Professional Email Etiquette 101

In the 21st century, technology has taken over when it comes to communication. Professionals rarely pick up the phone or send a letter due to the convenience of email. The real estate world relies on communication via email due to the simple fact of people having the option to respond when they can, and when they want.

Since email comes across as the most common communication source, here are a few helpful hints that will keep your emails professional:

• Keep emails short and sweet: When composing an email, always make sure you state your most important point first, and then you can provide further instruction, if necessary, throughout the rest of your message. The last thing the recipient wants to do is scroll through a long email, only to find the main point scattered at the bottom of the message. When opening a long email most people will scan through not wanting to read all of the content and possibly even set the email aside forgetting about it as a whole.

• Knowing and understanding the difference between "To" and "CC" fields: The people you expect to read and respond to your email should be placed under the "To" field. The "CC" field is for addressing people who should be in the know, but do not to respond. In most cases, the more people you send an email to, the less likely a single person will respond, or even perform any action that you had stated in your message.

• Realize how you are conveying your message: Since sending an email is different than a personal meeting, people can misinterpret your message if worded unprofessionally. Watching your tone is important when sending an email. This way you can avoid your message coming across as lost translation. The more "matter of fact" you can be is best in these types of situations.