Email Etiquette | 22 Tips & Tools to Help

Email etiquette is a set of guidelines for writing polite, professional, and efficient emails. Good email etiquette includes using correct spelling and punctuation, writing clearly and concisely, and adjusting your style and tone for your recipient.

QuillBot’s free AI email writer helps you write emails faster while still respecting email etiquette rules.

What is email etiquette?

Email etiquette is a set of rules for writing emails that make a good impression. Email etiquette can vary slightly between contexts (e.g., school and work), industries (e.g., academia and fashion), and cultures (e.g., the United States and India). That said, there are some guidelines you should follow in almost all situations.

Why is email etiquette important?

Email etiquette is an important part of showing that you respect the people you’re communicating with. The same way that you would conduct yourself a certain way in person, you should communicate a specific way via email if you want to come across as considerate.

Following email etiquette also helps you write stronger emails, too. To start, it helps you email more confidently and efficiently, saving time and energy. Email etiquette also makes your emails stand out in a good way, which can lead to more positive outcomes.

22 rules for proper email etiquette

Here are 22 rules for proper email etiquette that you should always follow when sending and replying to emails.

1. Be mindful of your audience

Before writing, think about who your email is for. Everyone deserves respect, but you should adjust your style, word choices, and level of detail depending on the recipient. Would you write the same email to a colleague and a friend? No, because how you write a professional email varies from how you’d write a personal one.

2. Be mindful of tone

The tone you use also depends on the recipient of your email. Use a professional and polite tone in business and academic emails and with people you don’t know. If your email is too brusque, it can come across as rude, but if it’s too casual, it can undermine your respectability. Be friendly, but avoid jokes, slang, and language that’s too familiar.

3. Write a clear and detailed subject line

Your subject line should be a preview of your email. Be clear and to the point so the recipient knows what the email is about. Include important details (e.g., “deadline this Friday”) and tags (e.g., “Urgent” or “Update”) to help your recipient organize and prioritize their inbox.

4. Choose the right greeting

Sometimes you don’t know how to start an email, but email etiquette can guide you here. The greeting you choose should reflect your desired level of formality and relationship with the recipient. Some good options are:

• Dear [Full Name]: for people you’ve never met
• Dear [Title and Last Name]: for formal contexts
• Hi [First Name]: for informal contexts and people you know

If you don’t know the name of the recipient, use “Dear” and the name of the department, company, or position (e.g., “Dear Hiring Director”). Avoid stuffy, outdated greetings like “To Whom It May Concern” or “Dear Sir or Madam.”

5. Provide context

Never assume your recipient knows what you’re referring to, especially in professional or academic settings where people juggle dozens of emails daily. Provide context up front to save time and prevent misunderstandings. A few email etiquette best practices for providing context are:

• If you’re reaching out for the first time, introduce yourself in the email and briefly explain your role and/or relationship to the recipient.
• For ongoing conversations, remind the reader of what was discussed or agreed upon. Using phrases like “per our conversation” and specific time markers like “at last week’s meeting” can help connect your email to prior discussions.
• When opening with pleasantries, avoid overused or empty phrases. Instead of a generic “hope you’re doing well,” try more mindful alternatives, like “I hope you had a good weekend” or “it was so nice to see you at the [event name].”

Providing context helps the recipient understand the purpose of your email and increases the chances of a timely, helpful response.

6. Write concisely but comprehensively

Good email etiquette balances conciseness with completeness. Long, meandering emails get skimmed or ignored; overly short ones leave recipients confused. Write to cover all essential points while cutting out fluff.

Some tips for writing concisely but comprehensively are:

• Focus on one main purpose per email.
• Use short sentences, short paragraphs, and bullet points for clarity.
• State any required action or deadline clearly.
• Use a Summarizer tool to help you succinctly relate information.
• Read your draft back once to remove redundant words and then again to check if anything important is missing.
• Use AI to write the email and eliminate some of the guesswork.

7. Use standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization

No one wants to receive AN EMAIL WRITTEN LIKE THIS, WHICH FEELS UNCOMFORTABLE AND IS HARD TO READ. Likewise, writing ur email like this :) can impede clarity, and it’s not that much faster. Finally……does punctuation like this – which is incorrect – make a good impression on you?????

Use standard spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. These rules are rules for a reason.

8. Use standard fonts and formatting

Most email clients are pre-programmed to use a standard font and formatting. There’s no reason to change this. Stick to fonts like Arial, Helvetica, Trebuchet, or Times New Roman; these are accessible, are easy to read, and convey professionalism. Approach formatting the same way (e.g., standard bullet points instead of arrows).

9. Use emojis mindfully

In professional emails, you should typically avoid using emojis, though they might be okay in some specific contexts (e.g., using 🎉 to celebrate a success). Keep in mind that while emojis may be appropriate in contexts like Slack, that doesn’t automatically mean they’re okay to use in email. If you’re not sure, follow your manager’s lead or ask them to clarify.

10. Make note of attachments

When including an attachment, reference it in your email. Let the recipient know what it is and if you expect them to take any next steps with respect to it.

11. Include a call to action

At the end of your email, include a call to action (CTA) for the recipient. What action do you want them to take after receiving your email? Letting them know clearly and directly helps avoid misunderstandings.

12. Proofread carefully

Spelling and grammar errors can create confusion and undermine your credibility. Before sending any email, make sure it’s error-free.

13. Use a polite sign-off

In email etiquette, how you end your email is equally as important as how you start it. You don’t want the reader to walk away from the email with a bad impression, so use a polite sign-off that is appropriate for the relationship you have with them. Some good options for professional emails are:

• Regards,
• Best regards,
• Sincerely,
• Sincerely yours,
• Yours truly,
• Best,

14. Include a signature

Use a professional email signature, too. Remove any default settings like “Sent from my iPhone” and put a signature that communicates the information recipients should have about you. In some cases, this may just be your name. In others, it may include your company, title, email, phone number, website, and/or address.

15. Double-check recipients

Before sending any email, double-check the recipients. You don’t want to accidentally send the email to the wrong person (or people), and taking a moment to check this can prevent that from happening. Look out for any addresses that are really groups or teams, and before sending emails to those, think critically if everyone in that group needs the message.

16. Use cc appropriately

“Cc” stands for “carbon copy” or “courtesy copy.” You should use it when you want someone to receive the email but do not expect them to reply. When you cc someone, the recipient is visible to all other recipients and will be included in any “reply all” responses.

A few common uses of cc are:

• To keep a stakeholder in the loop
• To send an email on behalf of others
• For record keeping or creating a paper trail

17. Use bcc appropriately

“Bcc” stands for “blind carbon copy.” It allows you to copy someone on an email without the other recipients seeing. Only the sender can see who has been bcc’d, and bcc’d recipients will not be included in “reply all” replies.

You might want to use bcc to:

• Politely remove someone from an email thread
• Keep someone informed without involving them in the conversation
• Send the email to a group of people without disclosing their addresses to each other

18. Use reply all appropriately

The “reply-all” function sends your reply to all the recipients in the “to” and “cc” fields. Avoid reply-all unless your response contains important information that all the people copied on the email should know. In most cases, it’s better to reply directly to the sender so as to not clutter the inboxes of people who aren’t directly involved in the conversation.

19. Reply promptly

Timely responses show respect for your recipient’s time and keep communication moving forward. As a general rule, try to reply to emails within 24 hours, even if just to acknowledge receipt and let the sender know you’ll follow up with a full answer. This small effort helps maintain transparency and trust.

20. Wait 24 hours to follow up

On the other hand, when you’re the sender, give your recipient reasonable time to respond. Wait a minimum of 24 hours before sending a follow-up email. Following up too soon can come across as pushy, rude, or impatient.

When following up, be intentional and polite. Avoid vague phrases like “just checking in,” and restate your request or provide a clear reminder that you’re waiting for a reply.

21. Set up auto-reply when away

When you’re not going to be able to access your email for a while, set up an auto-reply. This is commonly called an “out-of-office message.” This message should include:

• A very brief description of why you’re away
• How long you’ll be away for
• The date you’ll return
• Who to contact in the meantime

This way, anyone who reaches out to you won’t be left hanging and will have another contact in case they have an urgent matter to discuss.

22. Don’t send sensitive information

Emails can be forwarded, printed, downloaded, screenshotted, etc. They can also be hacked. So don’t include any sensitive information (e.g., social security numbers, passwords, or bank info) in emails.

Likewise, don’t send any information via email that you wouldn’t say out loud. Sending gossip, insults, or inappropriate comments via email can always come back to haunt you in the future. Email is never private, and even deleted messages can be recovered.

Email etiquette examples

Seeing email etiquette rules in action can help you understand how to apply them in real life. Below are a few examples of what good and bad email etiquette look like.

Emailing an attachment

In this example, Cassandra has finished working on a report and sent it to her manager, Alex, for review. The report deadline is this Friday.

The first email could be interpreted as rude. Cassandra doesn’t give context, she doesn’t use a sign-off, and her subject line is vague. Alex wouldn’t recognize from the subject alone that this report has a Friday deadline, which could lead to delays. Cassandra’s email also doesn’t mention the report is attached, which could cause a busy manager to miss the file.

In the second email, Alex will know from the subject line alone what the email is about and that it contains an attachment. Cassandra has also provided context, let Alex know the deadline is Friday, and thanked him for his help using the PS, which adds a friendly tone to the email.

Thank-you email after an interview

Lee wants to send a thank-you email after an interview she had this morning about a digital marketing role. The person who interviewed her was Lara Patel.

Email etiquette example: thank-you email after an interview

The first email is too direct and informal for this context. Lee just met Lara today. Also, Lee doesn’t include her surname in her signature, uses a vague subject line, and comes across as pushy in the body.

On the other hand, the second email is polite, thoughtful, and references different topics touched on in the interview. Lee demonstrates she was engaged during their conversation and reiterates how she thinks she’d be able to help the team. She uses Lara’s first name, as the interview was fairly informal, but still uses a polite and professional greeting and sign-off.

Follow-up email

Diego is organizing a fall fundraising gala for a nonprofit. He sent a partnership proposal to Jack Owens, the business manager for the Grandview Hotel, but hasn’t heard back.

In the first email, Diego does everything wrong: he doesn’t wait a minimum of 24 hours before following up, he uses a vague and trite subject line, he doesn’t address the recipient, and he uses an overly informal tone throughout the email.

The second email is a much better option for this context. Diego waits a few days before following up, writes a clear subject line, and addresses Jack as “Mr. Owens,” which is appropriate given the context. He also maintains a polite tone, offers additional information, and includes a call to action about having a call.

Frequently asked questions about email etiquette

What are the best tips for email etiquette for students?

The best tips for email etiquette for students are:

• Write clear subject lines
• Address professors formally
• Provide context (e.g., which class you’re in)
• Proofread before sending

Following basic email etiquette helps you sound professional and respectful.

Use QuillBot’s Grammar Checker to make sure your emails are error-free and make a good impression on your readers.

What are the best tips for professional email etiquette?

The best tips for professional email etiquette are:

• Keep emails concise
• Use a clear subject line
• Address recipients appropriately
• Adjust your tone for your audience
• Avoid overly casual language and slang

Practicing professional email etiquette shows respect and builds credibility.

Try QuillBot’s Paraphraser to adjust your tone for different audiences and contexts.