Turns out email is a very passionate topic for some of our loyal followers! We loved getting all the feedback from our first post on Email Etiquette – so much feedback that we thought we’d write a second post. You’re welcome.
Thanks to @_itsandi and @rachals for their tips and to several other tweeps for sharing the original story.
- Read your email before you hit send. Make sure you’ve included all necessary info (remember the classic 5 W’s: Who, What, Where,When, Why), asked all questions, and spelled everything correctly (including the person’s name). Writing with rage or sobs? Walk away, cool off, and read it again with an objective eye. Otherwise you’ll send something you’ll regret later, and emails, like diamonds, are forever.
Avoid any misunderstandings, and make sure you’ve covered all bases before hitting “send”.
- Thinking about recalling a message? Don’t. It looks shady and only draws more attention to the issue. A better idea is to send a short, thoughtfully written apology clarifying or offering further explanation. Much more mature.
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Patience is a virtue. People get a lot of email and we try to respond right away, but sometimes it takes a moment (or several hours) to get there. We could be in a meeting and not able to check email. If something is THAT urgent, pick up the phone.
- Remember back in the ‘90s when forwards were fun and cool? Well, they’re not anymore. Oh, and before you pass along that “helpful” email alerting everyone to a hoax, do a quick check on Snopes to make sure it’s legit.
Avoid flooding your colleagues email by sending annoying forwards.
- Subject lines matter – they’re the windows of emails, giving you a sneak peek of what’s inside. Don’t switch between topics on an email string, rendering the subject line meaningless. Change the subject line if you want to start talking about something else. It makes filing and organizing so much easier.
- Don’t cc people unless they are relevant to the conversation. It’s annoying to receive emails about something you have nothing to do with. Like makeup, less is more.
- Personalization is great for everything but email. Avoid using sparkly pink backgrounds and big, crazy-ass fonts (we’re not sure who does this, but if you do, STOP NOW). A clean white background is the only way, as are simple fonts that work for everyone – we like Arial, Calibri and Verdana. NOT Comic Sans, please.
- Please reply to your emails. We know everyone is crazy busy (trust us, we understand). But we don’t need you to write us a novel in return. When you’re pressed for time or have a zillion emails to respond to, a simple “yes” or “no, thank you” or “received” can go a long way. Don’t play hard to get – we’re not dating.
- Some of our Media, Darlings have said if they don’t reply, they’re not interested in the pitch and we should move on. But others encourage us to follow up. We’re sorry to pester, but be patient with us if we followed up with you when you’d rather we didn’t – we’ve secured many an article thanks to persistence. Or, tell us no, and we’ll stop bugging you. Simple.
Do you have any other email faux pas that you want to share? Tweet us @rockitpromo.
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