that you can’t get back to in the moment that you receive them as important or as unread to ensure that you don’t forget to respond (because the only thing worse than taking a week to respond is just not responding at all).
If you get a lot of emails and you struggle to stay organized, set an auto responder on your email that lets people know that it may be a few days before your respond. This signals that although you are busy, you respect that other people are busy too and you will get back to them eventually.
2. Use proper grammar
Do: Write in full sentences, proof read your emails, and ensure that you are using proper grammar.
Don’t: Send emails like you would text your friends.
This is probably one of my biggest email pet peeves. Sending emails with abbreviations like “u” and “r” is completely inappropriate. No one wants to spend their precise time deciphering a poorly worded email, so please, please just send an email with proper grammar and full sentences, clearly communicating what you want. Sending a grammatically incorrect email signals that you don’t respect that person who is taking time out of their day to read your email, and that you don’t take yourself seriously enough to spend 5 extra minutes composing a grammatically correct email.
Tips for sending emails with good grammar:
We all make spelling errors and typos, but this can easily be avoided 99% of the time by proofreading your email before hitting send. It will take a max of 5 minutes more to re-read and edit your email and it can make a world of difference for the person who is receiving that email.
Write in full sentences, and clearly communicating what you want. Emails with incomplete sentences and poor grammar do not communicate professionalism, and the last thing the yoga industry needs is more unprofessionalism. If you struggle with your grammar and punctuation, spend time writing and reading more, or download an app like Grammarly that will do all of that for you!
3. Make a clear ask
Do: Communicate clearly what you want.
Don’t: Make a vague suggestion like “maybe we can collaborate on a project”. Seriously, what do you want?
Tips for making a clear ask:
Straight talk. The English language is very flowery and we are trained to make passive asks, but this can be both confusion and annoying via email. If you want to teach a guest class, ask for it. If you want to run a workshop at a studio, send a clear pitch with what you want to run. Stop dodging around what you actually want in hopes that the recipient of the email will read your mind and just offer it to you.
Don’t be afraid to be to the point and to ask what you want. The word “no” can be scary, but if someone doesn’t know what you want, it’s actually much harder for them to say “yes” which is what we’re all looking for, isn’t it?
4. Email formatting
Do: Take time to set up an aesthetically pleasing email before you hit send.
Don’t: Shoot off a one-liner without any formatting
Examples of email formats:
A well-formatted email that I would appreciate receiving:
Dear Amanda,
I am a yoga teacher based out of Costa Rica, and I will be traveling through Canmore on July 12th. I was wondering if you would be interested in having me teach a guest class. I teach a vinyasa flow, and am available anytime during the day.
I have attached my yoga teacher resume so you can learn a little bit more about me.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Awesome yoga teacher with great email etiquette
A poorly formatted email that would make me cringe:
Hey, I’m coming through your town on July 12th and would like to teach at your studio.
Do you see the difference? The first one feels inviting, friendly and like something that I would enjoy receiving AND responding to, while the second one makes me want to hit delete.
Why? It doesn’t demonstrate that you’ve done any research about my studio (it doesn’t even include my name!), you’ve told me nothing about yourself or why I should trust you to come teach at my studio, and it doesn’t have any aesthetic appeal.
Formatting matters.
5. Subject Lines & Signatures
Do: Have a relevant subject line with proper grammar, and a signature that lets people know who you (the sender of the email) are
Don’t: Send emails without a subject line and without signing off with your first AND last name (at least for the first email)
It is important to have a clear and concise subject line that has proper grammar and makes your reader curious and excited to open your email. It is also important to sign off your email with your first and last name at the very least. I also like to include my position and my website information, but that is not necessary as long as you have included your name.
For example:
Subject line: Inquiry about Guest Teacher July 12th
Signature:
Amanda Kingsmith
RYT, 200
www.mbomyoga.com
vs.
No subject line
No signature
Which one demonstrates a higher level of professionalism and is someone that you want to respond to (and maybe even hire)?
6. Appropriate Email Address
Do: Have an email address that includes your name
Don’t: Have an email address that was appropriate when you were 12
If you want to be taken seriously in the yoga world (and in the professional world in general), you should have an email address that relates to your name, your yoga brand, or your yoga studio. For example, my email addresses are akingsmith@gmail.com (first initial + last name) and info@mbomyoga.com (info + the name of my business).
Unless you are 12, it is time to get rid of prettyprincess14, coolchix3, funkyfeet4 (that was mine!), or whatever variation you once thought was cool. These types of email addresses demonstrate a high level of unprofessionalism, and like I mentioned before, we are trying to be more professional and to be taken seriously in the yoga industry.
Do you have an email pet peeve that I didn’t address? Or a question about how you can up your email game? Send me an email at info@mbomyoga.com – I would love to hear from you!
Happy emailing!
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Thanks for this article Amanda – very helpful indeed. Agree with all the points but the one thing that I would underline around email formatting is for people to concise. No-one wants to read endless paragraphs that have no point.
The other thing I’d say is that all the above is even more important for people who have an email list and a sequence of emails that goes out from THEM to their audience. If someone from your audience replies to one of your emails then it is sacrilege for you not to reply to them; you reached out to them in the first instance remember!
Keep up the good work.