Rules of Email

Etiquette
WHY DO WE NEED EMAIL ETIQUETTE?
This shouldn’t be too surprising. If you read an email riddled with typos, you
probably think one of two things:

 The sender doesn’t know basic spelling and grammar

 The sender didn’t care enough about this message to review it before sending

Well for your relationship. So, to avoid prospects coming to these conclusions about
you, here are a few email etiquette tips every professional (especially client-facing
ones) should know and follow
Email Etiquette Tips & Examples

Email etiquette rules dictate what’s appropriate and what’s not when you’re sending a
message to a prospect, business partner, coworker, manager, or acquaintance
To avoid miscommunications and mistakes. Want to make sure your email etiquette
meets modern standards? 
 Keep your tone professional
 Avoid vague subject lines
 Use proper email punctuation
 Practice good grammar
 Resist emojis in email
 Keep subject lines descriptive and short
 Choose your email salutation carefully
 Leave the right impression with your email sign-off
 Triple-check your recipient's name
 Use sentence case
 Consider your email's tone
 Always use standard fonts and formatting
 Shorten your URLs
 Call out attachments
 Perfect your email signature
 Fill out your email fields properly
 Use Bcc appropriately
 Use 'Reply all' sparingly
 Think before forwarding
 Respond in a timely manner
 Set informative out-of-office replies
 Track email opens and click-through rates
 Don't add that 'Sent from my phone' caveat
Professional Email

Sub: HubSpot+ABC Company Meeting Confirmation

Dear [Prospect name],
It was great to speak with you on the phone earlier. I hope those spring storms give you a
break soon!
You should have received a calendar invite from me for the demo we agreed upon for
Tuesday, April 7 at 2:00 p.m. EST. You'll also find an agenda and talking points attached
below.
Please let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,
[Your name]
2. Avoid vague subject lines

Hello!
Hi-
Great talking to you on the phone today; Can't wait to tell you more about how
HubSpot can help you're company. I scheduled the demo we discussed earlier and
you can find the agenda here:
https//www.longesturlever.com/donteverdothistoyourprospects.

Talk to you son.

Cheers -- [Your name]
3. Use proper email punctuation

 Every line should end with a terminal punctuation mark, i.e. a period, question mark, or exclamation mark. If you skip terminal
punctuHere’s an example:
 Wrong:
 I talked to Finance, and they approved the agreement
 Right:
 I talked to Finance, and they approved the agreement.
 Use question marks sparingly. If you use too many question marks in one email, you’ll sound like you’re interrogating the recipient.
 "What’s your status? Have you talked to your team yet? Are you free for a call tomorrow at noon so we can discuss any potential
changes?"
 Semicolons (;)
 A semicolon can also connect two unique, but related, sentences. It cannot act as a comma.
 Wrong:
 She can call me tomorrow, she can give me an answer then.
 Right:
 She can call me tomorrow; she can give me an answer then.
 ation, it’ll look like you never completed your thought.
 Practice good grammar

Know the difference between:

 There/they’re/their
 Its/it’s
 Effect/affect
 Your/you’re
 Too/two/to
 Loose/lose
 I/me/myself
Keep subject lines descriptive and short

Your subject line should be descriptive and relatively short. Ideally, it should give the
recipient a good idea whether they want to open your message.
 Bad subject line:
Hi
What are you emailing them about? It’s completely unclear.
 Good subject line:
“Summary of 12/2 call
This line leaves no doubt about the contents of the email.
Choose your email salutation carefully

 Most of the time, a casual salutation is appropriate. You’ll set a friendly,

easygoing tone and communicate confidence.
 Casual email greetings include:
 Hi
 Hey
 Hey/hi there
 Good [morning, afternoon]
 [Name]
 If you’re reaching out to someone for the first time -- or they work in a
conservative industry -- skew more formal.
 Formal email greetings include:
 Dear [first name]
 Dear Mr./Ms. [last name]
 And which ones should you never use (not even as a joke)?
 Yo: Too informal
 Hey!: Too intimate and eager
 [Name]!: Too off-putting
 To whom it may concern: Too impersonal
 Dear sir or madam: Too stiff
 Hi friend: Too creepy
 Gentlemen: Too old-fashioned
 All: Too cold
Leave the right impression with your email
sign-off
 The right sign-off will complement the tone and content of your email. Since it’s
the last thing your recipient reads, this line influences their lasting impression.
 If your tone is lighthearted, end with a warm sign-off.
 Informal sign-offs:
 Thanks
 Thanks again
 Best
 Cheers
 Happy [day of the week]
 Enjoy the weekend
 Talk soon
 Talk to you [tomorrow, on Wednesday, when you get back]
 Looking forward to working together
 Looking forward to our next conversation
 Excited to hear your thoughts
 If your tone is more reserved, your sign-off should be as well.
Formal sign-offs:
 Thank you
 Thank you for your time
 Have a wonderful [day, weekend]

And here are the closing lines you shouldn’t be using:

 Sincerely: Too outdated
 Regards: Too unfriendly
 Kind regards: Too unnatural
 Warmly: Too relaxed
 Respectfully: Too random
 Xoxo: Too intimate
 Cordially: Too stilted
 - [Your name]: Too abrupt
 Triple-check your recipient's name
 Use sentence case
 Consider your email's tone
 Always use standard fonts and formatting
 Shorten your URLs
Call out attachments

 Indicate somewhere in your email you’ve included an attachment so your

recipient doesn’t overlook it.
 A simple “I’ve attached a [document, spreadsheet] for X will do the trick.
 And make sure you’re reattaching files when you add someone to an email chain,
or they won’t be able to see them. (An alternative? Simply forward them the
thread.)
Perfect your email signature

 A bad email signature can really do a number on your relationships. Even if you
write the most eloquent, persuasive message in the world, a poorly designed
signature will make you seem like an amateur.
 Keeping in mind less is definitely more, yours should be relatively small, simple,
and restrained. Now isn’t the time to include your favorite inspirational quote,
headshot, or every possible way to reach you. Stick to your name, job title,
LinkedIn URL and/or company website, and phone number.
Fill out your email fields properly

 To: This field is simple. Add the email address of the person you’re trying to
contact.
 Cc: If you’d like to include someone else on the message Cc them. You’re
essentially saying, “Hey, read this, but don’t feel obligated to respond.
Ccing someone is necessary when there’s relevant information in the email or you’re
connecting them with the actual recipient.
 Bcc: Bccing also copies your contact to the email, but no one besides them will
see they received it. In other words, if you send an email to Natnael B and Bcc
Miraff, Miraff won’t knowhassan got it as well.
 Use Bcc appropriately
 Use 'Reply all' sparingly
 Think before forwarding
Respond in a timely manner

Immediate Teammates:
 Respond within 12 hours. Your team relies on you to work quickly and efficiently; plus,
most emails are about timely matters.
General Colleagues:
 For everyone else you work with, respond within 24 hours. Can’t address their request
in that time period? Respond letting them know you’ve read their email and will follow
up by X time.
External Contacts:
 Unless marked as an urgent email or one that needs an ASAP response, responding to
external contacts by the end of the week in which it was sent is perfectly appropriate --
so if you received the email Tuesday, respond by Friday of that week. For high-value
contacts, it may be worth responding within a 24-hour time frame.
Set informative out-of-office replies

 If you’re going to be unavailable for an extended period of time, an automated “OOO reply
-- or out of office reply -- can let whomever is contacting you know that you won’t be able
to respond to their message until the date you’ll be in the office again.
 Some do's and don'ts for OOO replies:
 DO: Include how long you’ll be unavailable.
 DON’T: Create an OOO response for one day.
 DO: Include another person to contact for more urgent matters.
 DON’T: Include a colleague to contact without letting that colleague know they’re in your
OOO reply.
 DO: Include “OOO in your subject line so people can easily identify the automated
response.
 DON’T: Include more detail than needed -- such as the exact location of your vacation.
Don't add that 'Sent from my phone' caveat

 Should you include “Sent from my iPhone or “Sent via phone -- please forgive

any typos? I wouldn’t. Many people take this as an excuse to be lazy and forgo a
glance-over before you press “Send.