What is Email Etiquette?
The use of emails has become so popular within the workplace since working from home has been on the rise. Less face-to-face interactions are happening between businesses and professional individuals.
The definition of email etiquette is to implement rules in the workplace that ensure you are using the correct, professional behaviour when sending and receiving emails.
Due to the rise in emailing, you need to be mindful of what you are sending and follow the correct email etiquette rules.
Professional email etiquette means you always use:
- Formal language (unless stated otherwise).
- Appropriate language, causing no offence to recipients.
- Correct spelling and grammar.
- Responding to all emails.
By following these rules, you are less likely to incorrectly respond or make mistakes!
Why is Email Etiquette Important?
Email etiquette in the workplace is important because it makes email communication more effective and professional.
Once your communication is more effective, you will notice this helps your business to grow. Take some time to talk about the email etiquette rules you would like to have within your business to ensure everyone is on the same page.
If you are an induvial, following these new rules will uplevel your business and increase professionalism.
Increased professionalism = A successful business and more profits.
Learn more about how to increase productivity in the workplace and how to be more productive in life in our other posts.
13 Best Email Etiquette Rules
Here are some great tips to implement for yourself or within your business.
1. Strong Subject Line
Always use a strong subject line when sending emails. Receivers are more likely to open a message if the subject line contains a brief but descriptive opening.
If the message requires action, include this in the subject line too.
2. Professional Email Address
This is an important rule for businesses. Don’t expect a successful response if you are using an immature email address. Always use a mail address that represents your business or company.
If you are using a private email, make sure it's non-branded and non-descriptive.
3. Don’t Always ‘Reply-All’
Not everyone in the email needs a response all the time. This just causes unnecessary notifications and can be frustrating for those who don’t need to respond.
4. Mindful Punctuation
Try not to overuse punctuation in your emails. Make it look professional by keeping it simple and classic.
Too many exclamation marks seem too eager and over-excited, and too many ellipses make you seem unsure of your response.
5. Type The Body First
Sometimes you can accidentally press Send before you are ready. This can be awkward and seem very unprofessional.
To avoid this, type the message body first, check it, and then include the recipients.
6. Easy to Read
People need to read and respond to emails quickly.
Use an 11-point or 12-point size and an easy-to-read font like Calibri or Arial.
Use bold, italics, and underline sparingly, only to highlight key information.
7. Email Signature
A great rule for email etiquette for professionals is to not only use a professional mail address but to include a signature at the end of every message.
This shows the reader of the message more information about you. Include your full name, contact info, title, and company name.
8. Proofread!
Always proofread your emails and say them out loud to help check the email flows correctly.
Sometimes spelling mistakes can go unnoticed when using a spellchecker, and your receiver will notice them.
9. Cultural Differences
Be mindful of those you are sending emails to. For example, if the recipient isn’t fluent in your language, use words they may understand, and cut out anything confusing.
10. Respond to ALL Emails
It is hard to answer every message that lands in your mailbox.
However, it's polite to respond, even if it’s a short dismissal of an irrelevant message. If this happens, simply refer the sender to the correct person.
11. Humour
Leave out any humour in your emails. This is because things can get lost in translation, and your jokes may be misunderstood.
12. Professional Greetings
Think about your audience and whom you are emailing. Be mindful of your opening line, don’t keep it too casual or over the top.
Keep the greeting simple and include their name.
13. Confidentiality
Don’t include any personal or confidential information in a message.
Although emailing services can be secure, once you have sent a message, it can be used and seen by anyone who has access to it.
How Clean Email Improves Email Productivity
Clean Email can support email etiquette in the workplace by keeping your mailbox organised and decluttered. This means you will never miss an important message and be able to keep track of communications.
Clean Email works with any IMAP-based mail service provider and is available for iOS, Android, Mac users, and on web.
The app increases email productivity due to these handy tools and features:
Auto Clean
With Auto Clean, you can declutter email account and reach Inbox Zero by creating automated rules to move emails to archive, trash, or even into their own folders. This cuts out the need for manual work and avoids wasting valuable time.
You can always edit, pause, and delete any rules you create within the Auto Clean view on the left-side panel.
Unsubscriber
Unsubscriber allows you to remove unwanted subscriptions with just one click. Unsubscribe requests will be sent on your behalf immediately.
You can also block unwanted senders, keep subscriptions, or move emails to the Read Later folder.
Smart Views
Smart Views uses predefined rules to sort your emails automatically into relevant groups. This makes emails easy to locate and manage.
For example, find all emails older than 6 months in a relevant Smart View located on the left-side panel.
Select the messages you want to take action on and then choose the action from the top bar, such as send them to Trash, Mark as read, create an Auto Clean rule, and more.
Clean Email will never use, sell, or keep your data. We only use data for the app's features to work, and this only includes the headers of emails, never the body and email attachments. Clean Email staff cannot access your accounts, and data is only kept for up to 45 days.
Email Etiquette Rules in The Workplace - FAQs
What does email etiquette mean?
Email etiquette is principles you follow when sending and receiving emails to ensure you are professional, polite, and represent yourself well.
What is the golden rule of email etiquette?
The golden rule is to never send a message you aren’t 100% sure about. This includes spelling, grammar, who the message is being sent to, how you think you’re coming across, etc.
What are some basic professional email etiquette rules?
Basic rules are: using a good subject line, always proofreading emails, adding the recipient AFTER you have written the body, and leaving out humour.
What should you not say in a professional email?
You should not be rude in a professional message and you shouldn’t attempt to use humour. Just don’t write anything that may translate differently to how you want it to.
What is bad email etiquette?
That would be:
1. Sending misspelled and incorrect emails.
2. Not using a professional email address.
3. Not responding to all emails.
4. Being rude.
5. Sending confidential information.
