Your Guide to Professional E-mail Etiquette

Writing professional e-mails can be different from the e-mails that you send to your friends. There are some guidelines that you should pay attention to. You better not underestimate it as you e-mail behavior can cost your reputation both personally and professionally. To avoid that, follow the guidelines below to perfect your e-mail etiquette.

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Use a professional salutation

Using “Hey” isn’t professional, no matter how well you know the recipient. “Hey” is a very informal salutation and generally it shouldn’t be used in the workplace. You can use “Hi” or “Hello” instead. To be more formal, use “Dear (insert name).” Using the person’s name in the salutation. Remember not to shorten a person's name unless you're given permission to do so.

Briefly introduce yourself

The next e-mail etiquette is to introduce yourself in the body e-mail. Do not assume the recipient of your e-mail knows who you are, or remembers meeting you. Try to include a simple reminder of who you are in relation to the person you are reaching out to; a formal and extensive biography of yourself is not necessary.

Be clear in your subject line

Your e-mail’s recipient may get hundreds of e-mails in his inbox and your e-mail has to compete with those. So, it's very crucial that your subject line gets to the point. It should be simple and descriptive of what you’ve written about. The clearer your subject line, the more likely your message will be read.

Keep it short

It’s not only your subject line that has to gets to the point but also your body e-mail. Make sure when you look at what you're sending it doesn't look like a burden to read. Do not intimidate recipients with too much text. Let your message be easy to read so that the recipient will not have to dig through several paragraphs in order to figure out what you're asking. It’s okay to use bullet points. You should state the purpose of the e-mail within the first two sentences.

Punctuation matters

Although e-mail is a simple method of communication, using a proper punctuation is a must. Punctuation carries much of this suggested interpretation of the words. If you omit it completely or place punctuation marks sloppily, the reader can be puzzled or, worse, misinterpret what you write. In addition, try to avoid using to many exclamation mark as it will look unprofessional but hyperbole.

Proofread your e-mail

Never skip this step! This is the most important e-mail etiquette. Make sure to take some time to proofread your e-mail. Believe it or not, you can be judged by the way you write an e-mail. For example, if your email is littered with misspelled words and grammatical errors, you may be perceived as sloppy, careless, or even uneducated. Don’t rely only on the spelling and autocorrect function. Read the email to check for spelling, grammar, and word usage errors.