11 Email Etiquette Rules Every Professional Should Know

Research has found that the average U.S. employee spends about a quarter of their time at work combing through the hundreds of emails they send and receive each day. 

And yet, according to career coach Barbara Pachter, plenty of professionals still don't know how to use email appropriately.

Because people send and receive so many messages a day, many end up making embarrassing mistakes that could be detrimental in a professional interaction.

For example, you can easily miss a spelling error while typing out an email on your smartphone, or you may come off as too casual or unprofessional in tone or content.

Pachter outlines modern email etiquette rules in her book, "The Essentials Of Business Etiquette." We pulled out the most important ones you need to know.

1. Include a clear, direct subject line.

Examples of a good subject line include "Meeting date changed,""Quick question about your presentation," or "Suggestions for the proposal."

"People often decide whether to open an email based on the subject line," says Pachter. "Choose one that lets readers know you are addressing their concerns or business issues."

2. Use a professional email address.

If you work for a company, you should use your company email address. But if you use a personal email account — whether you are self-employed or just like using it occasionally for work-related correspondences — you should be careful when choosing that address, says Pachter.

You should always have an email address that conveys your name so that the recipient knows exactly who's sending the email. Never use email addresses (perhaps remnants of your grade-school days) that are not appropriate for use in the workplace, such as "babygirl@..." or "beerlover@..."— no matter how much you love a cold brew.

3. Think twice before hitting "reply all."

No one wants to read emails from 20 people when it has nothing to do with them. They could just ignore the emails, but many people get notifications of new messages on their smartphones or distracting pop-up messages on their computer screens. Refrain from hitting "reply all" unless you really think everyone on the list needs to receive the email, says Pachter.