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You are in the middle of your 9-to-5 when an email pops up on your screen addressed to you and others who are blind copied. Then another email responding to the original email pops up. Then another. Then another, until your inbox is flooded with multiple responses. When it comes to mass emailing, many professionals are using and abusing the privilege of the BCC button and company address book, using it every chance they get, like e-junk mail in your inbox.
Before you hit BCC or the Reply All button, keep your mass emails classy and considerate and take heed of these tips on group email etiquette.
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Only BCC if necessary
If you are sending out a mass email at work to recipients who are co-workers and fellow employees, there probably is no need to blind copy everyone, especially if it is in relation to a major project or business-related update. When people see the list of recipients at the top of the screen, they’re much more likely to be careful about hitting Reply All on something that doesn’t require everyone’s attention.
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Be mindful of who you send the email to
When mass emailing correspondence, it’s easy to throw in a few people who probably don’t need to be on the email or are not aware of the message you are sending. Some people (like your boss, for example) are not keen to mass emails that could be addressed to only one or two people.
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Keep it brief
No one likes a ton mass emails in a row due to everyone responding to everyone else without addressing their email directly to the sender. But sometimes, everyone actually does need to chime in, don’t write an essay. Say what needs to be said in a few short sentences to keep the e-conversation moving at a quick clip.
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Make the subject count
The subject of your mass email matters. Your subject line is a key factor in what gets opened and what sits and stews until the person can get to it (or forgets about it all together). Again, be terse and to the point, but let the recipients know right away what this email is about.
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Check your grammar, punctuation and spelling
The importance of checking your grammar, punctuation and spelling in all correspondence, especially work-related communication, is so important. No one wants to read an email that has glaring mistakes in it, making it hard to decipher. What makes you think a dozen people would want to? Check, double check and triple check your email before you click that ‘send’ button. Or your email might become the example to all as ‘what not to do’ in the office.
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Set the right tone in the email
Email correspondence, or any correspondence other than face-to-face communication, can be misconstrued and misinterpreted easily. Check the tone of your email, whether it’s intended to alert your co-workers of a major wrench in the project or to congratulate an employee for a job well done. Leaving out the BIG BOLD WORDING and the exclamation points is best when emailing multiple people.
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Communicate directly instead of sending a mass email
Sometimes, a mass email isn’t even needed, especially at the office. If you are in close proximity to those co-workers who are on a need-to-know basis, address the issue in-person, during the company meeting or suggest a conference call to discuss the issue at-hand.
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Check your facts before you send
Make sure the message is clear, concise and factual before you get a large group of people in a panic over nothing. If the news you’re thinking about sending isn’t confirmed, it’s probably best to hold off for a bit until you can consult your supervisor. And if you’re working on a group project, you don’t want to be the person who adds inaccuracies to the presentation. Your response doesn’t have to be instantaneous. Take a few minutes to get your ducks in a row.
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Ask for a direct response
When sending a mass email, if you’re the only one who needs the response, simply tell everyone not to hit ‘Reply All.’ You’ll make a lot of friends with the co-workers who are spared the extra messages.
