What’s wrong with this message?

 To: Yes! Your Human Resources Solution

From: Mary Doe, Business Manager

Subject: HR Consulting

“TY SO MUCH!!!!!!!!  ur the best 🙂 🙂 ”

 Textspeak.  Smiley faces.  More exclamation points than a Batman comic.  Business communications may be changing, but certain standards are still expected when writing a professional e-mail.  By bearing in mind these five tips to better e-mail etiquette, you’ll be on your way to more polished and easy-to-read communications:

• Efficiently use the subject line.  The subject line is the recipient’s sneak peek at your message’s intent, so quickly summarize your message’s content here.  The subject is also a useful tool to reference the message after it’s been read or filed.  Remember, the subject is for summarizing—please don’t put the entire message in the subject line, even if it’s short.
• Mind spelling and grammar.  Start with basic capitalization.  A message written in all capital letters can come across as angry, or at best will hurt the recipient’s eyes.  On the flip side, a message written in all lowercase letters looks lazy.  (So use extra caution when writing from your tablet or smartphone.)  Be sure to include appropriate punctuation, and to go easy on exclamation points.  Run the spell-check as a habit before you send a message, and watch those smiley faces.
• Consider who you copy and don’t copy.  Few e-mail etiquette breaches are worse than using the Reply All button to say “OK” or “Thanks!”  When replying to multiple recipients, consider whether your e-mail will be useful to everyone on the list.  Unless you’re involved in a collective input, the Reply to Sender button is usually your best bet.  Similarly, be careful with the blind copy and courtesy copy buttons.  It’s probably not the best idea to BCC the recipient’s boss on a message, which could come across as underhanded.  Using the CC field shows confidence in disclosing everyone included on the message.  But don’t clutter inboxes with CC abuse!  Include only people who are directly involved with the message.
• Summarize (or truncate) long message strings.  If you’re including a new person on a message string, briefly summarize the messages exchanged up to that point.  That will save the newcomer from having to scroll through pages of replies to know what’s going on.  On a related note, when exchanging e-mail back and forth with the same person, pick up the phone after the third volley—this subject is probably best sorted out in real-time.
• Watch your tone.  Have you ever written a tongue-in-cheek remark that offended someone?  Chances are the recipient didn’t catch on to your tone.  Sarcasm can be tricky in an e-mail message, because e-mail does not convey vocal inflections or body language.   So unless you’re writing to someone you know very well, screen your e-mail carefully for any verbiage that could be misinterpreted, even if it’s meant as a joke.

Remember that in some situations, even the most well-written e-mail may not substitute for personal contact.  A phone call or visit is often the best way to convey confusing, difficult, or sensitive messages.  And also remember that your e-mail is not private!  E-mail written through your company’s e-mail account or on your company’s computer is fair game for the company or a court to scrutinize.  Keep messages professional so they won’t come back to bite you.