Compared to verbal communication, communicating through email or letter would be secondary.  But today when half of the team sits on one corner of the world, other half on the other end of it, most probably in the client location, importance and criticality of this form of communication is undeniable.

Unlike verbal communication, the receiver of the communication does not get to hear the tone or emphasis on the main point of the subject matter, neither does he can see the expression or body language.  Hence the presentation of words, have to do the job.  Few basic points if taken into consideration, solves the purpose more or less.

1.  While typing names in the ‘To’ list take into consideration organizational hierarchy.  To list should contain the names, the mail is intended to and cc list should have the people to whom mail is being sent just for reference.

2. An appropriate subject line is a must.  This should be concise and to the point. Try to follow the same/similar subject line for an ongoing matter or discussion.

3. Although emails are not as formal as general letters, usage of proper salutations and mentioning the receiver’s name makes the email more appealing.

4. Though there is no formal definition how the matter should be presented in the email, it should not be very long (more than one page unless very necessary) nor very short. The subject matter should be placed simple (no too verbose) and straight (do not try to confuse the reader by beating around the bush).

5. Be professional.  Avoid using abbreviations of technical terms or short messages ('u' for you, 'r' for are).  Email address should preferably be in this format firstname.lastname@abc.com. Never use the ones used for personal mail (choco_rosy@abc.com).

6. Bold, capitals, italics should be used appropriately to emphasize some words. But too much of usage and using these all together might result the email body look messed up.

7. The mail should end with proper salutation again (even a 'Thanks' or 'Regards' would do for email). Adding your signature always gives a personal touch. It can constitute of your name, position and contact details if needed. Some people add a signature statement as well. But "not too flashy" is always better.

8. Watch out for the spelling mistakes and grammar usage. A spell check is must before hitting the Send button.

9. Double check the attachment before sending, if you are sending one along with the mail.

So here we go.  I think I covered the basics of email etiquette.  Any thing I am missing, anyone can think of?