Overview:

This page provides six sets of tips on effective e-mail use as recommended by students in the FYF 101J - Alternative Energy: Separating Myth From Reality course at Wilkes University in September 2007.

The method by which the lists were generated can be found by clicking this link.

• Use a meaningful, yet short subject line.  The subject line should be brief and should catch your reader’s attention. It should relate directly to the content of your e-mail. In addition, if necessary, indicate that an e-mail is urgent in the subject line.
• Reply quickly to received e-mails.  E-mail inboxes should be checked daily, since most e-mails are delivered quite quickly. In professional situations, it is often looked down upon when a response is not received within one day. Speediness in responding to e-mails is paramount.
• Pay attention to the privacy level of your e-mail.  Never assume that any e-mail is private. Be aware that essentially anyone can read your e-mails. Use this a rule to judge the content of your e-mails. In addition, avoid disclosing confidential material through an e-mail, especially to a recipient that you do not know.
• Keep your e-mail concise and to the point.  An e-mail should be kept as short as possible. Be sure to convey your central message within the first few lines of the e-mail. Unless the e-mail is personal, do not write lengthy responses. E-mails are meant to be quick.
• Avoid using excessive formatting techniques. Use as little formatting as possible when writing an e-mail. This includes letter size, font style, bold or italicized text, and colored text. The recipient’s software may not accept certain formatting techniques, leading to difficulties when the recipient tries to open the e-mail.Be respectful through writing e-mails
• Learn to differentiate between formal and informal e-mails. Use the proper greeting that corresponds to the recipient of the e-mail. Address your e-mail’s recipient as you would in person. In addition, note that typing in all capital letters is considered shouting.
• Limit sending attachments with e-mails.  Use attachments only when sending important supporting information. Keep the attachment to a reasonable size of about 1MB. If attachments are too large, time spent downloading can become excessive and inboxes will quickly fill up.
• Review what you have written.  Before sending an e-mail, carefully check it for clarity, content, and correct grammar. Be sure to run a spell-check, if possible, but also read it yourself. This often repairs many small mistakes that have been made while typing. 
• Limit the number of e-mail recipients.  Avoid long mailing lists. The mass sending of e-mails often appears informal and can be misinterpreted as spam. When appropriate, use the “Cc” and “Bcc” e-mail tools.
• Limit the use of quotes when responding. When replying to an e-mail, do not include a complete copy of the original e-mail. If responding to a question, quote the original question and include the answer underneath. Use the symbol “>” to indicate a quote.
  

• Allow enough time for spelling and grammar check.  In order for someone to take you seriously, spelling and grammar should be correct.  Simple typos can make you look sloppy and unprofessional.  If your email software does not have spell check, type it up in MS Word first.
• Don’t use all caps unless absolutely necessary.  The reader may think that you are shouting when you are not.  It will make you look angry and your email ma be taken the wrong way.
• Don’t spam your readers.  Do not send people unnecessary messages.  If they continuously receive them from you, they may begin to ignore important ones.
• Don’t over-format your messages.  Don’t waste your time formatting messages.  Not all email programs are the same.  Therefore, you may think that it looks nice when you send it, but it looks horrible to the recipient.
• Meaningful subject lines.  This way, your recipient knows what you are discussing and knows it’s not spam mail.
• Proper punctuation for professional letters.  Oftentimes, people choose to not capitalize at the start of a sentence, and use proper punctuation.  This is OK for emails to friends, but not for professional letters.
• Try to limit your email to one page.  Keep your messages short and to the point.  If you continue on, your reader may lose interest.
• Be patient.  If you send someone an email and they do not promptly reply, don’t continuously send them emails.  There must be a reason why.
• Reply promptly.  Don’t keep your recipient waiting.
• Always provide proper contact information.  So your reader knows who you are, and how to contact the person through other methods.
  

• Be concise and to the point.  By being concise and to the point, it makes for a quicker reply.  The reader will read the entire message, not just part of it.  Reading a long message can seem discouraging to most, so keep it short.
• Have a meaningful subject line.  Having a meaningful subject line informs the reader of what they would be reading.  The subject line will catch the reader’s attention.
• Don’t type in all caps / lower caps.  When you use all caps, it seems like you are screaming to the reader.  By using lower caps, you aren’t speaking proper English.
• Proofread.  Make sure everything you write is proper English.  If you don’t proofread your email, it makes you look uneducated.
• Use Smileys.  When you use Smileys it shows your emotions. They are also a good way to give warmth and personality in your emails.
• Creative punctuations.  Creative punctuations show many emotions and thoughts.
• Reply quickly.  When you reply quickly, it shows that you care and are interested in the email.
• Hit “Reply” instead of “New Message.”  When you hit the “Reply” it gives the reader the email they sent with your answer and you forget what you are talking about.
• Spell-check and grammar-check.  When you spell words correctly, it makes you feel educated.
• Do not use bad words.  You don’t want to make  someone mad or they won’t reply.
  

• Keep length short.  People do not want to be bothered by long email if they get tons everyday.  A long email also takes time for them to read.  It also may cost them money if their space surpasses their limit.
• Do not send the same email more than once.  Do not send the same email more than once.  Give the person time to reply to it.  You may be viewed as a pain and then the person gets frustrated.
• Good subject.  Make sure to make a good subject so it’s not thrown out or discarded.  If there is no title, it may be viewed as spam.  The title should sum up what the email is about in one to three words.
• Write properly in the situation you are in or stay on subject.  If it is a business email, you should speak strictly business.  You would not talk about your cats.  If you are talking to a friend, you probably won’t be talking formal.
• Don’t use all caps.  If one uses all caps, it is just like shouting to a person.  Keep it calm, and use all lower case, except where it is necessary for grammar.
• Do not go crazy with punctuation.  Try not to use many “!” after a sentence.  It takes up space and you are trying to put emphasis on it and no one really cares.
• Attachments.  Try not to use attachments whenever possible.  Try to include all information in email.  If you cannot attach small attachments.  Otherwise it would take too long to download.
  
• Try not to bulk email.  Do not email to a big group unless you know every person could use and gain information from it.  For the people who do not need it, it just fills up their inbox.
• Respond to email promptly.  Whenever you get an email, try to respond promptly.  The person who sent it is probably waiting for a reply.  If you don’t send back, they will probably get mad.
• Add “RE” to message if you are replying.  This keeps track of the conversation.  You know what you are reading.
  

• Don’t assume email has confidentiality.  Anything sent can be seen by others, do not include personal information such as passwords and social security numbers.
• Have a relevant subject title.  Catch attention with specificity.  Do not use spam, keywords, or excessive punctuation.
• Keep the message body short and concise.  If a message is too long, summarize. Be clear.
• Don’t attach outside files or documents.  Most people won’t open them.  Attachments are virus prone.
• Do not use font colors, effects, and formatting.  It’s complicated.  Some computers cannot read them.
• Check spelling and grammar before sending.  This avoids confusion.  It also looks more professional.
• Do not send spam or chain mail.  You can harm the receiver’s computer.  And nobody is interested.
• Do not flip out in emails.  Emotions can be misinterpreted.  And don’t cap lock.
• Respond to received emails promptly.  The point of email is to send a message quickly.  A person could need a quick response.
• Be careful when replying to email.  Do not click “reply to all.”  This can confuse recipients.  It can also share unwanted information.

• Keep messages short and to the point. It's not necessary to have a long detailed e-mail. Unlike writing a letter the receiver has an opportunity to ask questions and get a quick response. Also use short paragraphs so it is easier to scroll through the e-mail. Long paragraphs can be hard to follow when scrolling up and down.
• Be careful when using facial expressions and tone of voice in your e-mail. You must be careful when using sarcasm and humor in an e-mail because they are not always translated as you may have intended them to be. As a way of demonstrating tone of voice and/ or facial expressions you can use asterisks or capitalize words for light emphasis and all caps with multiple punctuations for strong emphasis.
• Correctly address the recipient of the e-mail. When addressing someone at the beginning of an e-mail use the name in which you call them in person. For example, when e-mailing your boss use Mr. /Ms. But when e-mailing a friend it is acceptable to just use their first name. 
• Don't send large attachments without the recipient’s consent. Unless the other person is expecting a large attachment keep them below 5 MB. A large attachment can flood a mailbox and keep the person from receiving other important messages and information.
• Send a blind courtesy copy. When an e-mail is sent to a large group of people it usually shows the e-mail addresses of all the recipients. To avoid this you should send a blind courtesy copy which hides the other recipient's information. This makes the e-mail seem more personalized for the recipient. It also helps avoid making your e-mail look like junk mail.
• Beware of cultural and custom differences. When e-mailing with in different cultures and time zones be courteous to your recipient. Realize that a time zone difference may delay a response. Use a language that can be interpreted by the recipient. When discussing money make sure the appropriate currency is used. Also, when using sarcasm and humor in the e-mail understand the possibility of the point being missed or offending the person receiving the e-mail. 
• Don't send personal or confidential information. Sending personal or confidential information can cause unwanted disputes between people. In this day and age identity theft is a high risk factor with revealing personal information as well as the person's right to have information kept safe. You never know when someone might forward and e-mail you felt was  confidential to someone else. 
• Read over what you write. Check over what you write before you send it. This is a way to make sure you will not offend someone, have bad grammar, or send something you don't want to send. Do not send huge files, spam, or ethnic joke, that could offend someone or harm their computer with a virus. If you are sending an e-mail when you are upset be sure to re-read it when finished to make sure it doesn't sound too harsh.
• The speed of reply. How timely you reply shows your mannerisms and organization. It is bad manners not to reply within a short amount of time. It is said that you should check your e-mail twice a day to avoid being accused of being unorganized. As you check an e-mail it is good to respond therefore you don't have the risk of forgetting about it later.
• Don't send people spam because they may not open other messages from you.  If you send annoying and unnecessary messages to people they tend to get tired of opening them. This could become an issue when you send them an important message they may think it is spam and won’t open it. Spam fills up space and clutters and inbox that is never wanted.