Dear Reader,
Have you ever wanted to write an English email and noticed that your email program simply capitalizes the first word after the opening? This probably is contrary to what you learned in German school.
My best advice for email etiquette, also known as “netiquette” is:
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- Think about why you are writing. Would it be better to call or write or both?
- Think about the tone of your email: business-like or friendly? Formal, neutral or informal?
- If you send an email to someone you do not know, open with “Dear Sir or Madam,”. After the closing, write your name the way you want the recipient to address you.
- If you place a comma after the opening (Dear Sir or Madam,), then place a comma after the closing (Sincerely,). Placing commas corresponds to American English, no punctuation after the opening and closing corresponds to British English.
- Remember – the first word after the greeting is always capitalized because it is the beginning of a sentence (contrary to the German).
- The subject line should be short and inform the reader of what the mail is about.
- Always include your business signature at the end of your message.
- If you are sending your message to a distribution list, “cc:” is for informational purposes, “to:” is for action.
- Check for spelling and punctuation before you send your message.
Good luck on your e-mails.
Kind regards,
Nelly Thomas