Are You Sabotaging Your Career with Bad Email Etiquette? Here’s How to Fix It!

Emails are an essential part of modern-day communication, especially in business settings. Still, many individuals fail to understand just how powerful and influential their emails can be, particularly in their career. A poorly written email with bad etiquette can harm your reputation, leave a wrong impression, and potentially affect future opportunities. However, by developing good email manners, you can build a professional reputation, foster strong relationships, and avoid sabotaging your career. Here is how you can improve your email etiquette:

Use a Clear and Concise Subject Line

Your email’s subject line is the first thing your reader will see before opening it, so it must be descriptive and clear. Using vague or irrelevant subjects can cause your email to be overlooked, disregarded, and even deleted. Be sure to state the subject of the email in a concise and straightforward manner that accurately represents the content of the message.

Be Mindful of Your Tone

The tone of your email sets the mood for the conversation and how the recipient perceives you. A friendly tone is a great way to establish a relationship, but it’s essential to avoid sounding overly casual, unprofessional or even confrontational. Always ensure your communication is respectful and professional, regardless of the context. If in doubt, read through and edit your emails to ensure clarity of tone avoiding any language that could be misinterpreted.

Keep it Simple and Well-Organized

Avoid wasting the recipient’s time with unnecessarily long emails with complex language or irrelevant information. Keep your emails concise and on-topic with a clear and organized structure. Using bullet points and numbered lists make the email easier to read and extract the essential information.

Use Proper Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation

Emails with grammatical errors, spelling mistakes or poor punctuation are a sign of a lack of attention to detail or even worse, incompetence. Always re-read your email before sending it, and use spelling and grammar checking software. Keep the language and terminology professional and appropriate to the context.

Always Respond Promptly

Prompt replies are critical for building strong business relationships and establishing a professional reputation. Do not leave people hanging for days or even weeks as waiting for replies can be frustrating and give the impression of disinterest or lack of professionalism. Even if the answer to your email is not yet clear, let the recipient know that you are in receipt of the email and will respond soon.

Avoid Writing Emotional Emails

It is never a good idea to send an email when you feel angry, annoyed or upset. Emotional emails can be quickly misinterpreted, and it’s easy to say something you regret or cannot take back. If you are upset or angry, compose your email, save it as a draft, and revisit it with a clear mind before sending.

In conclusion, improving your email etiquette is critical for your career and professional reputation. By following the above tips, you can build strong relationships, foster communication and avoid sabotaging your career. Take the time to review your emails before sending, and don’t be afraid to ask for advice from relevant colleagues or supervisors. Keep your emails, professional, to the point, and respectful to foster a long and successful career.

Despite the proliferation of online communication methods, email remains the most popular, with nearly 300 billion emails sent every day in 2019. Whether you’re brand new to email or have been using it for decades, make sure you’re following the rules for email etiquette.

Review Your Message Before You Send

After you enter your recipients’ addresses, create an appropriate subject line, write your message, and attach a couple of supporting documents, go back and make sure you did everything right:

• Review the message. Is anything unclear? Are there any grammatical errors or typos? Did you say everything you wanted to say?Check your sources. Would a link to an outside source clarify your meaning? Would a link help your recipient find a website quickly?Look at the recipient names. Did you forget an important person who needs to see the message? Did you add someone that shouldn’t see the message?Look at your address. If you have more than one, be sure to send the message from the most appropriate one for the purpose of the message.Determine the message priority. Does the message need to be tagged as important?Add supporting documents. Did you forget the attachments?

Don’t Always Reply All

You should know when and when not to Reply All to group emails. If everyone in the original email (the one you’re responding to) needs to know what you have to say, use Reply All.

For example, person A emails you and person B to come up with ideas about how to celebrate your boss’ 10-year anniversary with the company. Your response is relevant for both person A and person B, so use Reply All to reply to both of them.

If someone sends a party invitation through email to you and 20 other friends, your response isn’t relevant to the other mail recipients, so use Reply to send a response only to the original sender.

Write Effective Subject Lines

The key to writing a good email subject is to make sure that it briefly captures the essence of your message. Here are a few examples:

• Sales Meeting Changed to 3:00Halloween Party InvitationWebsite Text RevisionsThis Week’s Top 20 Video PicksDetails of Your New MembershipConfirming Your AppointmentRequest for Fundraising Event Volunteers

To make subject lines more effective, include the action you want the recipients to take, such as:

• Halloween Party Invitation - RSVP by May 11Website Text Revisions - Need Approval by Tuesday

Explain Why You Forward

When you forward an email message from someone else, explain to the new recipient why you’re doing it and how you expect them to benefit from it. For example, let’s say a client, Jay, sends you a question, and you don’t know the answer. Forward the message to your colleague, Sara, with a note saying, “Sara, Jay wants to know the process for logging in to our portal from his mobile device. See below for details. Can you help?”

Explain Why You CC

If you cc someone on an email message, explain to the primary recipient that you’re doing so, and why. For example, let’s say Jenna wants to join your book club, and you’re sending her information about it. You would cc the book club leader, Ann, and write to Jenna, “I’m cc’ing our leader, Ann, so she can see what I’m sending you and fill in anything I might have left out.” When you use this process, Ann also knows why she’s receiving a copy of the message.

Let the Sender Know Their Message Has Been Received

Email messages can get lost in the mail or in the spam filter. As a courtesy, especially with important messages (such as those with attachments or having to do with deadlines), write a short note to let the sender know their email was received. For example, if your boss sends you a new project to work on, reply with, “Got it, I’ll get started tomorrow.”

Use Acronyms Sparingly

Not everybody knows every acronym, so use as few as possible, and only when you’re sure the recipient knows what they mean. There are several acronyms that are commonly used in business email correspondence. Here are a few:

• ASAP: As Soon as PossibleBTW: By the WayEOD: End of DayEOM: End of Message (typically used in the subject line to indicate there is no email body to follow)EOW: End of WeekFYI: For Your InformationIMO: In My OpinionOOO: Out of OfficeY/N: Yes or No

Be Careful With Sarcasm and Humor

Because you don’t get the context of facial expressions and tone of voice in email, it’s not a good medium for expressing sarcasm or humor, especially with recipients you don’t know well. Express your message simply and straightforwardly, at least until you get to know a recipient better. If you really can’t help yourself, include a smiling or laughing emoticon to show you’re kidding around.

Choose an Appropriate Ending

Sometimes it’s hard to know how to end an email message. Here are a few suggestions, based on the situation:

• Thanks or Many Thanks: If you’re asking for a favor.Love or Hugs: If the recipient is a friend or family member.Cheers or Best: If the recipient is a casual acquaintance.Sincerely: If your message is formal.Best Regards or Kind Regards: If you want to maintain a formal business tone.

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