As a wedding industry pro, chances are you spend a lot of time on emails. Conversations with potential and existing clients AND your vendor connections are likely all via email. As PR professionals, we spend a lot of time in our inboxes, too, and there are a lot of common email etiquette mistakes we see every day. We’re sharing 5 of the ones we see most often, so you can stop making these mistakes today! Poor email etiquette can be the difference between a client booking you and someone else, so it’s important that every single time you press send your etiquette is on point. Read on for our best tips, and let us know if there are any others that we missed!

1) You don’t address the person by name.

This is soooo common! If you don’t address the person you’re emailing by name, you’re essentially giving yourself away. You either didn’t do the research before emailing them, or you’re just copying and pasting a generic blast email. You’ll be more likely to receive a genuine response if you take the time to personalize each and every email you send. It takes a little extra time, but the ROI is worth it!

This should go without saying, but make sure you spell their name correctly! It’s 100% worth double and triple-checking, because the smallest typo in their name can turn off your recipient immediately. That sets us up as the perfect segue to our next email etiquette mistake!

2) You don’t proofread for typos.

Now, we’re all human, and we’re all bound to send out a few typos. However, you should always proofread your email before you send it to make sure there are no glaring mistakes or typos that blur the meaning of your message. Check for things like missing words or misuses of words like there/their/they’re and to/too that can change the meaning of a sentence.

3) You don’t respond in a timely manner.

We’re all about setting reasonable expectations, and no one expects you to respond in the first 10 minutes of receiving an email. If you can, great! If not, try to make it a priority to get back to people within 24-48 hours. Most emails warrant a response, and your recipient deserves the respect of a timely reply.

At Be Inspired PR, we make it a hard and fast rule to respond to every message within 24 hours during the week. Even if it’s just a quick email that lets them know that you received their message and will get back to them as soon as you can, your timely reply will be much appreciated!

4) You don’t add a relevant subject line.

How many emails do you receive each day? A lot? Same. A relevant subject line will help your email be seen as a priority in your recipient’s inbox, and help it be more easily found if they ever need to refer back to it. A quick subject line that lets them know exactly what to expect in your email is so helpful for other busy professionals, and shows that you care about their time, too! Sending a (no subject) email basically tells them that you couldn’t be bothered. Not a good impression!

Another subject line tip we always recommend is keeping them short and sweet. A few words is more than enough! Try to keep variation in your subject lines, too, and don’t use the same one more than once with the same personl

5) You don’t set up your email with a photo and standard signature.

You should have a photo set up in your email account, so when people get an email from you, they’ll see your face or logo associated with it! The little grey anonymous person can make you look less professional and less worth a response.

On the same note, you should have an email signature with your name, business info, and contact information. If you need professionally designed signatures for your team, check out our custom email signatures graphic design service. Otherwise, a text signature is better than nothing. Oh, and never ever send with the “sent from iPhone” signature. Let your clients and peers know that you took the time to send them a thoughtful response (even if you did send it on the go)!

There you go! Five email etiquette mistakes to stop making in your professional communication with clients and peers. Making these small adjustments can completely change the way that others perceive you and your business via email. For more tips like these and for advice on how to take the rest of your business to the next level, book a coaching call with our owner and CEO. Get in touch with us today to learn more!