Email Pitfalls & Best Practices

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About this lesson

We'll cover email best practices: who to CC/BCC, when to forward, when to email, and when not to email.

Quick reference

Email Pitfalls & Best Practices

Use this section to identify a few pitfalls to avoid when sending business emails.

Main Points

Email Recipient Fields

  • “To” field: These are your primary recipients. They are expected to take action.
  • “Cc” field: These recipients receive a courtesy copy. They do not need to respond or take action.
  • “Bcc” field: These recipients are unseen by the other recipients, but can reply to those who are in the “To” or “Cc” fields.

Use of "Please"

The word “please” can sometimes make a request or directive sound weak or desperate instead of polite. Consider limiting its usage by using a phrase that suggests, or a sentence that states the consequence of not taking the required action.

Email Volleying

If an email thread goes back and forth more than three times, the potential for misunderstanding increases. It may be best to make a phone call or schedule a meeting. 

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  • 00:05 Let's point out one or two not so obvious pitfalls when it comes to business emails.
  • 00:10 First, your recipients, the people in the To box are your primary recipients.
  • 00:16 The email affects them directly or you expect them to take action.
  • 00:21 Those in the Cc or carbon copy don't need to to respond or take action.
  • 00:26 They're just FYI or courtesy recipients.
  • 00:30 Names in the Bcc field are people who've gotten a secret copy.
  • 00:35 Bcc's within an organization can create distrust.
  • 00:40 Bcc recipients can see the addresses in the To and
  • 00:44 Cc lines and they can reply to them.
  • 00:48 A good reason for
  • 00:49 using blind carbon copy is when you want to keep people's addresses private.
  • 00:54 What you'll do is to put your own address in the To line and
  • 00:59 paste your mailing list in the Bcc line.
  • 01:02 That way, no one can see the other recipients and they can't respond to them.
  • 01:08 Another pitfall is the word, please.
  • 01:11 Now, the word please helps us sound polite, and
  • 01:14 it can soften the tone of a directive, and it's sometimes expected.
  • 01:18 But please can be overused, especially in marketing type communications.
  • 01:24 Here's why, think about this sentence.
  • 01:27 Please visit our website for more information.
  • 01:31 It sounds polite, but it can also come off as passive, lacking confidence,
  • 01:36 even desperate, especially if the word please was already used before.
  • 01:41 If you said check out our website for more information, that sounds more confident.
  • 01:46 You could also try alternative phrases like, why not or
  • 01:51 how about, so it comes off as a suggestion.
  • 01:55 If it's something that should or must be done,
  • 01:58 you can try stating the consequence of not doing it.
  • 02:02 Like this, claim forms completed after December 31st will not be accepted.
  • 02:09 Of course, there will be times when please is just the best word to use.
  • 02:14 When it is, limit using it to once every three to 400 words.
  • 02:19 Another pitfall is privacy.
  • 02:22 Some people think that email is private.
  • 02:24 Of course, email is never private.
  • 02:27 Emails are stored on company servers even after they're deleted.
  • 02:31 Never say anything in an email that you're not willing to be credited to
  • 02:35 you in public.
  • 02:38 Another pitfall is volleying, sending emails back and forth.
  • 02:43 The potential for misunderstanding increases each time you try to clarify
  • 02:47 a misunderstanding using a non-verbal method.
  • 02:51 Remember, recipients are being asked to work a little bit harder to understand
  • 02:56 written tone.
  • 02:58 If an email has bounced back and forth more than three times,
  • 03:03 it's time to pick up the phone or schedule a meeting.

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