How to craft a professional email ??.. Email etiquette or Netiquette

Email etiquette, or 'netiquette', has been around for many years in the World Wide Web. Netiquette is a set of widely-accepted guidelines for how to show respect and competence in your email. Sadly, there are people who have never taken the time to learn email netiquette for business settings.  Even worse: there are people who confuse email netiquette with the loose and informal style of text messaging. 

Don't let a poorly crafted email kill your credibility with a customer or a superior or a potential employer. Here are the email netiquette rules that will serve you well, and save you embarrassment in the workplace.

1. Subject:Field: This field is the window into your e-mail and can many times determine whether your email will be opened or not. If this is an initial contact with a customer based on their request through your site or otherwise, be sure to have a short SUBJECT: that indicates clearly what the topic of the email is. Typos, all caps or all small case can lend to an unprofessional impression or that you may be spammer.

2.Insert the email address as the last thing you do before sending

This seems counter-intuitive, but this is excellent form. You wait until the very end of your writing and proofreading before you add the email address(es) to the email header. This technique will save you the embarrassment of accidentally sending the message too soon before you’ve finished your content and proofreading.

§  This is particularly critical for a longer email that has sensitive content, like submitting a job application, responding to a customer's question, or communicating bad news to your team. In these cases, deferring the email address adds safety when you need to step away from your email for a while to collect your thoughts and rehearse your words in your mind.

§        If you are replying to an email, and you consider the content to have sensitivities, then simply delete the recipient's email address temporarily until you are ready to send, and then add the address back.  You could alternatively cut-and-paste the recipient's email address into a Notepad file or OneNote page, write the email, and then cut-and-paste the email address back.

3. Triple check that you are emailing the correct person.

This is particularly important if you work in a large company or government department. When you are sending a sensitive email to 'Michael' or 'Priya' or ‘Vijay', your email software will want to predicatively type the full address for you.  Popular names like these will have many results in your company address book, and you could accidentally send a grouchy later to your vice president, or a confidential reply to people down in accounting.

4.Use professional greetings instead of colloquial expressions.

The best way to start a professional email is some version of the following:

1. Good afternoon, Ms. Chandra.
2. Hello, project team and volunteers.
3. Hi, Jennifer.
4. Good morning, Patrick.

Do NOT, under any circumstances, use the following to start a professional email:

1. Hey,
2. Sup, team!
3. Hi, Jen.
4. Mornin, Pat.

Colloquial expressions like 'hey', 'yo', 'sup' may seem friendly and warm to you, but they actually erode your credibility in a business setting. While you can certainly use these colloquialisms in conversation once you have a trusted rapport with the other person, it is a bad idea to use these words in a business email.

Additionally, it is bad form to take spelling shortcuts, like 'mornin'. It is very bad form to shorten someone's name (Jennifer --> Jen) unless that person has expressly asked you to do so.

As with any intelligent business communications, it is smart to err on the side of being too formal and demonstrating that you believe in etiquette and respect

                                                Pic: example for an unprofessional greeting 

5.Use only the two classic fonts: Arial and Times Roman variants, with black ink.

It can be tempting to add stylish font faces and color to your email to make it flashy, but you're better off using black 12-pt or 10-pt Arial or Times New Roman. Similar variants like Tahoma or Calibri are fine, too. And if you are drawing attention to a specific phrase or bullet, then red ink or bold font can be very helpful in moderation.

6.Always end with a short classy 'thank you' and a signature block.

The power of niceties like 'thank you' and 'please' are immeasurable.  Also, the extra several seconds to include your professional signature block speaks volumes about your attentiveness to detail, and that you take ownership of your communications by stamping your name and contact information.

Hello, Mr.James

Thank you for your inquiry into our cloud services at TGI software.  I would be very happy to speak with you on the phone to tell you more about our cloud service options for your business.  We could also have you visit our company later this week, and I can send one of our technician to explain about our process and our new services.

What number may I call you at?  I'm available to talk after 1:00 pm today.

Thank you,

Peter H.Manuel
Director of Client Services
TGI, Incorporated
587 337 1088 pmanuel@tgionline.com
"Your branding is our focus"

The problem is when your emails start to become incoherent and unfocused, or start to convey maverick or disruptive attitude on your part. In the world of business, people want communications to trustworthy and clear and brief, not decorative and distracting. 

7.Proofread every message, as if your professional reputation depended on it.

And indeed, your reputation is easily dismantled by poor grammar, bad spelling, and ill-chosen words.  

Imagine how your professionalism will take a hit if you accidentally send 'You need to check your meth, Ala' when you really meant to say 'you need to check your math, Alma'.  Or if you say 'I can do an intervue on tomorrow' when you meant 'I can do an interview tomorrow'.

Proof read every email you send; do it as if your professional reputation depends on it.

 So far we have seen the basic steps to write a best professional email . Here is an example for a formal business email.

                                                                

                                                                    ALL THE BEST!!!