Some more alarming email stats for last year have just been published.

In 2012 the number of words composed in email was 41,368 per person – which is the equivalent of the average novel.

So if we are all writing the equivalent of an email novel every year – shouldn’t we think about our readers?

1. Title – we know that a Novel needs a good title to catch the reader’s eye – and to ensure it stands out on a very crowded bookshelf. The same applies to email –every email you send needs to have a meaningful subject line.

2. Plot – All the best novels have a fully developed plot line – emails need to make sense too. Make your emails short and to the point and avoid long waffly emails that do not make sense. No one will buy them!

3. Theme – emails should not be like detective novels – don’t keep the recipient guessing about what the email means – or what they are expected to do! Always make it clear what you would like the recipient of your emails to do. Reveal this at the beginning not the end.

4. Spelling and Grammar – novelists have Editors who ensure that the chapters are the correct length, add sense to the plot and that each word is spelled correctly. Be your own email editor and always check your emails before you send them.

Train yourself to create brilliant emails every time.