Sending a business email is not the same as sending a personal one. Funny gifs and slang like “brb” is not exactly wise when you’re trying to get people to take you seriously. That’s why we’ve listed these 5 important tips to help you keep things professional without having to second guess yourself. 

1. Use a signature

Using a signature is imperative if you want anyone to get back to you. For instance, if you are sending an email inquiry to another business and it’s only signed with your name, whoever’s reading your email is going to wonder why a stranger is asking such specific questions. Once your work email is set up, the first thing you should do is set a signature that includes your name, position, company information and any additional ways to contact you. 

2. Think before you reply

Once we’ve read an email, many of us shoot off a quick response without realizing we’ve hit reply all. If there’s one way to annoy your coworkers, it’s reply all. Nobody likes being a part of a chain of emails that has nothing to do with them. So next time you receive an email that has half the staff cc’d, remember to hit reply and save yourself a lot of passive aggressive emails. 

3. Proofread

Nothing says unprofessional like an email containing grammar mistakes. Again, many of us type quick replies in order to speed things along, but the quality of the email counts just as much as the speed it takes to reply. Read the email over and then over again to make sure you’re message is getting across. 

4. Have a clear subject line

Ah, the lowly subject line. It's the one space in the email that is almost always forgetten, yet is the most important! Your subject line alerts recipients as to what your email is about and whether or not they want to open it. With the amount of spam that ends up inside of our inboxes, an email without a subject line might be misconstrued as spam. Ensure that you not only include a subject line, but that you in some way indicate what your email is about. 

5. Address the correct person

Depending on the type of email you are sending, there are many ways to begin an email. If you know the person’s name or title, use it. If you don’t know the name or it is a general email address, “to whom it may concern” can never steer you wrong. 

Another tip when sending an email is to put the recipient’s address in once you have finished your message. Although this is not an etiquette tip, it will help you not send an unfinished email by accident. 

Thanks to technology, there are now more than one way to make mistakes at work, so next time you hastily type an email, use these 5 tips and you will be well on your way to fashioning a very professional email.