How to get your emails read
As a business etiquette consultant, I get a lot of email from strangers inquiring about my coaching or training services, wanting etiquette advice or trying to sell me something. It’s interesting seeing the variations in how people address me and how they write their emails.
We are all inundated with too many emails, so, if you want your emails read without offending anyone heed these four points.
First name, last name?
You might wonder how you should address a stranger in an email. When addressing someone who has more authority or who is older than you, use their last name, i.e.: “Hello Ms. Clise”. While it can seem very formal in the laid back Northwest, it is appropriate and more respectful than using their first name. Other parts of the United States, and most definitely other countries, are more formal, so addressing a stranger by his or her first name would be considered rude.
In the business world, use Ms. to address women rather than Mrs., which avoids denoting whether a woman is married or not.
When responding to an email addressed to your last name, it’s proper to respond by using the sender’s last name as well unless he doesn’t list his surname in his signature. In that case just address him by his first name.
For those senders who address me by my last name, I usually respond by using her last name one time. After that I address her by her first name. I also invite the sender to use my first name.
Hey you, include a greeting!
This brings me to appropriate greetings. First of all, have a greeting. Think of email like a letter. Would you send a letter to someone without a greeting and their name? I should hope not. Most recipients would assume it was junk mail and would toss it without reading it.
