Business Email Etiquette

When sending business correspondence, it is very important to not only sound professional, but to give others the impression that you are trustworthy and confident in what you do.

Business English is essential to learn when sending professional letters, as well as corresponding over email. Many people are too informal when it comes to email, which can create a bad impression and even harm any future business with the client. Business email etiquette is quite different from that used when sending regular email and many people do not follow proper guidelines when sending such communications over the Internet.

Two important aspects of business writing are making sure the “Subject” field on the email is not written in Caps and that the “Subject” is free of spelling errors. The “Subject” field is the first point of contact between the client and the sender, so it can also determine whether the email is even opened. The “Subject” should be a short description of what the email is about so the recipient does not delete the email believing it to be spam.

Email using Business English means the email is written formally as opposed to the informal style of everyday email communication. Business email should be as professional as it would if being written on paper with a formal company letterhead. Sending an email can either leave a positive or negative impression, so it is always important to remain professional.

Using an online grammar checker or English grammar software before sending any email is a good way to make sure all outgoing correspondence sounds professional and intelligent. Spell checkers can sometimes miss common words.  Always manually re-check the spelling and grammar of the email before sending.

Always have the proper opening to each letter by addressing the contact by their formal name. Many people do not mind being called by their first name.  However, in many customs or cultures, addressing contacts in this fashion before building a business relationship can appear offensive.

All names in the “Subject,” “To,” and “From” fields should be written formally when using Business English. When sending out a mass email to a long list of contacts, use the “BCC” field.  This enables the sending of a mass email without listing every single contact name and email address, thus ensuring the privacy of each recipient.

Properly written business email is important.  It can help increase business or it can leave a bad impression if not done correctly.