When Ray Tomlinson sent the first electronic mail on ARPANET in 1971, little did he envision that four to five decades later 250 billion of such messages will be shared daily worldwide! An E-mail has become a vital part of the urban world today. An estimated 3 billion people in the world use email today, that’s almost half of the world. Of the others, half don’t have access to electricity. Email is so powerful that even social media has had no effect on it. If organizations wish to reach a wider audience they use email because it provides them with an opportunity to have a direct conversation. Email has become one of the most important marketing tools. From schools to workplaces, from online stores to shopping complexes, to discuss any query or even to register a complaint, Email has become the means of communication that everyone has access to.

Such is the significance of Email today that it has become very important how you behave “in your email”. Etiquette stands for the “customary code of polite behaviour in society or among members of a particular profession or a group. Email Etiquette is the method by which you express yourself in your emails acceptable to the people who receive it. We learn in our school to write a formal and informal letter, Email etiquette teaches us about the dos and don’ts of writing an email. It teaches us how to write an email that is acceptable and professional. It’s the technique that needs to be developed by a person if his/her work involves emails. It’s like workplace ethics, but where people will be on the other side of a flat-screen. Many people believe that email etiquette reflects the organization’s image, hence it has become one of the most important parts of the professional world, and millions are engaging themselves in programs and courses which teach email etiquette.

WHO SHOULD DO THIS?

Current statistics on emails suggest that everyone who is involved in professional work should learn email etiquette. Be it any kind of professional work, you are bound to interact via emails. If the job does not involve technology, there may come a time for sure, when a person will need to send an email. To support this, there are a huge amount of statistics available. To allude out, though not everyone has access to laptops, personal computers in India, around 33% of the population has access to smartphones, and a very important mention, 60% of emails are operated via smartphones. So be it a teacher’s job or a wholesale retailer, emails are something that has become an important part of the work culture around the globe.

People who tend to set up their own enterprises, or people willing to get into the corporate world, are advised to learn about the email etiquettes because shows how updated you are with workplace ethics. Even marketing managers and firms are in need of people who tend to be good with emails because they want to open their horizons to a larger customer base with the help of emails. Hence people looking to make their careers in marketing should give Email etiquette training a thought.

BENEFITS OF EMAIL ETIQUETTE

Since email Etiquette pertains to ethics, it helps in creating a positive image of a person and her/his organization. People judge you in the professional world and email etiquette helps you in getting a positive response. This in turn leads to better workplace relations which help in growing the business.

It gives a professional look to mails, which are easy on the eyes and please the reader. This helps in building a rapport with the organization. Email etiquettes help in getting positive feedback from the workplace seniors. Phrases like “Keep up the good work”, “Great job” just improve your efficiency, and your productivity and are great motivating factors.

Apart from this, learning about email etiquette also teaches you about some basic grammar rules which may go unnoticed in normal day-to-day life. Good command of English helps in creating a positive impression.

DETAILS OF EMAIL ETIQUETTE

Email Etiquette courses teach us about the basic dos and don’ts while writing an email. They also teach us the professional norms of writing an email.

Some basic contents found in every email etiquette training are:

• Subject
• Salutation
• Conclusion
• Grammar
• Broadcast Emails
• Cyber Manners
• Email Overload
• Email Marketing
• Response
• Non written mistakes
• Structure

DURATION AND COST
Usually, Email etiquette training takes just 1 day. Depending on some institutes, it may take 2-3 days, but not more than that. Online courses take up to 2-3 hours of your time and many people today around the globe offer email etiquette training at a very low price. Some online MOOCs are free of charge. In India, Email etiquette training costs can range from Rs900 to Rs6,400. It depends on whether you wish to take training online or a classroom program.

INDUSTRY THAT HIRES

Each and every organization prefers people who are aware of the email etiquette and ethics but to point out some specific one’s, the Sales and Marketing industry, and BPO’s give great importance to the email etiquette of a candidate.