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 My friends and I were talking about the importance of getting the right tone in emails. They had all had very different experiences with regards to receiving emails (From trying to organize bands to dealing with complaints) I’ve compiled this list of things to keep in mind when emailing people.

Be Polite. This is the most important point to keep in mind when emailing. Even if you’re writing to complain, stay polite. Say please and thank you and give a reasonable time for them to answer; don’t email back half an hour later if you haven’t had a reply. Remember, you’re taking up their time by sending them the email, so the least you can do is be polite.

Use Spell Check. If you’re email client doesn’t have spell check either open Word or do a quick search for an online spell check. It may not seem important, but if you don’t check your spelling it will look like you’re not that bothered, and why should the recipient be? Don’t use net speak; no one will take you serious if you do.

Send it to the right person. This should be fairly obvious, but if you can check that you’re emailing the right person to deal with your request and also make sure you’ve gotten the name right (spelling or title.) Sometimes it is unavoidable that you will email the wrong person, and whoever you emailed should help you get the right one, but it saves a of time if you can do just a little research to ensure it gets to the right place in the first place.

Keep the tone casual, but not too casual. Be friendly, you don’t need to use stuffy language but you do need to show respect to the person you’re emailing (unless they’re a close friend or family member.) My friends and I were discussing whether it’s okay to slip in a joke, and I think it is depending on the situation. I personally would suggest against doing it in the first email you send, but if you’ve spoken or emailed the person before and the subject of your email is fairly light, or you don’t want to come across as pushy then it probably is okay. But if it’s a serious email, you probably want to keep it out.

Keep the tone firm, but not too firm.  You want to come across as confident and professional, but not too confident just as much as you want to come across as being understanding but not apologetic.  Be polite but don’t under or over do it, and you should be okay but read over your email before sending (or even better ask someone else to read it for you) to make sure you come across well.

Let them know who you are. Sometime signing off with just you’re name isn’t going to be enough, if you’re emailing over a purchase explain what you bought. If you’re emailing as part of a group of people, let them know who that group is.