Today, email is a necessary form of communication.
Emails allow people to respond when convenient, and it is easy to save emails to servers and prevent the loss of valuable information. Understanding basic email protocol is essential, considering that it is a main method of communication in the business world. An email is similar to a business letter, but it does not require a heading with a date and address.
When sending or replying to emails, there are a few basic guidelines to follow.
- Double-check the address: Make sure that the wrong address was not accidentally used. Not double-checking could cause problems.
- CC carefully: Do not carbon copy your entire address book. Only copy people on emails when the issue concerns them. You may also blind carbon copy to protect the privacy of your recipients.
- Subject: Choose a subject heading that is professional and pertains to the topic.
- Salutation: Use standard greetings, like a letter. Introduce yourself if you have not met the individual.
- Body: Maintain a professional tone, and proofread for mistakes. Do not use all caps because that is considered yelling.
- Formatting: Do not over think formatting. It is a message, not a webpage, and a basic paragraph format is typically all that is required. Additionally, you should avoid distracting fonts and emoticons.
- Sign off: Sign off like you would a business letter.