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Email Style & Etiquette - Best Dressed Emails

JAN 2022: Once/year I like to post this reminder...

"Oops." 

That's something you do not want to hear just after clicking "SEND." Are your emails wearing their finest attire? 

Like any motivational seminar or session on  personal finance, lessons on email etiquette are worth repeating at least once each year. Polish up your email etiquette with online lessons or at-work sessions.

To reinforce your email etiquette right now Read This >>

View this resource for writing at work! Watch This >>

Also here's one additional good read on Email Etiquett3 >> 

Email Style & Etiquette - Reply to Confirm

On email in general: When you send an important document or message via email, do you ever get left wondering if the recipient ever actually received it?  You assume so.  But wouldn't it be great if that recipient shot back an email as soon as they received that important document or message - just to confirm.

After all, when you send important information via an overnight postal service, it is protocol to have the recipient sign for that document once received.

As a rule, whenever you receive an important document or message via email, reply to confirm its receipt.  If you are really short on time, just click "reply" and write, "received."

If you reply to confirm to a sender who is a prospect, don't forget to include your signature and tag line, perhaps use this opportunity to add value your reputation.

If you reply to confirm to a sender who is a customer or member, don't forget to include a thank you for recent business or membership.

Every message sent from your business email is a form of business communication.  Remember your etiquette, mind your p's and q's, and be professional.

More on email and Internet etiquette: http://www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/index.html

E-mail Style & Etiquette - Overpunctuating

OK, even though this is obvious, it obviously needs repeating. 

Do not over punctuate in your e-mails!

For example, in reading the previous sentence, did you perceive that it was delivered with a sense of urgency?  Of course you did, because it began with the commanding phrase "do not" and it ended with an exclaimation point.

Now think, would more exclaimation points really have made that sentence any more effective?

No only are multiple exclaimation points redundant and unnecessary, they can also cause your e-mail to be blocked or sent to a junk box.  With so many possible filter triggers out there, it is not worth the redundancy to add those extra marks.

So be aware and minimize.  Less is truly more.

E-mail Style & Etiquette - Reply All

Use "Reply to All" sparingly.

This time-consuming e-mail faux-pas is easy to correct.  When a message is sent to a group and you one of the recipients, you can reply back either to the whole group or to the sender exclusively.  Right here is where I recommend spending a minute to consider how it may serve everyone better use "Reply" instead of "Reply to All."  It will spare the rest of the group the time involved in opening, reading and deleting your message. 

And if the original sender decides your reply is worth sending to the whole group, they can always "Forward" the message themselves.

Take care of your e-mail recipients and they are more likely to respond to you when you really need them!

E-Mail Style & Etiquette - Quotation Marks

Use quotation marks for quotations.  (BTW: quote is a verb.)

(Related site: Gallery of "Misused" Quotation Marks http://www.juvalamu.com/qmarks/)

E-mail Style & Etiquette - Organize Your Inbox

Organizing the Inbox - this is a very personal thing.  I think Inbox habits reflect personal habits for the most part.  My goal every morning is to attend to every request and/or store every piece of information so as to empty my Inbox and therefore clear my mind!

As e-mail publishers, we strategize according to these personal habits.  For example, one of our non-profit customers diligently publishes their e-newsletter at the exact same time on the same Friday of each month, knowing that the members are used to this schedule and are therefore expecting and anticipating this e-mail message.  This helps with open rates, which are far better than average!  (View the newsletter: http://www.wincommunications.com/winmails/PDITheDeveloper904.html)

In planning my own Inbox oranizing strategy, what's been helpful is adding a few rules.  For example, recently I added my own rule for sorting the bad e-mails out and away from the good ones. 

If you haven't already, in Outlook it is as simple as going to "Tools" and selecting "Rues Wizard."  My rule sends to a junk folder any e-mail message containing certain words in the subject or body of the message.  The trigger words are determined by me. 

So,

1. Tools - Rules - Create/edit your junk mail rule
2. Open the "junk" folder and make sure to turn off the "Preview Pane" for this folder.  This will make sure those messages are not viewed or opened and therefore won't register with their senders as "opened." 
3. In the junk folder, "Select All" the messages (SHORTCUT=click the message at the top;  Click SHIFT + SELECT the message at the bottom)
4. Click SHIFT + DELETE to permanently delete these from your system!

More organizational tips to follow!  Share yours in our comment section...