You've Got Mail! Email Etiquette and Fundamentals

Global View on Marketing Landscape (Apr 19 2012)

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   How many emails do you send per day? Email is an essential tool for communication and should be taken seriously and professionally. It isn’t uncommon to take short cuts with email, sacrificing the norms of grammar, and in some cases basic politeness. This is especially bad if your writing to a journalist who might get over 100 email pitches per day and wont bother with emails that are rude, grammatically incorrect or formatted strangely.

   You want to make sure you’re making the best possible impression through email, as this is likely your main form of interaction with the press and clients. Sure, a typo here and there might not be a deal breaker, but if you’re consistently overlooking errors that make your message difficult to understand, it could come across as inexperienced, unprofessional or careless. This blog covers some email fundamentals that you don’t want to neglect.   

   1. Fill in the subject line. It’s considerate to tell people upfront what the email you’re sending pertains to. In addition, the subject line is your opportunity to grab the recipient’s attention - so take advantage of that. Your subject should be specific, relevant and short (eight words or less) so that it fits in the allotted space in their email browser.  It is a definite no-no to use the subject line as the opening paragraph. Filling this tiny space with color, punctuation overload, or font emphasis is also on the list of bad habits.
   2. Use urgency markers sparingly. If you flag all of your outgoing emails as highest priority, you’re quickly going to make a name for yourself as the email equivalent of the boy who cried wolf. After a while, people will start to ignore your urgency markers and they might miss something that is actually time sensitive.
   3. Stick with standard formatting. Do not write in all caps. THIS IS EQIVALENT TO CYBER SHOUTING AND IS CONSIDERED RUDE. Yikes – you can see why, right? Also, remember to use bold, underlined, and colored formatting only when it makes sense for organization or polite emphasis. Be careful - your emails should be professional messages, not works of contemporary art.
   4. Tell the person how to reach you. Please, please, please, put a signature with your email address, phone number and job title at the bottom of your emails. You need to make it easy for journalists or customers to get in touch with you – don’t make them scour the internet or sift through an employee directory list for your phone number. We strongly advise against using photos or logos in your signature. It might look really sleek and professional to you, but chances are these will go through as attachments to most email browsers – causing your messages to look messy and clog the recipient’s inbox. Also consider that many of us are now reading our emails from a mobile device. They might not have your contact details handy or be able to download your picture business card.
   5. Skip the words of wisdom. We have all seen them. Those little taglines that people stick at the bottom of their emails advising us to save trees and not print unless necessary. There are also the inspirational messages about smiling and the world smiles with you. If you wouldn’t say it to the recipient at the end of a phone call – don’t include it. I promise that reader isn’t any more likely to smile or not print the email.

   The perfect email is concise, understandable and well written. Don’t underestimate the power of a professional email. At the same time – don’t underestimate email’s power to create confusion or strain relationships. When it comes to promotional emails or large blasts, there are even more rules to follow, so stay tuned for a blog post on this subject.

   Can’t wait? Shoot us a tweet, message us on Facebook or comment below. Tell us about a recent email faux pas you witnessed or some of your pet peeves; chances are we will be able to commiserate! 

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