A Basic Guide to Proper Email Etiquette

One recent Adobe survey of more than 1000 white-collar workers revealed that we spend an average of four hours per day checking work-related emails. In the name of efficiency, it’s tempting to dash off a quick reply—but while a hastily composed message may save you time, it puts you at risk of appearing sloppy, rude, or unprofessional to your contacts. Before hitting the "reply" button, consult the infographic on email etiquette below, courtesy of business financing provider The Business Backer (and spotted by Entrepreneur). 

Not surprisingly, a carefully crafted subject line, proper punctuation, brevity, and a polite tone all top the list of email musts. An important email mistake to avoid? Hitting the "Reply All" button. Respondents to Adobe’s survey ranked it as the most annoying email behavior. 

To avoid making errors in the first place, try drafting emails in the afternoon—and if you can, write on any day that isn’t a Monday. According to a recent survey from the grammar-checking browser extension Grammarly, email writers make the fewest mistakes during the afternoon, between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. Meanwhile, an analysis by email productivity tool Boomerang found that emails sent on Mondays are more likely to contain subject line errors than ones written on other days of the week.

Check out The Business Backer’s full list of tips below: