In the fast-paced digital world email has become an essential tool for communication. However, the convenience of email can sometimes lead to negligence and unprofessional behavior. That’s where email etiquette comes in.
In this article, we will explore the definition and importance of email etiquette and provide valuable tips to enhance your email communication skills. We’ll cover everything from crafting a compelling subject line to using proper greetings and signatures.
So, let’s get started
What is Email Etiquette?
Email etiquette refers to principles for socially and professionally acceptable email communication. It contains language, structure, grammar, and tone, depending on the recipient and context, such as professional or personal emails.
Why is Email Etiquette Important?
Email etiquette allows you to communicate better and build a sustainable relationship with the recipient. Talking in person versus communicating over email is entirely different therefore one phrase in the incorrect context could damage your communications or brand.
Therefore following proper email etiquette while writing emails is crucial because it enables you to convey your message. It also enables you to achieve the following:
- Professionalism: You and your organization will build a professional image utilizing proper email language.
- Efficiency: It allows you to enhance your communication skills. Emails which get to the point are much more helpful than poorly conveyed emails.
- Clarity of expression: Use an appropriate tone to avoid misinterpretation or misunderstanding.
- Protection from liability: Awareness of email stakes will save you and your organization from expensive lawsuits.
15 Email Etiquette Tips You Must know
1. Use a precise subject line.
People often determine to open an email based purely on the subject line. Strong subject lines are concise, descriptive, and, whenever possible, action-oriented.
For instance, “Board Meeting moved to Tuesday, 11/21” is a more robust subject line than “meeting date changed.”
The significance of having a strong subject line cannot be stressed enough, mainly if the email is being used for direct marketing purposes. Always select a subject line to let the receiver understand you’re addressing their business problems or other concerns.
2. Consider using a professional email address.
The last thing you want is to have your emails deleted. One of the best ways to ensure that doesn’t happen is to refrain from using a non-branded or nondescript address.
If you represent a company, always use the email address your company provided. This instantly makes you look more credible and enhances email deliverability substantially. Therefore, be mindful while selecting your professional email address.
However, when choosing your handle, you should be careful if you use a private email address (whether you are a freelancer or prefer to use it).
If you are into B2B marketing, your business email address should always show your name so the recipient can learn where it came from and who they should reply to.
3. Be careful with “reply-all” button
No one likes to open or read emails that have nothing to do with them, their unit, or their responsibilities.
Ignoring irrelevant emails can be challenging, and the redundant alerts can be annoying if we’re trying to concentrate on other tasks.
Avoid hitting “reply all” unless you are sure everyone on the list must receive the reply. Also, use CC and BCC in emails to avoid conversational clutter.
4. Use professional greetings
It’s essential to understand how to use professional greetings regarding email etiquette.
Be cautious when greeting casually, such as “Hey there” or “Hi everyone.” While casual, friendly greetings are suitable in many emails, ensure you know your audience.
5. Add a professional email signature.
Professional email signatures are among the most critical email etiquette and can increase ROI rates if you’re engaged in marketing campaigns. Providing your reader with additional information about you or your company makes sense.
Usually, an email signature contains your full name, title, company name, and contact information.
You can include some publicity but stay moderate with artwork, links, slogans, or quotes. Keep your font, type size, and text color the same as the rest of your email to establish a professional tone.
6. Do not use excessive exclamation points.
If you use too many exclamation points, limit them when describing your enthusiasm or excitement.
Some people tend to overuse this punctuation mark and end up using many exclamation points in the span of a few sentences. This may make the writer sound extremely eager or even immature. Use them properly and only when it is relevant.
7. Be careful when using humor.
Without the corresponding facial expressions or tone of voice, humor over email can easily get mislaid in translation. It is better to avoid humor in professional email exchanges unless you know the receiver well.
Also, it is possible that something you find funny but not amusing to someone else. Sometimes, humor can even appear rude or hurtful, so it’s best not to use it when in doubt.
8. Try to reply to all your emails.
The dramatic shifts we’ve experienced post-COVID-19 pandemic have led to significant transformations in how we conduct business. Workplace communication is changing dramatically, and how we utilize our email is a perfect example.
It’s difficult to answer every email you receive, but it’s good email etiquette to at least try. This involves emails sent to you accidentally: a reply is not required, but it’s always good email etiquette.
Even something short will be sufficient: “I know you’re busy, but I believe you have mistakenly sent this email to me. I wanted to inform you so you could send it to the right individual.”
9. Always proofread before pressing send.
Don’t rely solely on your standard spell checker. Your email recipients will probably notice mistakes, and while the occasional typo happens to everyone, repeated errors and misspellings can look messy.
Just like autocorrect, you can’t always count spell-checkers. Therefore, use software that checks your spelling and makes contextual corrections.
10. Keep your fonts simple and readable.
Every font has its position and time, but it is better to keep your fonts and their appropriate sizes and colors simple and classic in business communication.
The most essential rule is that your message’s readability should be good. It is usually best to go for 11-point or 12-point font size and an easy-to-read sans serif such as Calibri, Helvetica, or Arial.
It may appear unattractive, but black is the safest and easiest-to-read choice regarding color. Try to keep text emphasizing and use of bolding, italics, and highlighting to a minimum.
These effects can support you to make significant information stand out but must be clearer when used too frequently.
11. Segment your email communications
One of the best methods to personalize your communications is to segment your email list. A segmentation feature should be available with any email marketing software you use.
Segmenting your email lists makes it more comfortable for you to target your campaigns based on your customer groups, letting you make your messages more tailored to your recipients.
12. Consider your tone
Similar to humor, the tone of your writing can be easily misinterpreted without the context of hearing your voice. Therefore, it’s easy to come across as abrupt when simply trying to be straightforward.
Read your email out loud before sending it. If it comes across as hostile or impolite to you, the reader will sense it that way. If you want positive results, remember your primary manners: say “please” and “thank you,” and try not to use too negative or dramatic words.
13. Add the email address after you’ve drafted the message.
To avoid accidentally sending an email before you finish typing and proofreading the message, it’s email etiquette to type your email first, then add the recipient’s email address when ready to send the message.
14. Double-check the recipient addresses.
Be authentic and pay special attention when you type a name from your contacts list on the “To” line. It’s, unfortunately, easy to choose the wrong name, which can be awkward for you and the person obtaining the email by accident.
15. Consider how cultural differences can impact your communication.
Email marketing is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach a broad spectrum of people, and it’s easy to set up. But it can easily lead to miscommunication due to cultural differences, particularly when your recipient needs help noticing your facial expression or body language.
It’s a good idea to customize your message to the cultural context of your desired recipient.
Remember, there will likely be time zone discrepancies you must consider, and send your email at the right time.
Conclusion
Email has become a significant part of our lives. An average person receives over 8,000 emails monthly, and the average business sends an email every 3 minutes.
To leverage it at its best and avoid any unprofessional communication make sure you follow these etiquettes. This email etiquette blog is designed to help you improve your communication and establish better relationships.
FAQ’s
What is email etiquette?
Email etiquette refers to principles for socially and professionally acceptable email communication. It contains language, structure, grammar, and tone, depending on the recipient and context, such as professional or personal emails.
Why is email etiquette important?
Email etiquette allows you to communicate better and build a sustainable relationship with the recipient. Talking in person versus communicating over email is entirely different therefore one phrase in the incorrect context could damage your communications or brand.
What are a few email etiquette tips?
Here are a few email etiquette tips:
- Use a clear subject line
- Always proofread your emails before hitting the send button.
- Keep your fonts simple and readable.
- Consider your tone.
- Double check the recipient email address.
