Email Etiquette: 31 Rules to Impress and Build Trust

Ayesha Ejaz
Ayesha Ejaz

Last updated on

January 19, 2025

Effective communication through email is a tool that you need in your tool kit. It doesn’t matter which category of employee you are; the way you email says a lot about you.

Following the proper email etiquette ensures that your emails are clear, respectful, and professional.

This helps you create a lasting impression and a level of trust with your recipient.

In this guide, we will explain email etiquette and its importance and discuss the essential rules you should follow when emailing.

What Is Email Etiquette?

Email etiquette is the social guidelines people should follow to interact with others through email.

Email etiquette usually refers to the email's tone, structure, and clarity to ensure that your email comes off as professional. 

Sticking to these rules improves your overall communication and shows that you have respect for the recipient's time and attention.

These guidelines might vary based on your industry, but in general, they are similar for most.

Why Is Email Etiquette Important?

In today’s ‘virtual handshake’ world of email, email etiquette rules are more important than ever. How you email can make a huge difference in how others see you as competent, professional, and reliable. 

Here are key reasons why mastering email etiquette is vital: 

It Builds Trust 

Emails that follow the right etiquette guidelines show respect and thoughtfulness. If they’re well-written, professional, and clear, they say, 'I take this person's time seriously, and I'm serious about this.’ 

This helps create trust in personal and professional relationships and will make others believe you are dependable and credible. 

In professional settings, getting things wrong can damage your reputation and jeopardize those working with you. 

Enhances Clarity 

If your emails are too poorly written, you might confuse people, push projects back, and waste everyone’s time with incessant back-and-forth conversations. 

Good email practice ensures that your message has a logical structure and straightforward language, minimizing the opportunity for a misreading. 

You could bullet point or use headings to group the information so that recipients can at least gather a few ideas. Both are courteous and increase the likelihood of your desired outcome. 

Saves Time 

No one has the bandwidth to receive lengthy, ambiguous, or poorly organized emails. Practicing email etiquette, mainly using plain text formatting and keeping messages concise and direct, shows respect for the recipient’s time and provides clearer lines of communication. 

Your subject line clearly defines the subject. With a well-defined purpose and a likable takeaway, your email will do its job without delay. 

This is a real efficiency for teams and organizations, significantly increasing productivity and decreasing frustration.

Reflects Professionalism

Your emails are your personal and professional brand. A vague message or inappropriate tone can leave a lasting negative impression. 

However, proper emails, for example, ones with proper grammar, pleasant salutations, and pleasant sign-offs, indicate attention to detail and professionalism. 

This is especially important in formal situations, like applying for a job, in client meetings, or in the workplace, where professionalism will ultimately determine your success.

31 Email Etiquette Rules

While email etiquette may vary based on industries, some guidelines remain the same throughout the board.

Here is a deeper look at the 31 email etiquette you must follow to ensure your emails are more cohesive and professional.

1. Proofread Your Emails

Proofreading is non-negotiable. You don’t want emails riddled with grammatical and spelling mistakes to be sent out.

This can make you look unprofessional and lightens the importance of your email.

You can put your email through programs like Grammarly to ensure that their context makes sense and the content body has no spelling mistakes. This will give your email a more professional look and ensure that your email is understandable for the reader.

2. Write Clear Email Subject Lines

Your subject lines serve as a greeting card for your email, and they should be relevant to the email matter to ensure that the reader gets an idea of what is to come in the email.

Vague and ambiguous subject lines can sometimes make an email look spammy, which can lead to the recipient ignoring it.

Your email subject lines should be clear and concise and cover the main idea of the email.

3. Use a Professional Greeting

To welcome the recipient, start emails starting with greetings that fit your relationship with the recipient. 

For instance, if formal, "Dear Dr. Smith" for this; or, if more casual, 'Hi Emily' for that. Don’t use generic phrases such as "To whom it may concern" unless necessary.

The professional greeting ensures that the reader knows that the email is addressed to them and is not just a generic email sent to many recipients.

4. End with a professional sign-off

The closing of an email needs to match its tone. For instance, in formal emails, you might end with "Kind regards." 

Meanwhile, in casual emails, 'Best wishes' or 'Thanks' can be used to end a message. Include your name, or at least your written name, and any kind of contact details.

The closing of your email gives you a chance to include your contact information, which will give the reader a chance to reach out to you directly concerning the email.

5. Keep Emails Concise

Readers easily lose attention if emails are too lengthy. Make only the most important bits. If you are discussing multiple topics, use bullet points or numbered lists.

Keep it to the point and concise. Bullet points are helpful in that they help you go over your points without making the email very lengthy.

6. Be Comprehensive When Necessary

Don’t cut corners on the details if detailed explanations or context are needed in situations. Let’s say that when you write the project proposal email, you include all necessary attachments, timelines, and expectations and avoid repeated queries.

Attachments are a great way to include all the details of a project without making the email extremely lengthy and making the reader feel fatigued just by looking at it.

7. Set an Auto-Reply When Away

An auto reply to let the senders know that you will be away, on vacation, or not available will set the expectation with them regarding when they can expect the response. 

If applicable, include alternative contacts or emergency procedures. This will help the recipient reach out to you if there is an urgent matter concerning your email matter.

8. Use BCC Appropriately

If you want to send a mass email but don't want your recipient’s privacy breached, the BCC or blind carbon copy feature is the best choice.

For instance, when emailing a large group, BCC prevents accidental Replies to all chains or people from being shown others' email addresses.

9. Use CC Appropriately

You should use carbon copy (CC) sparingly so only those involved directly or who need to know are copied.

Using CC in excess and without thought can clutter up your inbox, thus decreasing the efficiency of your communication.

10. Know When to Use Reply-All

Think before you hit Reply-All: Do you need to include everyone in the email’s reply? If you abuse this feature, other people will be distracted and irritated.

This can lead to readers ignoring your emails or placing you in the mute or blocked category. 

This can cause even the most important emails to be missed and ignored.

11. Be Mindful of Your Tone

Without verbal cues, the tone of emails can be easily misread. Unless inappropriate, avoid curt phrases, the use of "!", and overly casual language. 

Reading your email aloud can ensure it goes out the way you want it to. Once you have completed the email, go over it, read it out loud, and see if the sentences sound curt or if some phrases can be misunderstood. Replace them accordingly.

12. Avoid Emojis

Even though emojis add some personality to emails, they are not suitable for formal ones. Use them casually or in internal communications, where they’re more acceptable.

Emojis make the email tone go from a formal tone to a more light-hearted, casual tone, so they should be avoided, especially in emails you want to be taken seriously.

13. Mention Email Attachments

When attaching files, refer to them in your email, such as: The quarterly sales report is available for review, as attached, please. 

Before sending, double-check that the attachments are what they should be. Ensure that all the attachments are marked according to their description in the email. This will help your readers identify the right attachment.

14. Reiterate Key Points

To be clear, end with a summary of your main points or action items. 

For example: "The final feedback is on and we will finalize with updated design and proceed on that by Dec 5."

This small detail will help your reader understand the important points of the email without any of the important points going overlooked.

15. Know Your Audience

Find a way to tailor your tone and content to the person you’re talking with. Emails to executives should be more formal and concise; emails to close teams might be OK in a casual tone.

This is especially important when emailing any of the higher-ups, where the tone of the email must be kept more formal and concise.

16. Use Proper Punctuation

Some punctuation errors can lead readers wrong and even change the meaning of your message. 

“Let’s eat, Grandma” versus “Let’s eat Grandma” demonstrates just the difference punctuation can make!

One punctuation mistake can change the whole context of your email, as demonstrated in the example above, going from asking your grandma to eat to eating your grandma.

17. Don't Send Personal Content

Don’t mix personal with professional emails. Willy-nilly inserting personal topics in your work correspondence can dabble your professionalism, leading to losses without any reason.

Personal topics should be kept to casual emailing, not formal ones.

18. Use Standard Fonts

Choose fonts that are readable and neutral on the net: Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman. 

Stick to decorative, overly playful fonts, such as snarky or gloomy emojis, or use decorative or shiny fonts that can be easy to miss.

Decorative and fancy fonts can make your email harder to read and can cause the reader to skim through your email without getting the full understanding of the email matter.

19. Maintain a Professional Tone

Even in difficult situations, maintain your poise and politeness. Be careful with inflammatory language that amplifies a misunderstanding and doesn’t reflect your character.

Be professional, even if you are emailing under stressful circumstances. You don’t want your frustration to be shown in your email.

20. Be Specific in Subject Lines

Specific subject lines, such as "Request for Feedback on Marketing Proposal" or "Action Required: With “Complete Survey by Nov 30,” help the recipient right away understand the purpose of your email.

You want your reader to be informed about the email from the start, and subject lines can help with that.

This is why it is important to be specific in your subject lines to ensure your readers understand what they are getting into.

21. Check Grammar

Grammatical errors are distracting and bad enough to kill your credibility. Pay attention to your email before sending it, and use tools to help spot mistakes.

Grammatical errors can make the content of your email harder to read and understand, lowering its importance.

22. Avoid Overusing Emojis

Too many emojis in casual environments are also unwelcome. Instead of being unprofessional or unclear, use them when and where appropriate.

As we have already discussed above, using emojis in your emails should only be used in casual emails and should be checked to ensure that the content isn’t considered nonsensical for readers.

23. Be Brief Yet Descriptive

Be brief and complete. For example, "We will meet on December 2 at 3 p.m. in Room 210." The agenda will include "Q1 projection, Budget review, and Marketing updates."

Being brief saves time for your reader and shows them that you are considerate of their time and attention.

24. Choose Your Salutation Wisely

For context, ensure that salutations are appropriate according to the relationship. Examples include 'for formal emails, write Dear Sir/Madam' or 'Hey there' for an internal email.

Using a casual salutation in a formal email can leave a bad taste in the mouth of the recipient.

25. End with a Polite Sign-off

Your closing should show gratitude or good intentions. For example, "I hope you enjoyed your piece of feedback, or better yet, thank you for the time you have given me."

You want the reader to know that you are grateful for their time and attention and that their feedback is considered positively.

26. Triple-Check the Recipient’s Info

If an email is sent to the wrong person, it can be very costly. Double-check email addresses for sensitive information and from friends.

Ensure that you check the email before starting it and once again before sending it to make sure that it is sent to the right recipient.

This will save you from having to apologize in the case of the email being sent to the wrong person.

27. Use Sentence Case

All caps can look rude if you type it that way, or all lowercase can look lazy and informal. Sentence case is about showing respect for grammar, and it also shows professionalism.

Using the sentence case shows that you have put consideration into writing and creating your email.

28. Be Cautious with Humor

Humor can easily be misunderstood without tone or context. Avoid jokes in a professional email unless you know they will be received well.

Jokes, while light-hearted, can be taken out of context and can lead to more confusion from the reader's end.

This is why they are to be avoided when emailing, especially when contacting people for the first time or just casually from time to time.

29. Think Before Forwarding

Before sharing forwarded messages with anyone else, make sure they are related to the recipients, are appropriate, and do not contain confidential information.

Forwarding emails without considering the information addressed in them can lead to problems and legal repercussions.

30. Respond Promptly

Reply within 72 hours to emails. Hyperfocusing and a delayed ability to respond can signal disinterest or disorganization, harming the professional areas of your life. 

Proposal" or "Action Required: Complete Survey by Nov 30" help the recipient immediately understand the purpose of your email.

You want to wait for the recipient to respond, but once the email has gone over the 72-hour mark, you can send them a reminder about the email.

31. Set Up Out-of-Office Replies

When you are out of the office, automated out-of-office replies can be helpful in letting your readers know that you are out and might not be available to reply to them.

You can also include some contact information so that the recipient can reach you in an emergency or to discuss an important matter concerning their email.

Email Etiquette FAQs

Here are some common questions we’ve been asked about email etiquette:

What are 3 Key Etiquette Rules?

The three key email etiquette include:

  1. Proofreading your email.
  2. Using clear and concise subject lines.
  3. Responding promptly.

What are Common Email Etiquette Mistakes To Avoid?

Some common email etiquette mistakes to avoid include the following.

  • Typos and grammar errors.
  • Using “Reply-All” when not needed.
  • Sending lengthy and ambiguous emails.

What Is the 24-Hour Rule For Emails?

The 24-hour rule, as the name suggests, is to give an email a 24-hour reading window before replying to ensure professionalism.

What Time Should You Avoid Sending Emails?

The two times you should avoid emailing others, apart from an emergency, are during the night and outside office hours.

What are The 7 C's Of Email Etiquette?

The 7 C’s of email etiquette include:

  • Clear
  • Concise
  • Courteous
  • Correct
  • Concrete
  • Coherent
  • Complete communication

What Is The 5-Minute Email Rule?

The 5-minute email rule implies that you should spend 5 minutes creating responses to simple queries.

How To Communicate Clearly In Emails?

The three main ways you can communicate clearly in emails are to structure your messages logically, using bullet points, and summarizing key details.

Mailmunch’s Final Words on Email Etiquette

Mastering email etiquette isn’t just about following the rules. It's about creating trust with your recipient and ensuring clear communication.

By following these 31 rules, you can ensure that your emails are professional, respectful, and, most importantly, impactful.

Are you looking to streamline your email campaigns? Mailmunch can help you elevate the way you email. Click to learn more about our tools.

Author Bio

Ayesha Ejaz

Ayesha Ejaz is a passionate writer who loves diving into research to explore new topics and broaden her knowledge. With a keen interest in learning through writing, Ayesha crafts informative and engaging content across various subjects. You'll find her unwinding with music or challenging herself with word search puzzles when she's not writing.

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