Ten Quick Tips on Writing a Professional Email

1. Always fill in the subject line with a topic that means something to your
reader. Not "Decals" or "Important!" but "Deadline for New Paring Decals."
!. Put your main point in the opening sentence. "ost readers won#t stic around
for a surprise ending.
$. Ne%er begin a message with a %ague "&his"''as in "&his needs to be done by
()**." Always specify what you#re writing about.
+. Don#t use A,, -API&A,. /no shouting!01 or all lower'case letters either
/unless you#re e. e. cummings0.
(. As a general rule1 P,2 a%oid te3tspea /abbre%iations and acronyms0) you
may be 456,5, /rolling on the floor laughing out loud01 but your reader may
be left wondering 787& /what#s up with that0.
9. :e brief and polite. If your message runs longer than two or three short
paragraphs1 consider /a0 reducing the message1 or /b0 pro%iding an attachment.
:ut in any case1 don#t snap1 growl1 or bar.
;. 4emember to say "please" and "than you." And mean it. "&han you for
understanding why afternoon breas ha%e been eliminated" is prissy and petty.
It#s not polite.
<. Add a signature bloc with appropriate contact information /in most cases1
your name1 business address1 and phone number1 along with a legal disclaimer
if re=uired by your company0. Do you need to clutter the signature bloc with
a cle%er =uotation and artwor> Probably not.
?. @dit and proofread before hitting "send." Aou may thin you#re too busy to
sweat the small stuff1 but unfortunately your reader may thin you#re a careless
dolt.
1*. 6inally1 reply promptly to serious messages. If you need more than !+ hours to
collect information or mae a decision1 send a brief response e3plaining the
delay.
&hese are some guidelines. Not all need to be followed for e%ery audience1 as the
person emailing you can determine which rule fits best.
1. 4eturn emails within the same timeframe you return phone calls. &his may
not always be realistic but people want to now youB%e recei%ed their
correspondence.
!. Include the action you require of the recipient in the email subject line. 6or
e3ample1 C4esponse re=uired or 6AI onlyB
$. Check for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors. 8se capital letters
sparingly1 if at all1 because DtoneB canBt also be detected in an email.
+. 8se an appropriate font and point size.
(. 7rite in a positive tone. A%oid negati%e words and blaming statements as
much as possible.
9. 7hen sending an attachment mention whats !eing attached and mae sure
itBs sent. If you realiEe you forgot to send it1 re'send with an apology
;. "eliver the news upfront1 whether in a subject line or within the first
sentence if possible. Fery few people ha%e time to read stories.
<. Think a!out what youre writing !efore you hit the #send !utton. 4ead
your message twice and see if the email maes sense. -alm down before
responding to a message that offends you.
?. As much as possible avoid #reply all when emailing.
1*. "o not send huge attachments with emails. ItBs better to upload on a shared
networ resource and send people a lin. &hat way messages donBt get stuc
or clog up business systems
11. "ae sure the proper recipients are on the email and mae sure you get the
names right /donBt write Geith when you mean Genneth0.
1!. If things become heated1 misunderstandings will probably occur. &here are
times a phone call may !e needed to smooth things o%er.
Huidelines for 7riting Professional @'mail
NII 5ffice of Intramural &raining and @ducation
December !*1*
.ubject line
Pro%ide clear1 specific subject lines that help the sender identify what he or she
must do. 6or e3ample1 if you want someone to appro%e a funding re=uest1 try
this) "Please appro%e .," spectrophotometer purchase." Put ey information
at the beginning1 limiting te3t to fi%e words when possible.
"odify the subject line when appropriateJ do not continue using the original
subject in your reply /or replies0 if the subject has changed. Alternately1 start a
new e'mail if the subjectKrecipients ha%e changed andKor if the e'mail string is
unmanageably long.
HreetingK.alutation
8se "Dear1" title1 and last name. 6or e3ample1 use "Dear Dr. .mith1" but N5&
"Dear Dr. 4honda .mith1" "Dear 4honda .mith1" "Dear .mith1" or "Dear Dr.
4honda." At the NII1 use "Dr." if you are unsure how the person should be
addressed.
If someone signs an e'mail with his or her first name1 you ha%e permission to
address that person by first name in subse=uent e'mails.
:ody of @'mail
:e clear about whether you need something from the recipient. Is this e'mail
just to gi%e someone information1 or do you need a reply>
,imit the message to one subject. If you need to raise multiple issues1 clearly
state this in the first line or in the .ubject line. @3ample /in the body of the e'
mail0) "Please see below for two =uestions about our proposal." Aou may also
wish to number a series of =uestions or issues to mae it easier for the
recipient to read and respond.
Geep it short. People may be reading e'mails on mobile de%ices and may not
scroll past the first screen.
-losing
Include a friendly closing. ".incerely" may be too formal for a regular
business communication1 so consider other closings1 such as the following)
4egards1 :est regards1 :est wishes1 &hans1 and Ia%e a great weeend /if the
weeend is coming!0
"iscellaneous suggestions
4ead and edit your e'mails before sending them. .pell'chec is not always enough.
.ometimes1 reading them aloud can help you see what you may ha%e forgotten or
what is hard to understand.
.end messages &5 the indi%iduals you want to tae actionJ -- those who just
need to now what is going on.
8se ":--" when you are writing to a large group and don#t need all the
recipients to see e%eryone else who recei%ed the message.
8se "reply all" carefully and remo%e those from the list who don#t need to see
the reply.
7hen naming attachments1 be sure the name is professional and meaningful.
4e'sa%e a file with a different name1 if necessary1 for the purposes of e'mailing
it.
A%oid religious comments in both signatures and in the body of the e'mail.
6or urgent matters1 respond within !+ hours or apologiEe for the delay. If you
are out of the office or inaccessible1 create an "out of office" message.
4eser%e "urgent" /urgent e'mails are mared by an "!"in "icrosoft 5utloo0
for truly urgent or time'sensiti%e matters. De'select "!" when replying to an
urgent re=uest if the situation is no longer urgent.
10 Rules for Professional Email Etiquette
Posted on "arch !11 !*1! by ,indsey &yner
7hile email is an established form of communication1 its immediate and relati%ely
non'intrusi%e nature can mae it easy to ignore basic eti=uette. &his is especially true
in the professional realm. &his month1 we are offering 1* simple email eti=uette
reminders.
$% "o not forward chain letters
7hether it is dirty joes1 cute pets1 or nai%e hoa3es1 chain emails are simply
inappropriate. 7ho wants to recei%e an email from a professional contact that is full
of funny cat photos> 5r a chain email that threatens that something bad will happen if
it isnBt forwarded> &hese emails ser%e as nothing but a distraction. 7hile some of
these emails seem cute or funny1 they arenBt professional and more importantly they
mae you loo unprofessional too.
&% 'espond to group emails appropriately
7eB%e all done this at least once on accident. &here is a difference between the
CreplyL button and the Creply allL button when responding to an email and if youBre
part of a group message which one you choose can mae a huge difference. If you do
hit Creply allL mae sure the email is rele%ant to the entire group. 5therwise you may
end up writing something you wish a few of them ne%er read. In addition to the
CoopsL factor1 replying to all can generate a lot of email replies which juns up
e%eryones inbo3.
(% )se actual English
&e3t message or chat room short hand is almost ne%er acceptable %ia email messages1
especially in a professional en%ironment. 7hile this shorthand may sa%e a second or
two in typing1 it can come off e3tremely unprofessional and e%en mae you loo
childish or illiterate. @mailing from your mobile should be no e3ception.
*% )tilize CC and +CC properly
8sing these tools can sa%e time and ser%e as proof a message has been sent. -arbon
copy /or C--L0 sends a copy of your message to this third party and blind carbon
copy /or C:--L0 will send a copy to the third party but without the other recipients
being able to see that. 7hen sending an email to a group of people that may not now
each other1 us :-- in an effort to eep the names and email addresses pri%ate.
,% +e careful what you say
@%ery email is sa%ed1 e%en if the recipient deleted the message from their inbo3.
@mails also tend to get forwarded and replies are sa%ed in an email thread. .o be
careful of what you say because it could come bac to bite you! Also1 itBs easy to
forget that there is an actual human being on the other end of the computer. Anger and
frustration are can still come accross through email messages. &ae an hour or a day
to respond to an upsetting message so you donBt say something youBll regret.
-% "ont !e a spammer
:ul email messages can be impersonal or uninteresting. If you are sending out
information such as a newsletter1 be mindful of fre=uency and always allow the user
to unsubscribe.
.% 'espect 'ecipients Time
ItBs a good idea to minimiEe the time it will tae the recipient to process and respond
to your email. .ometimes this re=uires more time on your end to send the email1 but
doing so will ensure that you get a timely and rele%ant response.
/% Clarify
@ffecti%e communication is difficult enough1 but when you detract the physical
human interaction and remo%e the subtleties of spoen language1 meaning can be
e3tremely confusing. 8se crisp1 muddle'free sentences. If the email has to be longer
than fi%e sentences1 mae sure the first pro%ides the basic reason for writing. It is also
a good idea to a%oid strange fonts and colors for legibility.
0% 1eep signatures simple
8sing an automatic signature for your email messages is encouraged. Iowe%er1 long
email signatures tend to muddle up a message thread. &ypically your name1 basic
contact information1 position1 and maybe a website lin are all you need.
$2% 3ose the unnecessary attachments
,etBs face it1 professionals and business owners lo%e to see our logos. :ut in email
logos in your signature appear as attachments. &ime is wasted trying to see if thereBs
something to open. Also1 sending te3t as an attachment when it could ha%e been
included in the body of the email1 increases the amount of time it taes to read.
&he rules of email eti=uette are fairly simple1 but sometimes they are easy to forget.
Must remember to always respect the recipient and stay professional!
Why do you need email etiquette?
A company needs to implement eti=uette rules for the following three reasons)
Professionalism) by using proper email language your company will con%ey a
professional image.
@fficiency) emails that get to the point are much more effecti%e than poorly worded
emails.
Protection from liability) employee awareness of email riss will protect your
company from costly law suits.
&op
What are the etiquette rules?
&here are many eti=uette guides and many different eti=uette rules. .ome rules will
differ according to the nature of your business and the corporate culture. :elow we
list what we consider as the $! most important email eti=uette rules that apply to
nearly all companies.
(& most important email etiquette tips4
1. :e concise and to the point
!. Answer all =uestions1 and pre'empt further =uestions
$. 8se proper spelling1 grammar N punctuation
+. "ae it personal
(. 8se templates for fre=uently used responses
9. Answer swiftly
;. Do not attach unnecessary files
<. 8se proper structure N layout
?. Do not o%eruse the high priority option
1*. Do not write in -API&A,.
11. Don#t lea%e out the message thread
1!. Add disclaimers to your emails
1$. 4ead the email before you send it
1+. Do not o%eruse 4eply to All
1(. "ailings O use the bcc) field or do a mail merge
19. &ae care with abbre%iations and emoticons
1;. :e careful with formatting
1<. &ae care with rich te3t and I&", messages
1?. Do not forward chain letters
!*. Do not re=uest deli%ery and read receipts
!1. Do not as to recall a message.
!!. Do not copy a message or attachment without permission
!$. Do not use email to discuss confidential information
!+. 8se a meaningful subject
!(. 8se acti%e instead of passi%e
!9. A%oid using 84H@N& and I"P54&AN&
!;. A%oid long sentences
!<. Don#t send or forward emails containing libelous1 defamatory1 offensi%e1 racist or
obscene remars
!?. Don#t forward %irus hoa3es and chain letters
$*. Geep your language gender neutral
$1. Don#t reply to spam
$!. 8se cc) field sparingly
$% +e concise and to the point%
Do not mae an e'mail longer than it needs to be. 4emember that reading an e'mail is
harder than reading printed communications and a long e'mail can be %ery
discouraging to read.
&op
&% 5nswer all questions, and pre6empt further questions%
An email reply must answer all =uestions1 and pre'empt further =uestions P If you do
not answer all the =uestions in the original email1 you will recei%e further e'mails
regarding the unanswered =uestions1 which will not only waste your time and your
customerBs time but also cause considerable frustration. "oreo%er1 if you are able to
pre'empt rele%ant =uestions1 your customer will be grateful and impressed with your
efficient and thoughtful customer ser%ice. Imagine for instance that a customer sends
you an email asing which credit cards you accept. Instead of just listing the credit
card types1 you can guess that their ne3t =uestion will be about how they can order1 so
you also include some order information and a 84, to your order page. -ustomers
will definitely appreciate this.
&op
(% )se proper spelling, grammar 7 punctuation%
&his is not only important because improper spelling1 grammar and punctuation gi%e a
bad impression of your company1 it is also important for con%eying the message
properly. @'mails with no full stops or commas are difficult to read and can sometimes
e%en change the meaning of the te3t. And1 if your program has a spell checing
option1 why not use it>
&op
*% 8ake it personal%
Not only should the e'mail be personally addressed1 it should also include personal
i.e. customiEed content. 6or this reason auto replies are usually not %ery effecti%e.
Iowe%er1 templates can be used effecti%ely in this way1 see ne3t tip.
&op
,% )se templates for frequently used responses%
.ome =uestions you get o%er and o%er again1 such as directions to your office or how
to subscribe to your newsletter. .a%e these te3ts as response templates and paste these
into your message when you need them. Aou can sa%e your templates in a 7ord
document1 or use pre'formatted emails. @%en better is a tool such as 4eply"ate for
5utloo /allows you to use 1* templates for free0.
&op
-% 5nswer swiftly%
-ustomers send an e'mail because they wish to recei%e a =uic response. If they did
not want a =uic response they would send a letter or a fa3. &herefore1 each e'mail
should be replied to within at least !+ hours1 and preferably within the same woring
day. If the email is complicated1 just send an email bac saying that you ha%e recei%ed
it and that you will get bac to them. &his will put the customer#s mind at rest and
usually customers will then be %ery patient!
&op
.% "o not attach unnecessary files%
:y sending large attachments you can annoy customers and e%en bring down their e'
mail system. 7here%er possible try to compress attachments and only send
attachments when they are producti%e. "oreo%er1 you need to ha%e a good %irus
scanner in place since your customers will not be %ery happy if you send them
documents full of %iruses!
&op
/% )se proper structure 7 layout%
.ince reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from paper1 the structure
and lay out is %ery important for e'mail messages. 8se short paragraphs and blan
lines between each paragraph. 7hen maing points1 number them or mar each point
as separate to eep the o%er%iew.
&op
0% "o not overuse the high priority option%
7e all now the story of the boy who cried wolf. If you o%eruse the high priority
option1 it will lose its function when you really need it. "oreo%er1 e%en if a mail has
high priority1 your message will come across as slightly aggressi%e if you flag it as
#high priority#.
&op
$2% "o not write in C5P9T53:%
I6 A58 74I&@ IN -API&A,. I& .@@". A. I6 A58 A4@ .I58&INH. &his can
be highly annoying and might trigger an unwanted response in the form of a flame
mail. &herefore1 try not to send any email te3t in capitals.
&op
$$% "on;t leave out the message thread%
7hen you reply to an email1 you must include the original mail in your reply1 in other
words clic #4eply#1 instead of #New "ail#. .ome people say that you must remo%e the
pre%ious message since this has already been sent and is therefore unnecessary.
Iowe%er1 I could not agree less. If you recei%e many emails you ob%iously cannot
remember each indi%idual email. &his means that a #threadless email# will not pro%ide
enough information and you will ha%e to spend a frustratingly long time to find out
the conte3t of the email in order to deal with it. ,ea%ing the thread might tae a
fraction longer in download time1 but it will sa%e the recipient much more time and
frustration in looing for the related emails in their inbo3!
&op
$&% 5dd disclaimers to your emails%
It is important to add disclaimers to your internal and e3ternal mails1 since this can
help protect your company from liability. -onsider the following scenario) an
employee accidentally forwards a %irus to a customer by email. &he customer decides
to sue your company for damages. If you add a disclaimer at the bottom of e%ery
e3ternal mail1 saying that the recipient must chec each email for %iruses and that it
cannot be held liable for any transmitted %iruses1 this will surely be of help to you in
court /read more about email disclaimers0. Another e3ample) an employee sues the
company for allowing a racist email to circulate the office. If your company has an
email policy in place and adds an email disclaimer to e%ery mail that states that
employees are e3pressly re=uired not to mae defamatory statements1 you ha%e a
good case of pro%ing that the company did e%erything it could to pre%ent offensi%e
emails.
&op
$(% 'ead the email !efore you send it%
A lot of people don#t bother to read an email before they send it out1 as can be seen
from the many spelling and grammar mistaes contained in emails. Apart from this1
reading your email through the eyes of the recipient will help you send a more
effecti%e message and a%oid misunderstandings and inappropriate comments.
&op
$*% "o not overuse 'eply to 5ll%
5nly use 4eply to All if you really need your message to be seen by each person who
recei%ed the original message.
&op
$,% 8ailings < use the +cc4 field or do a mail merge%
7hen sending an email mailing1 some people place all the email addresses in the &o)
field. &here are two drawbacs to this practice) /10 the recipient nows that you ha%e
sent the same message to a large number of recipients1 and /!0 you are publiciEing
someone else#s email address without their permission. 5ne way to get round this is to
place all addresses in the :cc) field. Iowe%er1 the recipient will only see the address
from the &o) field in their email1 so if this was empty1 the &o) field will be blan and
this might loo lie spamming. Aou could include the mailing list email address in the
&o) field1 or e%en better1 if you ha%e "icrosoft 5utloo and 7ord you can do a mail
merge and create one message for each recipient. A mail merge also allows you to use
fields in the message so that you can for instance address each recipient personally.
6or more information on how to do a 7ord mail merge1 consult the Ielp in 7ord.
&op
$-% Take care with a!!reviations and emoticons%
In business emails1 try not to use abbre%iations such as :&7 /by the way0 and ,5,
/laugh out loud0. &he recipient might not be aware of the meanings of the
abbre%iations and in business emails these are generally not appropriate. &he same
goes for emoticons1 such as the smiley )'0. If you are not sure whether your recipient
nows what it means1 it is better not to use it.
&op
$.% +e careful with formatting%
4emember that when you use formatting in your emails1 the sender might not be able
to %iew formatting1 or might see different fonts than you had intended. 7hen using
colors1 use a color that is easy to read on the bacground.
&op
$/% Take care with rich te=t and >T83 messages%
:e aware that when you send an email in rich te3t or I&", format1 the sender might
only be able to recei%e plain te3t emails. If this is the case1 the recipient will recei%e
your message as a .t3t attachment. "ost email clients howe%er1 including "icrosoft
5utloo1 are able to recei%e I&", and rich te3t messages.
&op
$0% "o not forward chain letters%
Do not forward chain letters. 7e can safely say that all of them are hoa3es. Must delete
the letters as soon as you recei%e them.
&op
&2% "o not request delivery and read receipts%
&his will almost always annoy your recipient before he or she has e%en read your
message. :esides1 it usually does not wor anyway since the recipient could ha%e
bloced that function1 or hisKher software might not support it1 so what is the use of
using it> If you want to now whether an email was recei%ed it is better to as the
recipient to let you now if it was recei%ed.
&op
&$% "o not ask to recall a message%
:iggest chances are that your message has already been deli%ered and read. A recall
re=uest would loo %ery silly in that case wouldn#t it> It is better just to send an email
to say that you ha%e made a mistae. &his will loo much more honest than trying to
recall a message.
&op
&&% "o not copy a message or attachment without permission%
Do not copy a message or attachment belonging to another user without permission of
the originator. If you do not as permission first1 you might be infringing on copyright
laws.
&op
&(% "o not use email to discuss confidential information%
.ending an email is lie sending a postcard. If you don#t want your email to be
displayed on a bulletin board1 don#t send it. "oreo%er1 ne%er mae any libelous1 se3ist
or racially discriminating comments in emails1 e%en if they are meant to be a joe.
&op
&*% )se a meaningful su!?ect%
&ry to use a subject that is meaningful to the recipient as well as yourself. 6or
instance1 when you send an email to a company re=uesting information about a
product1 it is better to mention the actual name of the product1 e.g. #Product A
information# than to just say #product information# or the company#s name in the
subject.
&op
&,% )se active instead of passive%
&ry to use the acti%e %oice of a %erb where%er possible. 6or instance1 #7e will process
your order today#1 sounds better than #Aour order will be processed today#. &he first
sounds more personal1 whereas the latter1 especially when used fre=uently1 sounds
unnecessarily formal.
&op
&-% 5void using )'@EAT and 98PB'T5AT%
@%en more so than the high'priority option1 you must at all times try to a%oid these
types of words in an email or subject line. 5nly use this if it is a really1 really urgent
or important message.
&op
&.% 5void long sentences%
&ry to eep your sentences to a ma3imum of 1('!* words. @mail is meant to be a
=uic medium and re=uires a different ind of writing than letters. Also tae care not
to send emails that are too long. If a person recei%es an email that loos lie a
dissertation1 chances are that they will not e%en attempt to read it!
&op
&/% "on;t send or forward emails containing li!elous, defamatory, offensive,
racist or o!scene remarks%
:y sending or e%en just forwarding one libelous1 or offensi%e remar in an email1 you
and your company can face court cases resulting in multi'million dollar penalties.
&op
&0% "on;t forward virus hoa=es and chain letters%
If you recei%e an email message warning you of a new unstoppable %irus that will
immediately delete e%erything from your computer1 this is most probably a hoa3. :y
forwarding hoa3es you use %aluable bandwidth and sometimes %irus hoa3es contain
%iruses themsel%es1 by attaching a so'called file that will stop the dangerous %irus.
&he same goes for chain letters that promise incredible riches or as your help for a
charitable cause. @%en if the content seems to be bona fide1 the senders are usually
not. .ince it is impossible to find out whether a chain letter is real or not1 the best
place for it is the recycle bin.
&op
(2% 1eep your language gender neutral.
In this day and age1 a%oid using se3ist language such as) #&he user should add a
signature by configuring his email program#. Apart from using heKshe1 you can also
use the neutral gender) ##&he user should add a signature by configuring the email
program#.
&op
($% "on;t reply to spam%
:y replying to spam or by unsubscribing1 you are confirming that your email address
is #li%e#. -onfirming this will only generate e%en more spam. &herefore1 just hit the
delete button or use email software to remo%e spam automatically.
&op
(&% )se cc4 field sparingly%
&ry not to use the cc) field unless the recipient in the cc) field nows why they are
recei%ing a copy of the message. 8sing the cc) field can be confusing since the
recipients might not now who is supposed to act on the message. Also1 when
responding to a cc) message1 should you include the other recipient in the cc) field as
well> &his will depend on the situation. In general1 do not include the person in the cc)
field unless you ha%e a particular reason for wanting this person to see your response.
Again1 mae sure that this person will now why they are recei%ing a copy.