Business email dos:

1. Keep messages short & Be promt. A good e-mail should take only 15-30 seconds to read and
absorb. Less is more in online communication. Try to have the entire message fit onto the first
screen. When a messages goes “over the horizon,” the reader does not know how long it is,
which creates a psychological block.
2. Establish the right tone upfront. E-mail messages have a momentum. If you start on the wrong
foot, you will have a difficult time connecting. The “Subject” line and the first three words of a note
establish the tone.
3. Keep your objective in mind. Establish a clear objective of how you want the reader to react to
your note. For sensitive notes, write the objective down. When proofreading your note, check to
see if your intended reaction is likely to happen. If not, reword the note.
4. Be careful with use of pronouns in e-mail. Pronouns establish the tone. The most dangerous
pronoun in an e-mail is “you.”
5. Understand the rules for writing challenging notes so you always get the result you want
rather than create a need for damage control.
6. Consider your readers It is good practice to ask yourself how your readers might react to what
you’ve written
7. Provide a clear, specific subject line Be sure it’s meaningful at a glance. If the recipient has an
inbox full of messages, he or she will decide which to read based on the relative importance of
senders and subjects. Users often respond to the volume of their email by using filters and rules-
based agents. If your message has been filed, the recipient can find it quickly by checking the
subject area.
8. Strike a balance between formal and casual language Your message creates an image of
your company and you. When communicating with upper management or customers, use a
business letter format, complete sentences, and a spellchecker. Misspelled or omitted words
indicate a lack of attention to detail. If you’re just trying to set up a meeting with your colleague at
the next desk, a more casual style and language is appropriate.
9. Acknowledge receipt of messages promptly If you’re going to be out of the office, use auto-
response messages.
10. Be courteous. We’re all in a hurry, but it doesn’t take long to type “please” and “thank you,” and
you’ll get better results.
11. Read and then reread your message before you send it Be sure that your message is clear
and grammatical. Attention to detail is as important in email as it is in other forms of written
communication. Double-check the spelling of recipients’ addresses. A missed keystroke will result
in undelivered mail. After sending email, check back in case you’ve received an ‘undeliverable’
error message. Save a sender’s address to your address book, this allows you to avoid retyping
the address and introducing errors.
Business email don’ts:

1. Never substitute email for necessary face-to-face meetings Especially when praising work
well done, reprimanding someone, or firing someone. Such communications should be handled in
person if possible.
2. Do not reply to everyone who received an email unless it’s relevant to them If you’re simply
acknowledging receipt or confirming the time of a meeting, respond only to the sender.
3. Never send an email message written in capital letters, LIKE THIS Using all capital letters in any
context is regarded as the email equivalent of shouting.
4. Do not reply to everyone who received an email unless it’s relevant to them If you’re simply
acknowledging receipt or confirming the time of a meeting, respond only to the sender
5. No to abbreviations you had to know this one was coming. Although we aren’t ranking these
“do’s” and “don’ts”, this one is very near the top of the list. Remember, you are emailing in a
professional setting, so terms like “thx” and “lol” or “c u @ wrk l8r” should never cross your mind
when emailing at work (just typing that last one makes me cringe). Here’s a helpful resource to
make sure abbreviations NEVER happen: The Slang Translator
6. Use the Reply All Button at Will There comes a time in every marketer’s life, where they realize
that the “reply all” button isn’t always necessary. This continues the discussion of the
unnecessary email chain. If there are multiple people on an email chain, yet you need to reply to
just one or two, don’t be afraid to do so…in fact, do so! 
7. Don’t Use Silly Fonts or Colors – Writing your message in fancy fonts just makes it unreadable.
Colored fonts are just as bad. Keep it simple.
8. Avoid using “absolutes.” Avoid words such as: never, always, impossible, or cannot. Soften the
absolutes if you want to be more credible in e-mails.
9. Avoid sarcasm. Humor at the expense of another person in an e-mail will come back to haunt
you.