Although email is often regarded an informal form of communication, it’s still vital to use the medium with the utmost professionalism when using it in the workplace. If you or your employees need to improve the skills necessary to draft professional sounding email correspondence, consider resources that teach email etiquette for beginners to get the information you need.

By learning the proper way to compose, proofread and send email, you’ll improve the effectiveness of your business by reducing miscommunication and misunderstandings. Find email etiquette training in a variety of forms to improve this form of communication among co-workers and with clients:

1. Sign up for training seminars that teach the proper way to write and send business-related email that follows professional email etiquette standards.
2. Find online courses or webinars to use as continuing education to remind employees to differentiate between casual and work-related email etiquette.
3. Access published instructions or news articles online that reiterate email etiquette for beginners to use as reference materials for employee manuals or refresher courses.
   

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Enroll in seminars to discover email etiquette and techniques that teach you to use it effectively

Seminars on email etiquette can teach the fundamental ways to use email in a professional setting, such as using the proper subject lines, composing and proofreading the body of the message and choosing the proper signature. Courses can also teach email program basics such as using attachments, creating an address book, forwarding email and replying to a group.

I recommend: Syntaxis offers email etiquette training that improves the professionalism, courtesy and clarity of email by using an interactive teaching approach. Find business email etiquette training seminars through Train-Up that cover such topics as email basics and programs, company policies, liability and security.

Use online courses to learn email etiquette for beginners at your own pace

Email etiquette courses on compact disc or DVD, webinars or online workshops allow you and your employees to stay up to date with this form of communication at your convenience. If your staff has taken hands-on email courses, for example, webinars are a great way for new employees to receive this information after the fact.

I recommend: K Alliance offers an email etiquette training course on compact disc that covers policies, using passwords and accessories and ways to write effective email messages in the workplace. A learning program from Quantum Learning Solutions addresses email basics along with privacy issues, shortcuts and ways to enhance productivity or avoid common mistakes.

Discover articles on email etiquette techniques to create a communications reference library

Looking for literature or articles on email etiquette on the Internet is a quick and easy way to discover the latest tips and tricks. Find resources from business-related sources like job websites, email services or email software providers to obtain pertinent information.

I recommend: Fab Job offers tips for email etiquette including ways to avoid misunderstandings, the proper times to use email and email privacy issues. A list of tips from Microsoft offered through its Midsize Business Center discusses business email etiquette in the global marketplace. The section covers email formatting, word usage, tone and content suggestions.

Prevent miscommunication, avoid liability and improve efficiency by giving your employees email etiquette training. The education will be worth the effort if it eliminates error-filled, inappropriate or accidental emails to clients or co-workers.

Educate your staff members on email basics, along with company policies on confidentiality and correspondence with colleagues and customers. Ensure they learn the distinction between personal and professional email etiquette.

1. Hire an email etiquette consultant that will improve your managers’ communication efficiency and professionalism.

2. Draft company policies with email etiquette information that covers confidentiality and customer service standards.

3. Provide employees with software and literature to improve their email etiquette and compliance with corporate policies.

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Offer email etiquette training to help managers better represent your company and educate others

Managers frequently communicate with clients and send assignment and review emails to staff members. Ensure they're writing clear, concise messages that also paint your organization in the best light. Once they've met with an email etiquette specialist or attended a related workshop or webinar, also allow them to convey the tips and tactics to staff members.

I recommend: Sign up for a national or onsite seminar on email etiquette and efficiency through American Management Association. Workshops can help professionals write clear emails, comply with company policies and tackle a stuffed inbox. Cohesive Knowledge Solutions offers consulting services and workshops to help your managers email more efficiently to increase productivity. The company also offers a free e-lesson on email efficiency for signing up for its newsletter or requesting additional information.

Create a company policy on email etiquette to prevent mishaps and improve customer service

Not only will regulations ensure employees conduct themselves professionally online, but they can also improve customer service. Devise email etiquette standards that discuss company confidentiality, writing style and the timeliness of replies to customer questions and complaints.

I recommend: Draft a customized office policy on email etiquette with the online application at hrtools. The tool makes it easy to edit the regulation whenever new communications issues arise. The resources offered by Personnel Policy Service will help you generate lawyer-reviewed rules on email language, confidentiality or response times. Create your own guidelines or use the company’s prewritten policy on email communication.

Give employees resources to reinforce basic correspondence skills and teach proper email etiquette

Assist employees if they're having trouble speaking professionally with this casual and quick form of communication. Training software and literature will give them tips on avoiding 'slang' Internet abbreviations, replying to the proper party and proofreading before sending, for example.

I recommend: K Alliance offers a CD-Rom training course on email in the workplace. The software covers tips on email construction, tone and efficiency. It also teaches the basics on email accessories, subject lines, attachments and passwords for beginners. Visit NetManners.com to order e-books and checklists to help with email etiquette.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Instruct your employees to eliminate personal signatures such as icons, photos or inspirational or humorous quotes from their email account at work. Although they personalize correspondence, the casual addition can breach professional email etiquette or inadvertently offend a client.

In a day and age of instant electronic communications, it is essential to keep up with email etiquette news and trends. Know what is acceptable and what can turn off a potential client. With one word or phrase, you can make or break your entire professional relationship. Because of the lack of face-to-face contact, you leave the tone of the email to be decided by the reader. That is why it is crucial that you take as much room for interpretation out of the email as possible.

Look to reliable sources for email etiquette news and trends to help you decide what is appropriate to include in an email and what is better left to an in-person conversation. Consider the following sources to help you follow email etiquette:

1. Colleges and universities can provide extensive email etiquette guidelines.

2. Business email experts offer advice on email etiquette news and trends to assure you are sending the right message.

3. Those in the technology industry can also help you stay up-to-date with the latest email etiquette news and trends.

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Consult academic resources to learn about email etiquette

Colleges and universities around the country are prepping their finest for the 'real world' by giving them tips on how to interact with the rest of the world. University Career Services, Writing Center, and Library websites are great resources for attaining the latest email etiquette news and trends. You can be sure these institutions are keeping their information up to date so that their student body always knows the current acceptable email etiquette.

I recommend: Purdue's online writing lab, The OWL, provides the latest answers to email etiquette questions. The Yale University Library provides advice on every aspect of email etiquette.

Look to business email etiquette experts

With the constant rise in the use of email by businesses, some have dedicated their careers, and websites, to exploring the dos and don'ts of sending an email to business clients, partners, and co-workers. Let them do the research for you and benefit from their findings. Business email etiquette is especially key to your business' success, so it is important to stay up-to-date with the latest news and trends the experts are sharing.

I recommend: The owner of the website Business Email Etiquette has researched, at length, the latest news and trends of email etiquette. Business Know How gives many tips to adhering to business email etiquette.

Trust technology gurus on email etiquette news and trends

Nobody knows what's acceptable in the online community better then those who live and breathe technology. Technology experts are not only keeping up with the latest news and trends of email etiquette, they are the ones setting the rules. The technology experts are at the forefront of the etiquette for the entire online community. Looking to them for the news and trends of email etiquette is essential.

I recommend: Microsoft Office Online gives their most recent tips on email etiquette. Macworld, too, has a running interaction with consumers about online email etiquette.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Post updated bulletins of email etiquette news and trends on your company intranet or send updates via email to keep employees current and ensure communications stay professional.

Email etiquette is crucial in today's web and email savvy business world. Knowing how to properly address your correspondents and be polite throughout the course of your entire email can be challenging but easily attainable. Email etiquette applies to all levels of business, and not following the unwritten rules of good web manners can cost you big business accounts.

Email etiquette key terms include portions of emails as well as email forwarding and more. Familiarizing yourself with proper email etiquette rules, definitions and terminology will give you a long lasting backbone to sending quality correspondence.

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Salutation

The salutation is the greeting of an email. Some email etiquette experts advise that you should always greet your email recipients by their first name, while other feel that salutations are unnecessary.

I recommend: Read the results of Effects of Personal Salutations in E-mail Invitations to Participate in a Web Survey by Dirk Heerwegh to learn about possible results from adding a salutation to your email greeting.

E-mail alias

E-mail alias is an extra email address you can give yourself or your existing email users on your domain name/account. You can for example, give your employee, Bob (bob@yourbusinessname.com) the aliases sales@yourbusinessname.com and info@yourbusinessname.com in order for all three of these email accounts to go directly to Bob.

I recommend: Find out more about e-mail alias from Yahoo! Small Business. When choosing your email alias, you should take great care in the name selection, and not choose offensive or juvenile terminology for your business.

Subject line

The subject line of an email helps inform your recipient as to the content of the email before he or she opens it. It is unacceptable to leave a subject line blank in a business correspondence, and pointless instructions such as 'read this' or 'for your consideration' should also be avoided.

I recommend: Find out more about good manners in relation to your subject line from Lydia Ramsey. EmailLabs also gives tips on writing effective subject lines.

Signature block

Your signature block is used in replacement of a handwritten signature since this is an electronic correspondence. It is the portion of the email at the end that includes all of your vital contact information.

I recommend: Take a look at sample acceptable email signature blocks from Information, Services & Technology.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is the capacity of the wires and channels that connect people in cyberspace. It involves the information-carrying limit to the size of the data that can be transferred at a given moment. Large email messages can waste your recipients' time and bandwidth when downloading.

I recommend: Find out how to respect your recipients' bandwidth from Netiquette.

Post Script (PS)

Post Script (PS)is a Latin term meaning after thought. It is an old term with current applications in that it gives email savvy businesspeople the chance to review benefits of the email in a short, concise manner.

I recommend: Find out more about Post Script from the Career Services Department of Virginia Tech.