Hi First name / friend,

 

 

The email meme I shared the other week made me think of a habit that I, for one, have struggled to overcome: overusing exclamation points.

I think women, especially, tend to overdo punctuation marks.

 

Maybe it's because we're naturally more expressive. Maybe it's because we're conditioned to please people. Or maybe I'm being sexist. 

 

…Actually, I'm not. I just Googled it, and women do use more exclamation points, emojis, and nonstandard typographic practices than men.

 

But should we? Should any writer?

 

No. Unless your brand voice is particularly enthusiastic, you don't need to litter your copy with exclamation points. You'll still get your point across without them — and you won't risk looking naïve.

 

The next time you're about to hit “publish” on a post or “send” on an email, scan it for exclamation points. See if you can limit yourself to just one or two that really matter (if that). 

 

 

With a wink,

Sarah 😘