Email Best Practices

Know your audience 

1. Tailor content to the recipient. Adjust the tone and level of detail based on who you are emailing (e.g., faculty, staff, students, or administrators). Maintain professionalism but vary formality based on the relationship. 
2. Make sure you are following the Editorial Style Guide regardless of audience. 
3. Be inclusive. Ensure that your email is accessible to all recipients. Use plain language, especially for communications going to students or external shareholders. 

Be clear and concise 

1. State the purpose of the email early. Make your main objective or request clear in the subject line and within the first two sentences. 
2. Keep the content brief. Break up long sections of text with bullets and short paragraphs to enhance readability. 
3. Stick to one topic. Keep each email focused on a single issue or request whenever possible.

Write a strong subject line 

1. Ideally, the subject line should be seven words or less and encapsulate the purpose of the email. A clear subject will increase your email’s open rate. 
2. Be specific. A clear subject line helps the recipient prioritize the email. For example, “Meeting Agenda for September 15,” or “Reminder: Grade Submission Deadline Approaching.” 
3. If the email requires a response or action, try to include this in the subject line (e.g., “Action Required: Review Budget Proposal”). 

Maintain a professional tone 

1. Use appropriate titles such as “Professor,” or “Dean,” unless otherwise indicated. When in doubt, opt for formality. Refer to the Editorial Style Guide for more information.
2. Be mindful of language. Avoid slang, abbreviations, or overly casual language, especially when communicating with leadership or across departments. 
3. Review your message before sending. Proofreading helps ensure your message is clear, polished, and reflects the care behind your work. Always check emails for grammar, spelling, and tone.

Compatibility with dark mode

1. Almost 80% of people use dark mode on their devices, so it's important your email works well with it. 
2. Make sure that the font is shifting to a light color on the dark background and that all the visual components are properly visible for a dark or light background. 

Hyperlink best practices 

1. Use descriptive link text. The linked words should tell readers where the link goes or what action they are taking. Avoid vague phrases such as “click here,” “read more,” or “learn more” as stand-alone hyperlinked text. 
2. Link the meaningful words only. Avoid linking an entire sentence and avoid pasting long URLs into the body of an email unless the email is meant to be printed. 
3. Write links so they make sense out of context. Screen reader users may navigate by pulling up a list of links, so each link should be understandable on its own. 
4. Make calls to action clear and specific. For example, use “Register for the Data Governance session” instead of “Register here.” 

5. Check access and permissions. Make sure recipients can open the linked page, file, form, or video without running into a login or permission barrier. 
6. Test every link before sending. Open links on desktop and mobile, and check buttons and linked text in both light mode and dark mode when possible. 
7. Avoid too many competing links. When possible, include one primary call to action so readers know what to do next. 

Using visual content

Visual content is typically more engaging than text. Things like presentations, images, videos, or infographics are great visual content to help supplement your message. Design emails for scanning, not close reading. Research from Nielsen Norman Group found that users fully read only 19% of email newsletters and spent an average of just 51 seconds with a newsletter after opening it. Use visuals, headings, and short sections to guide readers quickly, but keep essential information in live text rather than embedded in images to support accessibility and readability.

Alternative text for images 

Alternative (alt) text descriptions provide visual details of an image written primarily for people who are visually impaired (inclusive of blind/low vision). It is read aloud to users by screen reader software and indexed by search engines. It also displays on the page if an image fails to load. This text should be different than the image description or caption below a photo. Alt text gives the user the most important basic information about what the image is and what it represents.

Alt text is typically attached to an image metadata or added in the “alt text” box on social media. It is usually only visible to screen readers, which read the alt text out loud or display it on a Braille display. Alt text is typically limited to 100-250 characters, though it’s recommended to keep alt text to around 125 characters.

What to include when writing alt text

The goal of alt text is to describe all relevant and important visual information to understand an image. While this information may not be relevant to every single type of image, some examples of details to include when writing alt text are:

• Type of image: Is it a cartoon? A bar chart? A photo? State the type of image that you are using.

• Text: All text that appears in the image (such as signage or headlines in your image) should be written verbatim in the alt text.

• Who is in the image: Provide a description of the person or people in the image. Include information such as race/ethnicity, gender, hair color, and an optional age/age range. If the image is of a well-known person, name them. When it comes to animals, write the species or breed name.

• Setting of the image: Where is this image being taken? Inside or outside? Is it in a classroom? A busy street surrounded by tall buildings? A concert? Is the subject standing in front of something? Knowing the setting of an image can help with providing additional context for what is going on.

• Color: When describing colors, use shade names such as cobalt blue, periwinkle, or burgundy. Shade names are helpful for providing more in-depth information. However, there’s no need to give shade names for every color in an image if color is not the main focus.

• Expressions and emotions: How does the subject (or subjects) look in the photo? Do they have a neutral expression? Are they smiling?

• Item locations and descriptions: When writing alt text, it helps to describe item locations from the top down and left to right in reference to the primary subject if there is one.

• Interesting details: What makes an image unique or interesting to look at? What additional descriptive information can help a user understand what is going on?

Emojis

Use emojis sparingly in emails. While they can add personality, they can also create accessibility issues for people using screen readers or viewing content with low vision.

Screen readers read emojis by announcing their Unicode description, which may interrupt the message or create confusion. For example, an emoji placed in the middle of a sentence will be read aloud as part of the sentence, which can make the content harder to follow.

To use emojis more accessibly:

• Use them sparingly. Too many emojis can make a message difficult to understand, especially for screen reader users.
• Do not use emojis in place of words. Emojis should support the message, not carry the meaning.
• Place emojis at the end of a sentence or message when possible. This helps avoid disrupting the flow for screen reader users.
• Choose emojis carefully. Some emojis have meanings that may not be obvious, may be interpreted differently across platforms, or may look too similar on small screens.
• Use the default yellow emoji when possible. Custom skin tones add extra screen reader description, such as “waving hand: light skin tone,” which can make the message harder to follow.
• Consider dark mode and low-vision users. Some emojis may be difficult to see or distinguish depending on screen settings.

Best practice: Emojis can add warmth or emphasis, but the email should still make complete sense without them.