Email etiquette

Emails are strangely awkward. They give us the ability to start a conversation with anyone in the world, without the social cues of an in-person interaction. So we do things that we’d never do in real life via email.

There are some few unwritten rules that make people read and respond to your email and leave all others in the inbox, only to end up in the trash box.

Some of the rules are pretty obvious, but they’re worth repeating. You see people breaking them from time to time.

Start with the basics. What is everyone’s favourite word? Their first name! Have you ever been in public before and heard someone call out your name?

You automatically turned around ready to respond until you saw they were calling someone they knew.

You can get your prospect’s attention the same way by putting their name in the subject line of your emails.

To start with, doing so will distinguish your email from the hundreds of others your prospect gets, and because we are all drawn to our own name, it will draw your prospect’s eyes to your email like a magnet.

This is the very best way to get their attention to read your email.

EASY WAY OUT

Keep the email subject line descriptive and succinct. Put yourself in your prospect’s seat. You have too much to do already, and an inbox that’s growing by the minute.

Remember, the recipient is looking for an excuse to delete your message — don’t give them an easy way out with a generic subject line.

If you are emailing a very busy person, it is totally acceptable and somewhat expected that you’ll forward the initial email back to him or her with a follow-up message after a week or two. Most busy people require at least one of these. Don’t do more than three.

Many people preview their emails by reading the first few sentences in their email programme before deciding to read the whole thing, so concentrate on writing a short and value laden opening that is addressed right to them.

Nothing will turn your prospect off more than long, information packed paragraphs. Their eyes will glaze over and they will hit the delete key faster than it took you to hit the send key.

Don’t let any of your paragraphs be more than three sentences, and if possible, make them just two sentences.

It is not acceptable to follow up on an email within 48 hours unless it is truly urgent. Many people treat email as a form of correspondence and may simply have higher priorities than answering you right away.

If you receive, or want to send, an angry email, wait on it. If it’s urgent, get on the phone instead.

There is nothing more annoying than replying an email to all yet the message is really meant for one person, and only that person.

Use “reply all” only when truly needed. No one likes that person who clogs the whole office staff inboxes.

Because your prospect can’t see you, they only have your writing sample to judge you on. If it’s filled with misspellings and poor grammar, what kind of impression do you think this makes?

It only takes a minute to proofread your emails, and I’ll tell you now I’m always glad I did. I almost always make them better, and when I hit the send key I know I’ve sent out the best message possible.

Doing so allows me to make the best impression, and this once again separates me from my competition. The same could apply to you.