Email. It’s great isn’t it? All those spammy messages to process, all the time spent on trying to get your inbox to that mythical empty status. Yeah, email is great… Because it is such an easy and quick medium, people can also get very sloppy with it. Much like showing manners when eating a meal, there is a certain etiquette a person should adopt when sending emails. If we work together to improve our email manners we can all benefit from the time we save. Dream on!
- Don’t waste time with email forwards
99% of forwards and chain emails are not funny, ok! Seeing as they have usually done the rounds of AOL before you receive them, you end up having to scroll through the list of hundred people who sent and viewed it before you. It’s two minutes of my time I will never get back. To all my friends who send me them, I immediately press the delete key. Sorry! - Don’t email if you don’t have to
There are enough emails flying around the internet without you adding to to the number. Before sending a message ask whether it’s really necessary or not. If all you are going to put is “yes”, “me too” or “thanks” think about whether the effort is worth it. It’s just another email to delete after all. - Have a sensible email address
It might be cute when you are thirteen to have some wacky address that “cleverly” captures your music interests and your quirky personality, but try sharing it with everyone else and it can be a little embarrassing. I admit I am guilty of this one. Thankfully I don’t have to tell people my address that often. “Sorry, James. Can you spell that again please…” - Get your email subjects right
Here is something to dwell on: the most important part of an email is the subject header. When you have a full inbox, you often use the subject to determine the importance or otherwise of the email as to whether to process it or not. I don’t want to waste time checking an email just to find out what it’s about because the author didn’t put enough detail in the subject. Where possible include details and what action is required from the recipient. For instance, “please review department proposal”. - Keep to the point
I don’t want to spend time reading an entire essay from my inbox. So keep your message as concise and to the point as possible, without coming off as rude. Email is a fast medium so you should be able to read and process an email quickly as well. - Keep your address book slim and trim
Some email apps have a nasty habit of storing the address of everyone you email. Worse still some people choose to save every address regardless. The end result is pesky forwards sent from people who you contacted once many months ago, or out of office emails from people whose absence from their cubicle you could not care less about. - Spelling, grammar, yawn…
This really should be a given but I received an email this morning that was ALL IN CAPITALS so unfortunately it still needs mentioning. Check your spelling, check your grammar, don’t use l33t or txt spk, don’t fill the message with smilies. You want to actually look intelligent right?
April 11, 2008 at 04:52PM
You forgot my #1 annoyance! Be careful when sending emails to a group. Use BCC instead of CC because not everyone that wants you to have their email address wants everyone else you know to have their email address. And if you forward or send emails to everyone in your address book, you’re in idiot.
Thank you. I feel better now.
April 11, 2008 at 05:34PM
Aha, very good tips Jeff. Feel free to vent!
April 13, 2008 at 05:12PM
Another positive email etiquette practice is to use the person’s first name somewhere in the email, even if it is just, “Dear Susie”.
April 14, 2008 at 07:58PM
Been meaning to thank you for this since I received it in my RSS reader! Inspired by Darren Rowse, have popped over today to let you know how much I appreciate all the excellent tips and advice… thank you!
April 15, 2008 at 05:42PM
Thanks for the comment and support Dianne, glad you liked the post!
June 3, 2008 at 06:24PM
If you’re caught in a back-and-forth email exchange, be sure to snip off all but the LAST message to which you’re replying. No need to perpetuate that huge stack of emails.
June 4, 2008 at 03:14PM
Zac thanks for your comment. That’s a great suggestion! There is no need to make the email longer than it needs to be.
August 27, 2008 at 06:37AM
I suggest that people send a short reply to emails if they enjoyed the read. Or how about reciprocate once in awhile with a forward of your own! If I never hear back from someone, their email address gets deleted from my forwarding list. Months later, they’ll say, “I never hear from you anymore!” to which I reply, “Yes, if there’s no response or reciprocity from a particular email address for several months, my program deletes the address”. And by my program, I mean me!
September 15, 2008 at 07:59AM
I feel enlightened on the email etiquette. Keep it up.
August 27, 2009 at 06:17PM
Good to have come across this. Thanks!