how to write a Professional Look Email. Also Available on BYLC
Having a professional email address is the first key
to make an impression on your potential employers or recipients. Imagine
getting an email from someone with the email address cinderella.the
beauty@hotmail.com asking for a face to face meeting for a
possible job opportunity that he/she can offer. What would be your reaction or
understanding of this email? Wouldn’t you right away mark it as a spam or just
delete the email?
What
is a professional email address?
A
professional email address is the one that has your official first name or last
name in it. For example, Kaiser.khan@gmail.com is a professional
email address. Few tips to creating a professional email address are:
·
Avoid using nicknames in professional
email address: It is a standard procedure to use your full name, first name
only, or a combination of name and initials in creating your email address.
However using your nickname in your email address creates confusion because the
recipient of your email might not be familiar with your nickname and as such
might label your email as a spam or leave it unopened.
·
Avoid putting certain numbers and
characters in email address: Numbers such as 007, 420, or consecutive numbers
such as 123 or 789 looks unprofessional and can be considered immature in the
eyes of a potential employer. At the same time, certain letters and numbers
such as lower case ‘L’, uppercase ‘i’ and ‘1’ can look almost identical, the
same is true for ‘0’, ‘o’, and ‘O’. So avoid using these characters in your
email address whenever possible.
·
Avoid using taglines in email address:
Email addresses such as cooldude123@gmail.com or beachgirl789@hotmail.com are
not at all professional and should be avoided at any cost. It might appeal to a
certain group of people, however you do not want it to be the reason for your
job application being rejected by employers.
Professional email address reflects authenticity and
reduces the risk of being marked as spam. On the other hand, unprofessional
email address ruins the credibility of the sender and reduces the chance of
getting response from the recipient. Thus creating a first positive impression
is necessary and a professional email address can make your contact details
appropriate and memorable.
Effective Subject Line
The subject line is one of the few first things a
recipient sees after the sender’s email address, which gives an indication of
whether an email should be opened or not. Nowadays people receive numerous
emails a day, and many of these goes unnoticed or unopened due to ineffective
subject lines.
Typically a subject
line should be written after the body of the email has been drafted. In this
way, you can perfectly summarize the content of the email and reflect that in
the subject line of your email, for e.g. New information on the Management
course assignment. Subject lines like “Hi!”, “Thank you!”, “Important, must
read” are generic and do not indicate the reader of the purpose of your
email, and in many cases, either they are marked as spam, deleted, or left
unopened. So it is essential to use a subject line that draws the attention of
the recipient and at the same time informs the recipient of the nature or
purpose of the email in as few words as possible.
Some guidelines to
writing an effective subject line are:
·
It should state the purpose of the email
·
It should be short and simple
·
It should indicate if there is an
urgency in getting a response
·
Do not leave the subject line blank
Having a
professional email address is the first key to make an impression on your
potential employers or recipients. Imagine getting an email from someone with
the email address cinderella.the beauty@hotmail.com asking
for a face to face meeting for a possible job opportunity that he/she can
offer. What would be your reaction or understanding of this email? Wouldn’t you
right away mark it as a spam or just delete the email?
What is a professional email address?
A
professional email address is the one that has your official first name or last
name in it. For example, Kaiser.khan@gmail.com is a professional
email address. Few tips to creating a professional email address are:
·
Avoid using nicknames in professional email address: It is a
standard procedure to use your full name, first name only, or a combination of
name and initials in creating your email address. However using your nickname
in your email address creates confusion because the recipient of your email
might not be familiar with your nickname and as such might label your email as
a spam or leave it unopened.
·
Avoid putting certain numbers and characters in email address:
Numbers such as 007, 420, or consecutive numbers such as 123 or 789 looks
unprofessional and can be considered immature in the eyes of a potential
employer. At the same time, certain letters and numbers such as lower case ‘L’,
uppercase ‘i’ and ‘1’ can look almost identical, the same is true for ‘0’, ‘o’,
and ‘O’. So avoid using these characters in your email address whenever
possible.
·
Avoid using taglines in email address: Email addresses such as cooldude123@gmail.com or beachgirl789@hotmail.com are
not at all professional and should be avoided at any cost. It might appeal to a
certain group of people, however you do not want it to be the reason for your
job application being rejected by employers.
Professional
email address reflects authenticity and reduces the risk of being marked as
spam. On the other hand, unprofessional email address ruins the credibility of
the sender and reduces the chance of getting response from the recipient. Thus
creating a first positive impression is necessary and a professional email
address can make your contact details appropriate and memorable.
DISCUSSION
Proper Salutation
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With the
rapidly changing methods of communication, electronic mail has become the quick
and efficient mode of communication in the 21st century.
We are living in an era where writing emails are preferred over verbal
communication. While many professionals prefer to maintain the formal way of
greeting in emails, others resort to quick greeting, or even skip it
altogether.
Set the tone
The
standard salutation in a professional email is “Dear Mr./Ms. (person’s last
name).” If the person’s last name is not known then the first name can be used.
Some may consider this outdated but it is more appropriate than greeting with
Hi/Hello, which may seem offensive to some people. A greeting that starts with
“Dear” shows respect and professionalism. Proper salutation sets the right tone
and establishes the kind of relationship you are expecting to have, so it is
important to establish it in the right way.
Remember the Source
When
crafting a salutation you need to consider the type of relationship you have
with the person to whom you are sending the email. If you are working then you
also need to consider the culture of your company and the reason for your
email. “Hi” is appropriate for a friend or colleague, while you may need
to use “Dear” for a more formal greeting to someone with whom you have no
previous experience. “Hey” or “Greetings” may be used when you are addressing
someone you know well that appreciates a lighter tone.
Be respectful
It is
safer to use “Dear,” followed by the name of the person you’re addressing. Use
the first name if you’ve been previously introduced or have an informal
relationship in place. Use Mr. or Ms. when you are addressing a superior, the
tone of the email is strictly professional, or when you are approaching the
recipient for the first time.
Salutations to avoid
If you are
sending email to the recipient for the first time or you are unsure about of
who is reading your email then resorting to the traditional salutation is safer
than playing with riskier words such as “Hey or Hi”. “Hey/Hi” is used in casual
business situations with friends and colleagues but you might sound
disrespectful if the recipient is senior than you or you are writing him/her
for the first time.
Quiz: Proper Salutation
·
·
·
·
·
Imagine a situation where you are setting up
your own online personal business of supplying stationeries to household
customers (family and friends) and small businesses. Now you want to send a
mass email to introduce your business, the products and services you offer, to
your target customers. In your email to household customers, how would you
start your email?
Marked Answer :
Dear Sir
or Madam
Correct
Answer :
Hi/Hello
TOTAL MARKS : 2MARKS OBTAINED 0
·
In your email to small businesses, what
salutation would you use to greet the recipient?
Marked Answer :
To whom it
may concern
Correct
Answer :
Dear
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