October 17, 2014
Email has become of one of the most popular communication channels in the business environment. It’s fast, it’s quick and it’s (almost!) painless but it comes with its own price: you need to communicate well in order to attain your objectives. Email etiquette is often overlooked but it can have a significant impact on your business. A casual or sloppy email can cost you an important business deal. There are certain things that you need to keep in mind every time you communicate through email.
Clear Subject - It is important to have a clear subject when you are communicating through email. The recipient should know exactly what they should expect as soon as they look at the subject. This is important because the recipient will determine whether they should open the email at that moment or wait till later to read it based on the subject you use.
Professional Address - Another important email etiquette rule that you should follow is the use of a professional address. If you are writing an email on behalf of your company, it is advisable to use the company address. This will make it appear more professional. Self-employed individuals should be especially careful when selecting email addresses. Your email address should not be too casual especially if you intend to use it for business. You want people to take you seriously when they communicate with you.
Concise - Business emails have to be concise. The focus is on the main reason for communicating with the recipient. All the business emails you send should only include relevant information. It is important to make the email as short as possible to make it easy for the recipient to go through it even when they have a busy schedule. If the email is too long, the recipient may not read it all.
Proper Grammar and Spelling - Email etiquette also requires you to use proper grammar and spelling when you are communicating with business partners or clients. You need to use formal language to communicate. If your email is full or punctuation, spelling, and grammar mistakes, it portrays your company negatively. Make sure you use the spell checking feature when you are writing an email. It is also important to go through the entire email once it is written to make sure there are no errors. A spell checker may miss out on some errors and this is why it is advisable to recheck it.
Personalize - It is advisable to personalize each email that you send out. The recipient should know that the email was specifically written for them. If you are using a template to come up with an email, make sure you change some of the aspects to customize it.
Attachments - If you need to send attachments with an email, it is important to make sure they are necessary. Large attachments can make it difficult for the recipient to access the information that you have sent out to them. If possible, you should compress the attachments or link to them in the body of the email.
Prompt Responses - Email etiquette requires you to respond to emails promptly. People send emails because they expect you to respond to them as soon as possible. What is an appropriate time? If you indicated that you respond within certain operating hours, it is expected by your recipient that you will do so. However, a typical rule of thumb would be to respond within one business day (or earlier) if you want to nurture a valuable relationship.