| The average office worker sends several emails a | | | | signature to save you time and effort. If you do so, |
| day. But do those emails convey a message of | | | | make sure to keep it simple and pertinent. Also, if |
| professionalism or sloppiness? There are no rules on | | | | you provide a service yourself, make to sure to |
| how to write business emails, but there are 8 ideas. | | | | provide enough contact information to entice readers. |
| 1) Be Concise. | | | | A famous example is hotmail.com, which gave away |
| Say what you mean. Use as few words as possible | | | | free email accounts that always had on the bottom |
| and be quick to the point. But make sure that you | | | | of messages a variant on "Get free email from |
| are clear and avoid haiku-like simplicity. | | | | Hotmail!" |
| 2) Avoid Emoticons. | | | | Use of Hotmail boomed. |
| Emoticons are combinations of letters that look like | | | | 5) Respond Quickly |
| emotions - like :-( and :-). They are cute, but cute is | | | | Sending an email is easy and quick replies are |
| not usually associated with professional. While English | | | | expected. For something important, try to respond |
| can be dry at times, and an emoticon add needed | | | | within the day, and going two days without replying |
| context, "You did a terrible job :-)", try to keep them | | | | to something can be offensive. |
| from your emails. | | | | 6) Keep it PG-13 (if not better) |
| And if you do use them, keep the amount under | | | | Remember that every email is - in theory - |
| control. | | | | permanent. Unlike conversations, emails do not go |
| 3) Spell things right*! | | | | away. Saying something risque or inappropriate may |
| While you can ignore grammar as long as you sound | | | | come back to haunt you, especially if internal review |
| good, spelling is something you can't skimp on. Think | | | | occurs. If you are angry, write a blistering email - |
| back to the time an interviewer sent you an email full | | | | then force yourself to wait a day before sending it. |
| of words like "grat" and "businuss." Probably didn't | | | | This gives you time to calm down and make sure |
| make you think much of their intelligence. | | | | you don't say anything you'll regret. Always err on |
| When we send important emails, like one to a | | | | the side of being composed and professional. |
| prospective new client, we try our hardest to make | | | | 7) Understand the Law |
| a good impression. We don't let spelling mistakes | | | | What you promise in an email can legally bind you, |
| creep into our writing, and we keep the writing both | | | | and emails can also violate the law. While only a |
| friendly and business-like. Doing so on a daily basis, | | | | specialist lawyer knows the ins and outs of email law, |
| however, when sending something to a coworker, | | | | knowing the basics can only protect you. Don't ever |
| for example, is a lot harder. | | | | misrepresent yourself or your company in an email, |
| But not doing so may be not so great, and doing so | | | | and avoid spreading copyrighted material. We are not |
| will certainly make you seem like you put effort into | | | | legal experts and recommend that you see this |
| what and how you say something. Usually a good | | | | article on email law. |
| thing. | | | | 8) Is Email the best way? |
| *or is it correctly? | | | | Though this article is about email, sometimes email is |
| 4) Use Appropriate Headings | | | | not the best option. When you send a contract to |
| Start your letter with an appropriate salutation. | | | | someone, you clearly would do so on paper, but |
| "Dear," though it may seem too familiar, works in | | | | many other cases aren't so clear. Thank-you notes |
| nearly all occasions. Also important is to end your | | | | mean a lot when they're in physical form. Being able |
| letters with an appropriate good-bye such as Yours | | | | to hold them and the relative difficulty of regular mail |
| sincerely, or Cordially. | | | | make thank-you notes mean more than just an email. |
| For the ending, you may want to use an automatic | | | | |