If you immediately launch into a request, or a sales pitch, they’re going to delete the email without a second thought.
You know as well as anybody that it’s kind of annoying to get an email from a total stranger, and you’ll likely open the email with an aggravated bias against the person who sent it. Sooner or later you’ll run into a situation where you have to email someone you haven’t met before-or at least someone you haven’t emailed before. Introduce yourself if you haven’t yet met. For help, see our post on subject lines for networking emails. Instead, opt for something like “Just checking in,” or “Lunch this Friday?” to add specificity and ensure your recipient will be able to judge the overall content of your message at a glance – and appropriately prioritize when to read it. Short subject lines like “Hello?” or “Lunch” are occasionally, but rarely, appropriate. The ideal subject line is 15 words or less, concise, and relevant to the message. If you send an email without a subject line, you’re essentially giving a subtle middle finger to everyone who falls into these categories-all so you can save a few seconds of writing. Still others rely on it for searching and organizing. Others use subject lines to quickly categorize and prioritize the emails in their inbox. Most people glance at the subject line of incoming emails to brace for what they can expect from the message. Use a concise, accurate subject line.įor the sake of all that is holy, don’t leave that subject line blank.
See our guide to professional email address ideas for help choosing the perfect email address! 2. A professional email address will make readers take your message more seriously, and show that you’re taking this seriously too. This is partially about making a good impression, and showing respect to the people you’re emailing, but it’s also about preventing your email from winding up in a spam folder. Your address somehow won’t have the same effect. The first rule of email etiquette is to use an appropriate email address-which usually means a style address, or something similarly tied to your company’s domain. Use an appropriate email address for yourself. Now let’s take a look at some of the most important email etiquette rules to follow, why you should follow them, and of course, how you can follow them without making an ass of yourself: 1. Seems pretty sensible, right? Email Etiquette Rules Etiquette requires you to think through your words. They tend to contain more errors (which lead to miscommunication), they often fall short of being comprehensive, and they indicate a lack of care on the part of the writer. Hasty messages are problematic for several reasons. Paying attention to others’ needs, acknowledging others’ statuses, and sending messages with consideration will improve your reputation and minimize the chance of offense or hurt feelings. Be respectful.Įmail etiquette is also about demonstrating respect-the foundation of any personal or professional relationship. Many etiquette rules are about minimizing wasted time for senders and recipients in other words, if your recipient has to spend an extra 10 minutes deciphering your meaning or taking action on your email, you messed something up and they’re probably going to be rightfully irritated with you. There’s no official rulebook or ancient tome for email etiquette, but almost every written or unwritten rule we follow falls into one of a few main categories.Įmail etiquette is all about adhering to these principles: Don’t waste peoples’ time.Įmail can be a graciously efficient medium, but it can also be an agonizingly tedious one. Train your team members in the art of email. Invite alternative means of communication if necessary. Articulate key action items and/or takeaways separately. Never send more than three follow-ups (unless specifically instructed otherwise). Do follow up with busy people (after 48 hours). Don’t share personal or confidential information. Understand that cultures write (and read) differently. Use a signature that includes your contact information. Greet and close in a way appropriate for your audience. Compress and/or resize attachments when you can. Don’t send more than three attachments on a single email without warning. Provide a warning if and when sending a large attachment. Follow the mutual relationship of reply speed and length. Reply within 1 business day (if you can). Always re-read emails before sending them. Use bullet points, lists, and paragraph breaks to make things easier on your readers. Use bold and italics to clarify meaning or draw attention. Don’t use all caps or exclamation points to make a point.
Keep your messages concise and to the point. Keep it to one email (thread) per subject. Respect the difference between “To” and “CC.”