The Dos and Donts of Business Email Etiquette

The Dos and Donts of Business Email EtiquetteThe Dos and Donts of Business Email Etiquette Few things can tarnish your professional brand quite like a poorly written, misguided schmelzglas. One click of the send button can be the difference between a successful business exchange and a potential HR issue or coworker conflict. And while Americans send hundreds of thousands of schmelzglass a day, it should leid be taken for granted.Whether youre a senior professional or an office newbie, here are 13 must-remember dos and donts of business email etiquette.Write a clear, concise subject line that reflects the body of the email. Avoid subject lines with,Hi, Touching Base or FYI, and do not leave a subject line blank.Remember Hi and Hey communicate a lack of professionalism and maturity . Begin your email with phrases such as Good Morning, Good Afternoon, Good Evening or Hello. Good Day or Greetings are other phrases used frequently in the international arena.In direct cu ltures like the U.S., the best practice is for the sender to introduce themselves by first and last anthroponym with some background information in the first few lines. For example, Dear Ms. Mandell My name is Sharon Schweitzer, founder of Access to Culture I was referred to you by or My name is Sharon Schweitzer and I am an International Business Expert writing to you about This is especially important when introducing yourself to new contacts, potential customers, clients and employers who want to know how you received their contact information.When sending email to people from indirect cultures, it is proper protocol and a best practice to research country customs. For example, in Japan it is polite, appropriate and customary to inquire about the weather in the first sentence of a business email. Contrastingly, it would be inappropriate to send an email introducing yourself to a potential Japanese contact. In indirect cultures, introductions are only made by mutually respected third parties due to custom cold emails are ignored, deleted, blocked and/or marked as junk.Emails can easily be misinterpreted through text without context. Humor is culture-specific. Avoid both humor and sarcasm in e-mails as the recipient may be confused, or worse, offended.When you attach a file, be kind enough to take a few extra seconds to paste it into the body of the email as well. This shows consideration to the recipient, by saving them time and risk in opening attachments. Is this more time consuming for you? Yes. Is it worth it? Yes.Avoid using Reply-to-All unless everyone needs to know. When the C-Suite (CEO/COO) or administrative assistant sends an email to 10 staff members requesting volunteers for a community service project, reply to the admin, not to all 10 members. Why make ten others delete your email? Reply-to-All is a function for ongoing deliberations on a particular subject.Replying within 24 hours is common courtesy . Leaving someone hanging for any lon ger and you are not only perceived as rude - it could cost you business in the long run. If youve unintentionally kept someone waiting longer than 24 hours or extenuating circumstances arose, politely explain the situation and express your apologies.Those little winking, smiling icons are for text messages. They are inappropriate and unprofessional in a business email. Emoticons may divert email to a spam filter or junk mailbox. And it can look immature and unprofessional.Email is public. Even though an email is deleted, online services and software programs can access messages on the hard drive. Before you click send consider what may happen if a business colleague, your competitor, an employer, the FBI, or any unintended recipient reads your email. Think of it this way How would my email look if it were posted on Facebook?Its inappropriate to email negative comments. An email in all uppercase letters connotes anger in an email. These antagonistic messages cause awkwardness long after the email has been sent and received. If you must relay badeanstalt news via email, use objective words and state the facts. Face-to-face communication is best when relaying bad news .Check and recheck for spelling and grammatical errors. These errors make you seem unprofessional and will reduce the likelihood that the email will be taken seriously. Email software comes with many professional tools such as spell check - use them.By letting the recipient know that a response isnt needed, the email cycle doesnt continue on in perpetuity. Close with No reply necessary, Thank you again, See you at the board meeting Tuesday or Please let me know if I may be of further assistance. End your email with a closing such as Best, Best Regards, Sincerely, Thank you or another appropriate phrase.Sharon Schweitzer is an international business etiquette expert, author and the founder of Access to Culture .