What are you conveying through your e-mails? Dorothy, we're not in Facebook territory anymore...

As college students, we come into contact with e-mails on a daily basis. In the current time of Facebook, AIM, Twitter, etc., sometimes it gets tough to draw the line between professionalism and entertainment. We're accustomed to not using correct spelling and grammar, posting about personal opinion, and using slang. When we communicate with professors and employers, though, we must remember to put our bad habits aside, and get back into "professional mode," which is sometimes hard to do. Much of the information that I have found about e-mail seems pretty common sense, but it never hurts to get a refresher on proper etiquette. Offending someone, appearing unprofessional, or being unclear could end up being a costly mistake.

I started my research by visiting the Business Writing Blog. I found Lynn Gaertner-Johnston's advice on e-mails very current and useful. Some specific articles I looked at were: A Disconnect in Email Subjects, Casual Email Loses Customer for Caterer, Does "Free" Work in an Email Subject Line?, Dear John et al., and When Lights Go Out on the Web. Much of her advice agrees with the content presented in the textbook, such as the importance of professionalism in e-mail discussed in "Casual Email Loses Customer for Caterer," and the importance of an appropriate email subject line in "A Disconnect in Email Subjects."

A few of Gaertner-Johnston's topics were not mentioned in the textbook, but I feel that they are worthwhile discussions. "Does Free Work in an Email Subject Line?" sparked my interest because it questions whether Emails whos subject lines start with the word "free" will get stuck in spam folders or if recipients will simply delete them. It is a topic that makes a lot of sense, but that I wouldn't have thought of on my own. "Dear John et al." explores the idea of using "et al." as a way to avoid listing many names in a greeting. Gaertner-Johnston advises against this practice, but offers some other solutions such as "Dear John and team members," or "Hello, Marketing team." I agree with such advice because as she mentions, not everyone knows what et al. means, and it isn't a very friendly or warm greeting.

One thing that she disagrees with the textbook on is the "24/7" aspect of the Internet ("When the Lights Go Out on the Web"). She talks about how sometimes when we don't receive an email from someone, we can't assume they didn't send it. She goes on to give an example of some of her emails getting "stuck in cyberspace."

This leads me to my next source of information: How to Write a Business Email. This site agrees with Gaertner-Johnston in that it encourages the writer to put their phone number in the signature of the email so the recipient has the option of making telephone contact if he/she deems it necessary (the textbook aims to "eliminate phone tag"). Most other advice on this site agrees with the textbook, but it is a good refresher. The information is bulleted and to the point, and there are some good examples posted.

The last place I looked was on YouTube, and I found a video tutorial that step-by-step edits an e-mail (ESL Business Writing Video - Email Tune-up 01). It covers everything from the subject line all the way to style and tone. It is about ten minutes long, but again is a good resource all-around, and I found it easier to watch, rather than simply read the information.

So remember, leave the LOLs and the gossip for your personal sites (although employers seem to be accessing them more as well), and stick to a professional tone when handling business matters--your future could depend on it!