Business Email Rules

January 2009

Rule 1. Every email must have a clear and concise subject.

Email subject lines with less than 50 characters have a higher open rate. Emails with no subject line can easily be ignored. If an action is required or the email includes a deadline, include that information in the subject line. Make it easy for the recipient to find your email in their inbox and to act on it.

Rule 2. Every email must use an appropriate greeting.

Use the recipient’s name (or team or workgroup name) in the greeting – it shows respect and increases the likelihood your email will be read.

Rule 3. Every email must include a complete signature – first and last name, affiliation, and contact information.

Make it easy for the recipient to know exactly who you are, who you are affiliated with and how to contact you. If the recipient needs to call you back or forward your email address to someone else, she is more likely to do so if you have included your information in your email. Set up a standard signature that gets attached to every email you send, forward, or reply to…and then it just happens every time without you having to remember to do it.

Rule 4. Every email must use correct grammar and spelling.

Set the spell checker to automatically check every email that goes out of your mailbox. Incorrect spelling and grammar look unprofessional.

Rule 5. Most emails should avoid slang, pictures and symbols.

Formal business communications should avoid informal email components. You will be the best judge of the relationship you have with the recipient and how formal or informal you must be. However, always be conscious that your email may be forwarded to someone in the business world that you do not know and write your email accordingly.