EOM (End of Message): What It Means and How It Saves Time

Use it in emails to alert readers a message is over

EOM is short for "end of message." It's a quick and effective way to tell a reader that they've come to the end of the message, and there's nothing more. Using EOM is particularly helpful when sending emails.

How to Use EOM in Messages

Simply add EOM at the end of a subject, with or without parentheses. Try to keep the total character count to fewer than 40 characters to make sure that the last three letters will fit nicely.

If you include EOM at the end of an email's subject line (and the recipient knows what it means), they don't have to worry about opening the message to read anything in the body. EOM quickly explains that the entire message is in the subject line.

EOM example

A relatively recent use of EOM was in ASCII, the language of computers. Derived from Morse code, ASCII included EOM as a control character. Morse code for EOM is di-dah-di-dah-dit.

An alternative to EOM is SIM (Subject Is Message), but EOM is by far the most commonly understood indicator.

Pros and Cons of Using EOM

The advantages of using EOM in your emails might not be seen immediately but there are definitely measurable benefits:

Pros
  • Your message will almost certainly be communicated because most recipients will at least read the email's subject.

  • Keeping your message short enough for a subject line forces you to be concise and avoid unnecessary words, sign-offs, and salutations.

  • An EOM email helps you and your email recipients keep track of emails and follow threads.

  • The recipient saves time.

  • You will most likely receive a short email in reply, which can save even more time.

  • Because EOM messages must be short, they're easier to compose on your phone or another mobile device.

Cons
  • You might confuse people. If they don't know what EOM means, they'll probably check the message's body for an explanation or even reply to ask you what it means, which only serves to waste time rather than save it.

  • Some email services and programs might not treat the subject as expected. For example, if the subject is too long and the email program truncates it, the recipient might be confused because of the shortened subject and the empty body.


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