Business Email Etiquette – The Do’s and Dont’s!

Yesterday we talked about managing and organizing your inbox, and today we’re looking at some of the Do’s and Dont’s of basic email etiquette.

Do’s:

• Greeting: Absolutely, always start an email with a greeting if this is the first message you’re sending to an individual. “Hello Brittany Bride”, “Dear Gavin Groom”, etc. This seems so obvious, but if you don’t include a greeting it might leave an impression that you haven’t taken the time to find out what their name is, or that they’re part of a mass email so it could make it feel impersonal if there is no greeting.  I always try to include a line or two asking how the other person is, how business is going, etc. – this helps the sender show that you are interested in building a relationship with them and helps to initiate a warm greeting.
• Closing: In the same regard, be sure to always sign off an email with “Thanks”, “Best Regards”, “Sincerely”, etc. – this is just a basic common courtesy that you want to make sure you convey at the end of every email.
• Subject Line: Keep your subject line short and concise and be sure it summarizes the topic of your email. The subject line often determines whether or not your email is even opened by the sender.  Typos, all caps or all lower case can give off the impression that you are a spammer so the recipient is less likely to open your email. 
• Level of Formality: Communicate as if your email is on your company letterhead – keeping in mind this is all about your business’ image you are branding.  When in doubt, be more formal in your communication than casual…and once you get to know the recipient you will get a feel for how formal/informal you need to be when communicating with them.
• Think Before You Send: Always read your email through one final time prior to hitting the send button – yes, to look for grammar and spelling errors, but more importantly to make sure that everything you’ve written is appropriate.  The way I like to think about it is, “Would I be ok if this email showed up in the newspaper tomorrow?” If not, then I should re-consider what I’ve written before sending.  After all, once you send that email you have no idea where your message could eventually be forwarded to, posted to a message board, etc.  Better to err on the side of caution, and avoid any negativity, gossip, foul language, etc. that could be conveyed via email.

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Dont’s

• Uppercase/Lowercase – Don’t type your messages in all caps – this just conveys to the sender that you’re shouting at them.  All lower case should also be avoided as it’s typically seen as unprofessional and too casual when doing business.
• Multiple Punctuation Marks – Avoid using too many exclamation points or question marks as it could also make the sender feel like you’re shouting at them or possibly being rude.  Example – Do you understand???????? comes across a bit condescending, even if you didn’t intend it to be.  Or, I want to have Jenny’s wedding day timeline completed by Friday!!!!!!!!!!!!!! appears that you are anxious, demanding, or irritated.  Of course there are times I may use a bunch of !!! or ??? but it’s typically with people who know me – and know me very well…so they know if I’m really upset, or just being goofy.  Keep in mind most of your email recipients won’t know your personality or sense of humor, especially right off the bat.
• Don’t Jump to Conculsions – It is often really difficult to understand a point that someone is trying to make to you via email.  If you are unsure of what they’re talking about, it is always best to ask them to clarify in more detail for you…better yet, pick up the phone and call them so you can have a conversation, hear the tone in their voice, etc. I love email, but sometimes it is so hard to get a read on what the sender is saying without having a personal conversation about the topic where you can pick up on other cues like their emotional state, and have the ability to ask questions and get immediate responses.  So don’t read too much into an email that might initially confuse or annoy you. It’s likely that wasn’t the intent.
• Don’t Give Excuses – If you take a week to respond to someone’s email, don’t tell them that you’re really sorry for the delay, but you had a crazy week, your baby was sick, your website was down, you are backlogged on email, etc.  The fact is, most people don’t really care and don’t want to hear your excuses. They may empathize with you, but they are still probably bugged that you didn’t respond to them.  It may be true that you had the craziest week of your life, but they don’t need to know that – all they need to hear is that you apologize for the delay and assure them you will be extremely prompt in the future. You can explain to them this is typically not how you do business.  I used to apologize profusely for my delayed email responses, but then realized I needed to look within and realize why my emails were delayed…normally I wasn’t prioritizing them correctly (like we discussed yesterday) so I was responding to “easy” emails and putting off the “harder” ones to respond to, which led to a delayed response time. So if you are late in your response, I would highly recommend owning up to it!  People will respect that much more than they will any excuses.
• Don’t Worry – You will likely send an email with a typo, forget to greet someone, and say something you wish you hadn’t and hope it doesn’t get forwarded.  I know most of us in the wedding industry tend to be perfectionists, so I tell you this so you don’t beat yourself up! We all make mistakes and just look at lessons learned and what you want to do different going forward.

For more tips on email etiquette, visit www.netmanners.com and www.businessemailetiquette.com