Since e-mail has been around for a couple of decades, you might think that a primer on e-mail etiquette, is unnecessary because everyone figured this out years ago, right?. Unfortunately, that's not my experience.

While plenty has been written on this subject, over the years, what follows is my list of e-mail basics -- 13 common sense rules to live by, that will absolutely improve the effectiveness of your e-mail communication and may even keep you out of trouble:

1) Possibly the best tip I ever heard, was simply this: "Write every e-mail as if it will be posted on the Internet, for the whole world to read; because it very well could be!"

2) If you are not sure if you should send an email, DON'T!

3) E-mail is a terrible medium for resolving conflicts -- e-mail is terse and doesn't convey tone very well; schedule a face to face, if possible; otherwise make a phone call. So no matter how tempting, DON'T try to save a relationship, or for that matter, end one, via e-mail. Same applies for bad news; e-mail is not the right forum.

4) Most e-mail isn't read -- it's scanned. So DO write with this in mind. Make it easy for readers to "scan" your e-mails:  

• DO use short sentences
• DO use liberal white space
• DO use bullet points whenever possible
• DON'T write dense, paragraphs

5) DON'T change the subject... I can't tell you how many times I and many others have overlooked important information, because the writer decided to change the subject, just before closing. "Oh by the way, tomorrow's presentation has been canceled", has no business in an e-mail with the subject line, Observed Corporate Holidays (remember Rule # 4). If it's truly a different topic, it is best served in a separate e-mail; especially if it is IMPORTANT!

6) DO get to the point! Summarize your e-mail and any required action, near he TOP of your email, BEFORE wading into all the details.

7) DO use descriptive subject lines. Keep in mind that before your e-mail is opened, your subject line will be scanned by the reader, to determine if it is even worth reading... So beginning your e-mail subject lines with words like: INFO, ARCHIVE, TIMELY, URGENT, and ACTION REQUIRED, help provide context and will increase the likelihood of the e-mail being read, and resulting in the desired outcome.

8) DON'T address an e-mail until you are ready to send it... Many hastily written and unfiltered e-mails, have accidentally been sent before the writer intended....

9) DO double check who is on the distro, before you hit send... Any questions?

10) DO avoid copying customers on internal emails. You will soon learn that not everyone practices Rule #9, when they reply... Or Rule #1, for that matter.

11) DO spell check.

12) DON'T confuse spell checking with proof-reading...

13) DO include an e-mail signature with your contact info. It's courteous, and will be well received.

Got some rules, of your own? Drop me a line at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .