Email Netiquette: How To Do It Right

In personal conversations, misunderstandings are less common than in electronic correspondence. With our tips on e-mail netiquette, you can achieve respectful communication on the Internet.

E-mail netiquette: this way you make a good impression when you address the person

A too loose tone in the email can quickly reach the recipient as disrespectful or offensive.

• In business correspondence in particular, courtesy is the be-all and end-all. Give the recipient a friendly address and end with a nice greeting. It is not a problem if you deviate a little from the now rather dusty standards "Dear ..." or "Kind regards".
• If you are already familiar with the person, choose the more personal salutation "Hello Mr. / Hello Mrs.". You should avoid this form the first time you contact us. To avoid the stiff "Dear", write "Good day Mr. / Good day Mrs.".
• "Warm regards", "Many greetings" or "Best greetings" are definitely allowed as a closing greeting.
• In business, you should avoid what is not a problem in private email traffic. The abbreviations MfG (Yours sincerely) or LG (Greetings) convey to the recipient that you do not even take enough time to write out the words. It is best to create a suitable signature for mails. You can then automatically add these to every mail.

Meaningful subject for electronic mail

A subject should immediately let the reader know the content. This applies to business and private e-mail dispatch. The subject line has several important functions:

• Many recipients first scan the inbox to filter out the important messages from the flood of emails. Mails without a subject are hardly noticeable in a full inbox and are often ignored.
• If there is no clear subject, you will usually have to wait longer for an answer. In addition, the impression of spam is created and many mail programs filter such messages straight into the spam folder.
• Another advantage is that stored messages can be found more quickly if they have a subject.

Email etiquette: Words in capital and small letters are taboo

It is not just for reasons of readability that you should not write words entirely in upper or lower case.

• Write words in capital letters, literally shout at the recipient. That looks rude. So don't do it.
• However, the opposite is also not advisable: if you write the entire email in lower case, this is less read-friendly.
• It can also give the recipient the impression that you actually don't have time for him. This will reduce the good impression with your emails.

Use the CC function with care

The CC function is useful for sending an email to several people at once. All recipients can see the addresses that you enter in the CC field. This also applies to the selection of "Reply all".

• Make sure that you only use this field if the people are known to each other. This applies, for example, to e-mails to colleagues or, as a rule, to friends.
• If email addresses are visible to all other recipients, it can be used to infer business or private contacts. This can lead to major problems if, for example, it reveals suppliers or customers.
• Instead of CC, you should better use the BCC function. BCC stands for blind copy. This keeps the recipient anonymous - only you, the sender, know the person.

Further rules of conduct for email communication

There are a few more things you can do to help you communicate in email.

• Keep your emails as short as possible. Get information to the point quickly and compactly.
• Pay attention to spelling. A text full of mistakes definitely doesn't make a good impression.
• E-mails can be loosened up with emoticons ;-) or :-(. Use them only if you know the recipient well. With friends it is not a problem. Use emoticons with business correspondence. You should use the business partner very carefully definitely know well.