When it comes to emails, every little thing of it may principally matter. The email etiquette indicates the rules of how to communicate with a potential customer, business partner, colleague. They help avoid mistakes and misunderstanding during the online communication.
Why do I need e-mail etiquette?
Mistakes seriously affect people’s perception of others. Your emails should convey to you are relevant, smart, and trustworthy than those who read the same letter without errors. People receive less favorable resolutions of their emails if their requests have spelling errors.
That is not surprising. When a person reads a letter full of mistakes and typos, he thinks about one of two things:
- The sender does not know the basic rules of spelling and grammar.
- The sender does not care enough about this message to check it before sending.
None of this will be a reasonable basis for relationships. Follow several rules of e-mail etiquette:
Grammar
Everyone is likely to make mistakes. But no one will notice this; it also does not know about this mysterious rule. Just need to avoid the fundamental errors that are most striking in the eyes, and everything will be okay.
You may consider the services are assisting while composing the proper content:
- Grammarly
- Owl Purdie
- Writings Guru
- ProwritingAid
- Write My Essay Today
- Writing Center from the University of North Carolina
They’ll help you to produce any text with no grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.
Punctuation
Remember these rules and follow them unswervingly.
Final punctuation (. ? !)
Each line must end with a final punctuation mark, i.e., point, interrogative or exclamation mark. If you skip this sign, it will look like the thought is not finished.
- Wrong: I talked to the finance department, and they approved the agreement
- That’s right: I spoke to the finance department, and they accepted the deal.
Interrogative and exclamation marks should be used sparingly. If there are too many question marks in one letter, it may seem that this is an interrogation of the recipient.
A semicolon (;)
A semicolon can be used to connect two separate but related sentences. That is not the same as the comma.
- Wrong: She can call me tomorrow, then she can give me an answer.
- That’s right: She can call me tomorrow; then she can give me an answer.
Comma (,)
One of the most common mistakes is to put commas where they are not needed. The most important rules are:
A comma is placed before a composition union (and, but, a, or, but), when it connects two same simple sentences.
- I worked with a similar client last year, and their opening percentage rose by 20% per month.
A comma is used to separate items in a list.
- I focused on the length of letters, readability, and content.
Punctuation of the greeting
There are several different ways to select an address (the first line of an email where the recipient is referred to by name).
If this is a formal letter, it’s better to use a point.
- Dear Mrs. Frost.
If this is a relatively ordinary letter, it is better to use a comma.
- Dear Aya,
And if this is a friendly letter, you can use an exclamation mark.
- Hello, Aya!
Email Subject
The subject line should be substantial and relatively short. Ideally, it should give the recipient to understand whether he wants to open this letter.
- Wrong: Hello
What does the letter say? It is incomprehensible.
- Correct: A brief call for ordering a batch of pillows from 02.12.
This title leaves no doubt about the content of the letter.
Greetings
Above mentioned punctuation, also, you need to choose a form of address, which can be formal or informal, depending on the addressee and the relationships. Best is the usual everyday greeting, which will set a friendly, calm tone and express confidence.
Examples of everyday greetings:
- Hi
- Good morning [day/evening]
If the case of the first contact with a person, or if your recipient takes a higher professional position, it is worth choosing a more formal option.
For instance:
- Dear [name]
- Dear Mr. / Mrs. [last name]
And examples of greetings that cannot be used even as a joke:
- Too informal and impatient: Hey !:
- Just a [Name]: is too unreasonable
- To all interested parties: Too impersonally
- Dear Sir or Madam: Too old-fashioned
- Hello, friend: Too frightening
- Gentlemen: Too old-fashioned
- All: Too cool
Ending
The correct ending compliments the tone and content of the letter. Since this line is read by the recipient last, it affects its final impression.
If the letter that is written in a light tone, it can be ended with an informal, warm signature.
For example:
- Thank you
- Thanks again
- All the best
- Good [day of the week]
- Good weekend
- See you later
- I look forward to our next conversation
- With pleasure, I will listen to your opinion
If the tone of the letter is more restrained, the signature must be at the end of the message.
For example:
Thank you
- Thank you for your time.
- Have a beautiful day [days off]
The recipient’s name
It is essential that you check it several times before sending, whether everything is written correctly. You can open this person’s profile in social networks and compare. And do not cut the person’s name unless he signs his e-mails in this way.
Conclusions
The above information is only a small part of what needs to be considered. Therefore, it is essential to take into account the features of both the product and the readers. Proofread your emails before sending them. Pay attention to such aspects as the mail subjects, greeting, ending, and the name of a receiver.
