Do you ever wonder if your emails are hitting the mark or just ticking people off? It’s possible that you’re unknowingly breaking some key rules of business email etiquette. We’ve seen it all – the good, the bad, and the ugly – and we’ve put together some guidelines to help you nail your email communications.
1. Get the Greeting and Closing Right:
Your email should start and end on the right note. A survey found that almost half of professionals prefer emails that start with "Hi". Other popular greetings include "Good morning/afternoon", "Hello", and "Dear". As for closing your emails, "Kind regards", "Thanks or thanks again", "Regards", "Thanks in advance", and "Best wishes" are preferred. Avoid ending your emails with "Love", "Warmly", or no sign-off at all.
2. Don’t Leave People Hanging:
If you can’t respond to an email right away, let the sender know you’ve received it and will get back to them later. If you’re going to be out of the office for a while, set up an out-of-office reply so people aren’t left wondering.
3. Limit Acronyms and Jargon:
Before you use business abbreviations, acronyms, or jargon in your emails, think about whether your audience will understand them. Overusing acronyms can confuse people and reduce clarity.
4. Only Use ‘Reply All’ When Necessary:
When you receive an email that includes several people, consider whether your response is relevant to everyone before hitting ‘reply all’. This can save everyone’s time and avoid potential embarrassment.
5. Use the Undo Send Feature:
Some email clients, like Gmail, allow you to undo sending an email for up to 30 seconds. This can be a lifesaver if you spot a mistake or have second thoughts about your message.
6. Wait 24 Hours Before Sending Emotional Messages:
If you’re tempted to send an angry or emotional email, take a step back and wait a day to clear your head. Work-related emails should be free of negative emotion.
7. Avoid Using All Caps:
67% of people find messages written in all caps off-putting. It’s perceived as shouting, which is generally unwelcome. Use sentence case instead.
8. Keep it Short:
Almost a third of people don’t have the patience for long emails. Respect people’s time by using short paragraphs and bullet points to make your emails easy to skim.
9. A Clear Subject Line is a Must:
Your subject line should accurately reflect the content of your email. This is a courtesy to the recipient and can make the difference between your email being opened or ignored.
10. Don’t Share Confidential Information:
Emails are easy to forward and share, or accidentally send to the wrong person, making them a risky choice for sensitive content. Use secure, encrypted channels for sensitive exchanges.
11. Use Humor with Caution:
Humor and tone can be difficult to decipher in emails, potentially leading to misunderstandings or offense. Only use jokes if you’re sure the recipient will appreciate the humor.
12. Limit Emoji and Emoticons:
Keep emoji, smileys, and emoticons to conversations with friends and close co-workers. They can come across as unprofessional or too casual in business communications.
13. Don’t Be Hasty with Reminders:
Give the recipient a day or two to respond before sending reminders. Also, check your junk or spam folder before sending reminders.
14. Be Careful with BCC:
BCC is good etiquette if you want to inform others in your organization and protect their contact details. But it can be bad etiquette if you’re being devious and going behind a coworker’s back.
15. Add a Personal Message When Forwarding:
When you need to forward an email, add an introduction at the top to clarify the relevance and ensure the recipient understands the context.
16. Add the Email Address Last:
Start with the subject and content before adding email addresses. This will prevent you from accidentally sending it too early.
17. Have a Clear Call to Action:
Be clear about what you want the recipient to do with your message. Many emails are vague about what the recipient is being asked to do.
18. Include Contact Information:
23% of email users say it’s poor etiquette not to have an email signature block. Include relevant information like your phone number, company website, and social media handles.
19. Stick to Black and White:
Avoid using unique font colors and background patterns in your emails. Classic black and white is the easiest to read.
20. Limit Exclamation Points:
Exclamation marks should be used sparingly in professional email. 16% say this punctuation mark is unacceptable while 48% will tolerate only one per email.
21. Proofread:
Take a minute to proofread and spell check before sending so you can catch any potential errors.
22. Know When to Be Formal:
Keep things more formal with those you’re emailing for the first time. Formality shows respect and is less likely to be misinterpreted.
23. Don’t Forget to Attach:
If you say you’re attaching something, make sure you actually do it. Also, name your attachments appropriately if there are several.
24. Consider Different Cultures and Languages:
If you’re corresponding with individuals from different cultures or backgrounds, consider that when crafting your responses.
25. Start a New Email Chain for New Subjects:
Start a new chain for each new subject to keep your conversations organized. Avoid hitting reply all when you only need to message one or two recipients on an email chain.
