By Mandy Bray

Dear Sir/Madam: If your inbox is like mine, it’s full of emails that sound like either a nineteenth-century love letter or a text message from a teenager.

To be fair, this isn’t anyone’s fault. As a society, we simply don’t teach email etiquette or retrain professionals as standards change. If you were fortunate enough to take a Business Writing class, you likely learned salutations (“Dear Sir/Madam,” “To Whom It May Concern,” “Cordially,” etc.) and how to format a cover letter and write a formal complaint.

But as for everyday emails? You’re on your own — until now.

I’ve compiled the top mistakes people make in business emails with 14 examples of unprofessional emails for you to learn from.

14 Unprofessional Email Examples

Wondering if you sent an unprofessional email, or if your coworker was out of line? Scroll through these unprofessional email examples to see today’s acceptable and unacceptable email etiquette.

1. Flubbing Someone’s Name or Gender

Hi Brandy,

Could you add this to the agenda for our meeting on Monday?

Thanks,

Gil

Maddy, Maggie, Molly — I’ve heard it all. I had one boss who called me Brandy for three whole months. I don’t go by Amanda, so an email with that salutation is a dead giveaway that that person doesn’t know me.

Learning someone’s name and preferred pronouns matters. Massacring someone’s name is the number one way to kill your message before it’s even read.

What to do instead: Double-check the spelling of someone’s name before you hit send, and don’t make assumptions about gender. If you realize you made a mistake, apologize! You may have missed your chance in a cold email scenario, but with coworkers or clients, acknowledge the mistake and move on.

2. Missing Salutation or Signature

Can someone follow up on this for me?

Email communication has become less formal, but there still needs to be a greeting and a sign-off. This is especially true for a new email but also for replies. Many people don’t have a reply email signature, so emails in a group thread can get confusing when an email isn’t attributed.

What to do instead: Set up one email signature for new emails and a shorter one for replies. Use “Hi [First Name]” or “Dear [First Name]” to open an email and a sign-off with at least your first name at the bottom. You don’t need a clever sign-off for emails, but you can choose one if it suits you.

3. Messy Grammar and Spelling

Hello

I’m reaching out to inqiure about a project. We are urgently in need of writer for an upcoming website project. Its for a client in the automotive industry. Please let me know if their is a good day to connect to discuss further.

Best wishes,

Todd

As a writer and English major, I appreciate good grammar but realize that it’s not everyone’s strength (nor is English everyone’s native language). While most people …read more

Source:: HubSpot Blog

Author: Aaron