EMAIL ETIQUETTE

How to write the perfect professional email

Content
■ Written Communication in Business
■ Subject Lines
■ Opening and Closing Lines
■ Recipients
■ Reducing Inbox Clutter
■ Content
■ Conveying Emotions
■ Signature
■ Additional Help
■ Extentia and Email
Written Communication in Business

Advantages Disadvantages

Can be edited and revised Sender does not receive

feedback immediately
More appropriate for complex
business interaction Can take more time to compose
than speaking face-to-face
Good writing skills lead to
increased client satisfaction and
inter-organizational efficiency
Subject Lines
■ Write the subject line first
so you don’t forget it
■ An email with a blank
subject will likely go unread
or get lost

■ Be clear and specific about

the topic of the email
■ Keep it short!
Subject Lines
■ Avoid words in ALL CAPS or
special characters like
exclamation points!
■ Emails like this can end up
in the spam filter

■ Indicate if a response is
needed at the end of
subject
■ i.e. “Proposed changes to
document – please respond
by Friday”
Dear reader,
When you go to craft an email, be sure to pay as
much attention to the opening and closing as you do
the rest of the content.

Don’t let an avoidable blunder here annoy or distract

the recipient from the most important part of the
email – your message!

Best regards,
Extentia
Openings

Do’s Don’ts
Formal Casual Shows Lack of Consideration
Hello Hi Dear Sir or Madam
To Whom it May Concern
Good Group
Morning Too Casual
Hello all
Good day Yo/Hey
Good day
team
Closings - DOs
“Best”
■ Experts agree – “best” is safe, inoffensive
and almost universally appropriate
■ Variations include “All the best” and “Best
wishes”

“Regards”
■ Another simple and common sign-off
■ Variations include “Best regards”, “Kind
regards”, and “Warm regards”
Closings – DON’TS
“Thanks”
■ While it can be a good sign-off
when it is sincere, many times
variations of “thanks” are used as
a command disguised as
premature gratitude

“Sincerely”, “Yours Truly”, “Yours

/Faithfully”
■ Can appear as overly formal and
stuffy – use with caution
Closings – DON’TS
“xoxo”, “”, “thx”
■ In business emails, abbreviations and emoticons are not
appropriate
“Cheers” or “Ciao”
■ If you wouldn’t say it in real life,
don’t use it in an email
Recipients
■ TO: use when directly addressing someone, or when an action is
expected in response

■ CC: use for informational purposes

■ BCC: to “secretly” add someone to communication

■ Useful for privacy protection
on group mailings
■ Avoid using in work emails
Reducing Inbox Clutter
■ Send or copy others on a
need to know basis only

■ Beware of “reply all”

■ Do not use this feature unless
every member on the email
chain needs to know

■ Don’t send or forward chain

emails
Content
■ Make your request in the first line of your email
■ If that’s all you need to say, stop there!

■ Keep the message focused – shorter is better

■ Wordiness wastes the reader’s
time – be urgent, yet polite
■ If a longer message is
necessary, introduce how
many parts there are to your
message, and number the
points
Content
■ Avoid italicizing, bolding, and
larger typefaces – the
recipient’s email might not
have all of these features

■ Don’t assume privacy

■ Email is not a secure form of
communication – anything
written over email can be
seen by others!
Content
■ Write short paragraphs
separated by blank lines
■ It is easier to read, and less
intimidating

■ Proofread, proofread,
proofread!
■ Write and proofread the
email before entering the
recipients email
Communicating Emotional Information
■ Email is great for facts, but
not for emotions
Verbal
35%
■ Written communication
Nonverba
l… lacks necessary non-verbal
cues
■ Jokes, sarcasm, and other
emotions are not easily
conveyed in writing
Communication
Communicating Emotional Information
■ Emotional messages and bad
news should never be sent
over email
■ These interactions should be done
face-to-face or over the phone

■ Never hit “send” while angry

Signature
■ If you don’t have a signature already, make one now
■ They promote your business, get you more customers, make it easier to
contact you, and look more professional

Your Name
Company Logo
or Headshot Title, Company
here Phone Number | Website
Social Media Icons and Links
Additional Help
■ When crafting an email,
there are a lot of small
pieces that can make a big
impact on the recipient

■ It can be difficult, but there

are many online services
available to help in the
process
Extentia – High Impact eMail
■ Extentia created High Impact eMail for iPad, which is a first
of its kind mobile application

■ Users can create and

send professionally
designed emails from a
variety of templates –
all on-the-go
Extentia – Business Email Templates
■ Extentia created an app for SalesForce to create great-
looking professional emails right from the iPad

■ Business Email Templates

sends emails to customers
and contacts quickly and
easily, which render
perfectly across all email
clients and devices
THANK YOU!
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