Email Etiquete in the Real World

Emails, they are everywhere these days from lengthy ones to family members, to short ones within the business community.  In the business world, they can be a way of introducing ourselves to new clients or send messages to current clients.  But given our busy world and most people’s short attention span these days how can you pack maximum punch into minimum words in your business emails?

Business etiquette on an email is as necessary  as in its snail mail letters predecessor.  Emails these days seem to be taken as more casual than the regular everyday business letter since it has qualities of immediacy, availability and ease of use, but this doesn’t make any less professional than its snail mail counterpart.

Short emails that are right to the point are generally best.  Ones that are grammatically correct with proper spelling are a necessity as well as per any for of communication, but there are a few things that can only pertain to emails.

The subject line is one of the most important part of your email.  Before it is open, the subject line is the attention grabber so just a hi or a hello often won’t do.  It’s best to summarize your subject in one sentence and use that in the subject line.

Although the email is less formal, make sure to personalize it.  Write ‘Dear Bob’ just as you would a letter.  Also, I can’t emphasize enough to check spelling and grammar (most programs have spell and grammar checks – use em!)

Another thing that I read about emails that made me chuckle was don’t write anything in an email that you don’t want to see up on a billboard, meaning that once it leaves your box, you never know where it will end up.  When previewing your email before sending, make sure the person you are sending it to, that their address is complete; you have put in all the attachments you want to send; your tone is professional, your spelling and grammar are correct and that you have all the information in that is required.

Emails are a quick way of making a first, second or third impression and can be a powerful business tool when used correctly.  The women who use email correctly will see the positive end result.