Best Practices for Email/SMS Etiquette

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 What is email etiquette?
Email etiquette is the code of conduct that guides behavior
when writing or responding to emails. Depending on the
recipient of your email, you may modify the principles that
determine the proper etiquette. For example, email etiquette
changes when you write to a friend, colleague or business
acquaintance.
Why is email etiquette important? 1

Companies may benefit from implementing best practices for

email etiquette for these reasons:
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Professionalism
Using proper email etiquette conveys a professional image of the
organization.
Efficiency 3
Emails that follow etiquette are direct and concise, conveying their
message quickly.

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1. Use standard formatting

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Standard fonts, such as Times New Roman or Arial, colors and sizes
are appropriate for business emails. If you use bold or italics, try not
to use them on more than one word or a string of words in a single
email. 3

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2. Include a clear subject line

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Title your email so the recipient knows what the message is about. For
example, if you're emailing to follow up on a presentation, you might
write, "Quick question about your presentation." Emails with clear and
brief subject lines often have better open rates, so it's useful to be
descriptive without sharing too much information. Also, consider how 3
much text the email provider can display in an inbox so that your message
appears complete.

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3. Email from a professional email address

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Use a company email address if possible. Though, if you're self-employed or
using a personal email address for work-related correspondence, ensure that
your email address doesn't contain any words that some might consider
unprofessional. If so, then consider setting up a work-only email address. 3

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4. Use the correct email format

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A business email has a specific but simple structure, which includes a

subject line, greeting, body and a sign-off. The body of your email may be
in short paragraphs. Organize the information in the body section so your 3
recipient can easily understand your message.

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5. Use professional greetings

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Choose a salutation that's appropriate for the relationship you have with the
recipient. If you're emailing a coworker, a casual greeting such as "Hello" may
be appropriate. If you're contacting someone for the first time or if they're a
professional acquaintance, use a more formal greeting like "Dear Sarah
Atkins." It's recommended to use the person's name exactly as it's shown in 3
their email signature line. This means don't assume someone named Jennifer
goes by Jen unless you've seen them sign their emails that way.

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6. Use an introduction
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Depending on who you're emailing, it's best to introduce yourself by
your first and last name and the company you're representing in the
first few lines. This is especially important when emailing new
contacts, clients, potential customers or employers. Let them know 3
how you received their contact information.

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

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7. Choose your salutation and sign-off carefully

When sending a business email, choose appropriate W

salutations. This can help your correspondence appear more
professional.
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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

8. Be cautious with "Reply all"

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The benefit of using "Reply all" is that you can respond to everyone at
once to let them know you're addressing an issue. When in doubt, use
"Reply" to avoid inundating a list of people with unnecessary emails. W

To determine which to use, consider the information you're sharing and

who it most affects.
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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

9. Avoid using all caps T

Use sentence case as you would for any formal communication. W

It's unprofessional to use all caps; doing so can misconstrue your
intentions and meaning.

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

10. Double-check attachments

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If you can copy and paste information into an email rather than
attaching a document, do that. If not, let the recipient know in the body
of your email that you're attaching a document. It's also good etiquette W
to compress the documents or attach them in a zip file so it takes up less
space in their inbox. In addition, you may want to consider uploading
documents to a shared location and giving the recipient a link to access
them. T

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

11. Shorten links T

When sharing a website, use a link shortener to shorten the link or

hyperlink text within the email. Including links in this way can help W
your email appear clean. A short link is also easier to copy and paste
into a web browser.

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

12. Proofread T

Proper spelling and grammar are important when sending business

correspondence so always proofread your work before you hit send. W
Likewise, double-check the spelling of the recipient's name and email
address because autocorrect may alter names. You can install plugins
to check your writing and find errors automatically.
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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

13. Don't use emojis T

Even if the recipient has used emojis when communicating with you,
resist the temptation to use them yourself. They can come across as W
unprofessional in certain company cultures. Instead, you can express
emotion with words and your tone.
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14. Reply within 24 hours

When someone emails you, replying within 24 hours is common courtesy. If

you've unintentionally passed this timeframe, apologize and politely explain
the delay. In your emails, you may provide a gentle reminder about time
sensitivities so that the recipient members to reply quickly.
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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

15. Keep your tone professional T

Think carefully about your word choices in an email and how others
may interpret your intention. Use positive words, such as
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"opportunities" and "challenges," instead of "obstacles" and
"limitations." Avoid negativity, sarcasm and adjectives that can
cause you to sound overly emotional.
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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

16. Perfect your email signature T

An email signature is a special text box that displays your contact

information at the bottom of an email. W
A signature typically includes only your name, job title, company
website and phone number. If you don't have an email signature,
creating one is useful because it can make your emails appear more
professional. T

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

17. Use Bcc appropriately T

Bcc stands for blind carbon copy, which is similar to Cc except that
the email recipients specified in the Bcc field don't appear in the W

header or to the recipients in the To or Cc fields. Using Bcc is good

etiquette if you want to protect someone's email address rather than
exposing it to others.
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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

18. Think before forwarding T

A good practice for forwarding is to summarize what's being discussed,

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so the recipient quickly knows what you need from them. It's also
important to remember that some emails may contain private or sensitive
information, so you might not be able to forward them. Use caution when
forwarding and ask permission from the original sender if you're unsure T
to whom you can forward the email.

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

19. Set informative out-of-office replies T

If you plan to be out of the office for an extended period, set up an automated
out-of-office reply to let people know you won't be able to respond to their
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emails until a specific date. Include a contact name if there's an urgent matter.
Include "Out of Office" and the date in the subject line so recipients can
quickly recognize that they've received an automatic response. It's also
helpful to include the first line in the message as: "This is an automated T
message while I am out of the office."

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

20. Reply to all your emails T

It's polite to respond to all the emails you receive. If you receive W
many emails, you can sort the spam emails and unsubscribe
from email lists where you no longer want to participate.
Senders may even appreciate a brief response to their emails so
they know you're receiving them. T

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

21. Refrain from using humor T

Humor is very subjective and may not be appropriate for email

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correspondence. Your recipient may misunderstand a joke. Instead
of humor, you can entertain your recipient with a light and positive
tone.
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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

22. Be aware of cultural differences T

What's appropriate in your culture may be insensitive to another, so

it's important to recognize cultural differences and remain W
respectful. You can do this by researching the person to whom you
may send an email. You can also be aware of cultural differences
by increasing your self-awareness.
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23. Use discretion

Use caution when sharing information over email because it may not
remain confidential. Be sure to protect private or sensitive information W
about yourself and others. For example, don't share passwords over
email.

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

24. Embed your answers T

When replying to an email with three or more questions, you may W

embed your answers. This organizes the information for the recipient
and may make communication easier. When you embed your answers,
you can just copy and paste the questions from the previous email and
include your answers underneath each question. T

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

25. Include a call to action T

A call to action is useful in emails because it informs the recipient of

what you want them to do with the information. For example, you may W

request your colleague to provide feedback on your work or ask that a

team leader share the information you give with their team. It's effective
to include your call to action at the end of your message so that the
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recipient can take action as soon as they finish reading your email.

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28 email etiquette guidelines for the workplace

26. Check your open rates T

An open rate for email measures how many people click and read an
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email. If you use software that tracks the emails you send, you can
see who opens your email. This is useful for cold emailing and if you
have a mailing list you may use open rates to determine who to send
reminders to if they don't open a previous email. T

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27. Write the email address last

Consider inputting the recipient's email address last. This prevents W

you from accidentally sending an email before you finish it. If you
click send early, the email doesn't send because there's no address.

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28. Ensure your message is mobile friendly

Many people read their emails on their mobile devices. With this in W
mind, ensuring your email's easy to read on a phone or tablet is polite.
You can also make your email mobile-friendly by keeping your
message brief.
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THE END

THANK YOU! T