{"id":295350,"date":"2019-01-26T13:31:26","date_gmt":"2019-01-26T11:31:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=295350"},"modified":"2019-01-25T16:28:14","modified_gmt":"2019-01-25T14:28:14","slug":"the-dos-and-donts-when-sending-a-business-email","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/295350\/the-dos-and-donts-when-sending-a-business-email\/","title":{"rendered":"The dos and don\u2019ts when sending a business email"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Few things can tarnish your professional brand quite like a poorly written, misguided email. One click of the \u2018send\u2019 button can be the difference between a successful business exchange and a potential HR issue or coworker conflict. And while we send hundreds of thousands of emails a day, it should not be taken for granted.<\/p>\n<p>Whether you\u2019re a senior professional or an office newbie, here are 13 must-remember dos and don\u2019ts of business email etiquette, from recruitment specialist, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.glassdoor.com\/blog\/dos-and-donts-business-email-etiquette\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Glassdoor<\/a>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Do<\/span> pay attention to the subject line<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Write a clear, concise subject line that reflects the body of the email. Avoid subject lines with,\u201cHi,\u201d \u201cTouching Base\u201d or \u201cFYI,\u201d and do not leave a subject line blank.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Do<\/span> use a proper salutation<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Remember \u201cHi\u201d and \u201cHey\u201d communicate a lack of professionalism and maturity. Begin your email with phrases such as \u201cGood Morning,\u201d \u201cGood Afternoon,\u201d \u201cGood Evening\u201d or \u201cHello.\u201d \u201cGood Day\u201d or \u201cGreetings\u201d are other phrases used frequently in the international arena.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Do<\/span> use an introduction<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In direct cultures like the US, the best practice is for the sender to introduce themselves by first and last name with some background information in the first few lines.<\/p>\n<p>For example, \u201cDear Ms. Mandell: My name is Sharon Schweitzer, founder of Access to Culture; I was referred to you by \u2026\u201d or \u201cMy name is Sharon Schweitzer and I am an International Business Expert writing to you about \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Do<\/span> know the culture<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Don\u2019t<\/span> include humour and sarcasm<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Do<\/span> double-check your attachments<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Don\u2019t<\/span> hit \u201cReply All\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Avoid using \u201cReply-to-All\u201d 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.<\/p>\n<p>Why make ten others delete your email? Reply-to-All is a function for ongoing deliberations on a particular subject.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Do<\/span> reply expediently<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Replying within 24 hours is common courtesy. Leaving someone hanging for any longer and you are not only perceived as rude \u2014 it could cost you business in the long run.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019ve unintentionally kept someone waiting longer than 24 hours or extenuating circumstances arose, politely explain the situation and express your apologies.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Don\u2019t<\/span> use emojis<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Do<\/span> protect privacy<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Email is public. Even though an email is deleted, online services and software programs can access messages on the hard drive. Before you click \u201csend\u201d 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?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Don\u2019t<\/span> be negative<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>If you must relay bad news via email, use objective words and state the facts. Face-to-face communication is best when relaying bad news.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #008000;\">Do<\/span> proofread<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>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 \u2014 use them.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Don\u2019t<\/span> forget the conversation closer<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>By letting the recipient know that a response isn\u2019t needed, the email cycle doesn\u2019t continue on in perpetuity. Close with \u201cNo reply necessary,\u201d \u201cThank you again,\u201d \u201cSee you at the board meeting Tuesday\u201d or \u201cPlease let me know if I may be of further assistance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>End your email with a closing such as \u201cBest,\u201d \u201cBest Regards,\u201d \u201cSincerely,\u201d \u201cThank you\u201d or another appropriate phrase.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong>Read: <a href=\"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/business\/294024\/this-is-what-the-perfect-cv-looks-like-in-2019\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">This is what the perfect CV looks like in 2019<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Whether you\u2019re a senior professional or an office newbie, here are 13 must-remember dos and don\u2019ts of business email etiquette, from recruitment specialist, Glassdoor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":295352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9872],"tags":[7186,26],"class_list":["post-295350","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-glassdoor","tag-headline"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295350","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=295350"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295350\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":295430,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/295350\/revisions\/295430"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=295350"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=295350"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=295350"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}