"Don't sweat the small stuff," the saying goes, but sending work emails may leave you doing just exactly that - sweating the small stuff. You may find yourself asking questions like “to use emojis or to not?” “Should I begin with a 'Dear' or a 'Hi,' or nothing at all?” “What about using 'Yours sincerely' or 'Cheers'?”
Unsurprisingly, sending work emails can be difficult for employees, especially when many are working entirely remotely. After all, a well-written email can mean the difference between a successful working relationship and potential confusion, insult, or conflict – all of which can be exacerbated if your co-workers aren't all working from the same location. Therefore, before you hit the send button on your next email, ensure you ask yourself, "Does my email etiquette require improvement?"
With that being said, the rules below are a must-follow when writing and sending a work email:
Avoid using vague or lengthy subject lines. If the subject line of your email says nothing about the content, why would the receiver be inclined to open it? In many cases, people open an email solely based on the subject line. Strong subject lines are brief, descriptive, and action-oriented whenever possible. "Board Meeting moved to Tuesday, 11/21," for example, is a more powerful subject line than "meeting date changed." The significance of a strong subject line cannot be overstated, especially if the email is being used for direct marketing. Always use a subject line that indicates to the recipient that you are addressing their business issues or other concerns.
There are three important boxes to tick for your email to be presented as professional:
Make use of a professional email address.
Obviously, you do not want your emails to be deleted. One of the best ways to avoid this is to avoid using a non-branded or nondescript address. If you are representing a company, you should always use the email address provided by your company. This is one of the most important outreaches marketing tips because it instantly makes you appear more credible and significantly improves email deliverability. However, if you use a private email address (whether as a freelancer or simply because you prefer it), you should exercise extreme caution when choosing your handle. If you are doing B2B marketing, your business email address should always include your name.
Include a professional email signature.
It makes sense to provide additional information about yourself or your company to your reader. An email signature typically contains your full name, title, company name, and contact information. You can also include some advertising, but don't go overboard with artwork, links, slogans, or quotes. To maintain a professional tone, keep your font, type size, and text colour consistent with the rest of your email.
Use formal greetings.
When it comes to email etiquette, it's critical to learn how to use professional greetings. When using casual greetings such as "Hey there" or "Hi everyone," use caution. While casual, friendly greetings are inappropriate in many types of emails, make sure you know who you're writing to and act (write) accordingly.
Keep an eye out for excessive humor or colloquialisms. Instead, keep your emails brief and as concise as possible. Some humor used over email can easily be lost in translation if it is not accompanied by the appropriate facial expressions or tone of voice. Unless you know the recipient very well, it is best to avoid all forms of humor in professional email exchanges. Also, something that you find amusing may not be amusing to someone else. In some cases, humor can appear rude or hurtful, so when in doubt, leave it out.
Punctuation is subtle when used correctly and obvious when used incorrectly. Don't make your recipients cringe; memorize and strictly adhere to basic — and non-basic punctuation guidelines. One of the most misused punctuations is the exclamation mark. Excessive exclamation points should be avoided.
If you're used to using exclamation points, keep them to a minimum when expressing your enthusiasm or excitement. Some people tend to overuse this punctuation mark, resulting in several exclamation points in a few sentences. This may make the writer appear immature or overly eager. Use them sparingly and only when necessary.
Make every effort to be precise and pay special attention when typing a name from your contacts list into the "To" line. Unfortunately, it is very easy to select the incorrect name, which can be embarrassing for both you and the person who receives the email by accident. Also, use CC and BCC in emails sparingly to avoid conversational clutter. In certain cases, perhaps, when beginning a new project or updating everyone, you may send an email to several people, including co-workers, clients, and your boss. Do not be afraid to move someone to BCC once they are no longer on a "need to know" basis. Everyone doesn't need to be in the loop at all times. Simply inform everyone, "I am moving *insert name(s)*to BCC."
It is unavoidable to make spelling or grammar errors now and then. However, if your emails are constantly littered with them, you have a problem: You appear unprofessional and as if you don't care about your job, which is not a good image to project to colleagues and clients. As a result, proofread every email before sending it, especially longer ones. It also doesn't hurt to have another colleague look over your email. Also, don't be afraid to use tools like Grammarly to catch any mistakes.
When it comes to business communication, it is best to keep your fonts, as well as the sizes and colors that go with them, simple and classic.
The most important rule to remember is that your messages should be easy to read. It is usually best to use an 11-point or 12-point font size and legible sans serif fonts like Calibri, New Times Roman, or Arial. Although it may appear monotonous, black is the most secure and easiest to read color option. Keep text highlighting, bolding, italics, and underlining to a minimum. When used, these effects can help make important information stand out, but they can also appear chaotic when overused.
Just as humor can be misconstrued, your writing tone can be easily misunderstood without the perspective that hearing your voice can provide. As a result, it's easy to come across as abrupt when you're just trying to be direct. Before sending your email, read it aloud. If it comes across as negative or rude to you, the reader will undoubtedly perceive it as such. If you want positive results, remember your basic manners: say "please" and "thank you," and avoid overly negative or dramatic language.
To round this up, ensure you respond to every mail you receive. Sure, it is difficult, but it is also good email etiquette to try.
