Email Dos and Don’ts

Just like we can’t live without air, food and a roof over our head – email is now a phenomena that we can’t live without! Whether it be on our smart phone, PC, laptop, tablet, TV – it’s all around us, 24/7.

A staggering 92% of people in the UK have an email address, a clear indication of the integral part email communication now plays in all of our lives. I, for one, remember the days without email – and still I ask “How on earth did we ever cope without email….?”

Certainly in business, email is the thing that keeps the corporate machinery working – can you imagine working in a business environment today where email communication is non- existent?!

As such, I am quite a stickler when it comes to email communication. Being in PR, most of our day to day work is now done by email and I will always communicate in a professional and polite manner, as I would if I was talking to someone.

With email communication playing such a large part in everyday business, now more than ever, it is essential that emails hit the right tone – here’s a few of my do’s and don’ts when it comes to email:

1. Never ever use text speak!   Can you imagine receiving an email where it says “It was gr8 to c u 2day.   Perhaps Ill c u l8r……..”?   No, no, no, never, ever, ever….. I’m not even going to waste any more time on that – just NO!!!!
2. Watch your grammar – please always check over what you’ve written before sending out an email. Even if it’s to a friend or colleague – check it before sending it! Don’t forget – once it’s been sent it’s too late, it’s gone. So always be careful what you say.
3. Address with care!   If you’re sending an email to a long list of recipients, don’t ever put them all in the To box or the CC box – it’s so frustrating, especially if the recipient hits the ‘Reply to all’ button, yes we’ve all been there!   We don’t want our email addresses going out to all and sundry anyway! Always remember to use the BCC box if you’re emailing a number of people.
4. AVOID CAPITAL LETTERS!!!   It’s not big (see what I’ve done there!?), and it’s not clever. It looks like you’re shouting…. which you probably wouldn’t do if you were face to face with the person… so why feel the need to do it in an email?
5. Tone – think about who you are sending to! As always in PR, it is important to think about your audience. At times emails require to be formal, set out in the more traditional “letter” format whereas other times a simple “Hi” or “Good Afternoon” would suffice. Take a second to think about where your email is going –it’s common courtesy!
6. Sometimes – just pick up the phone! Or meet up with the person.   You can’t beat that one to one human interaction.   It easy to sit behind an email and hide behind a computer screen – go out and meet people! It’s good for the soul.