Mistakes You're Making When Sending Professional Emails

What Not to Write in Professional Emails

The new year is a popular time for both hiring and starting new jobs. This year, new college graduates from winter 2023 and spring 2024 will be entering the workforce. Now is a great time to brush up on professional etiquette before interviewing for or starting a new job. 

But even if you’ve been in the workforce for years already, it’s a good idea to refresh your professional practices. Email, in particular, is one of the primary forms of communication in the workplace, especially for remote and hybrid employees. It’s important for both you and your team to communicate well via email. 

If you’re ready to brush up on your professional email etiquette, including what to say vs what not to say in emails, we’ve got you covered. Read on for some actionable tips to up your email game in 2024. 

Email Writing Mistakes

First up, let’s talk about what not to do in your professional emails. Use these quick and simple professional email writing tips to avoid unprofessional or offensive communication.

Writing Too Casually

Your email communication shouldn’t be too casual - it’s important to know what not to say in emails. After all, you’re connecting with team members and management on a daily basis. Keep your emails work-related, safe for work, and free of GIFs or too many emojis (unless, of course, it’s a stated part of your company culture). It’s important to remember that your workplace email isn’t a casual direct message platform, and it’s not the place to have conversations you wouldn’t want upper management--or even your coworkers--to see. 

Writing Too Professionally

On the flip side, writing too professionally can create a disconnect between you and your teammates; you run the risk of looking like you’re “talking down” to them. “Insider” language and jargon that can be avoided should be, and the tone of emails should be friendly and conversational. There’s a healthy middle ground between too casual and too professional, so try to stay within that safe zone as much as possible. 

Offering Empty Apologies

When you’ve made a mistake and it’s time to own up, make sure your apology is sincere--whether you offer it in person or via email. Offering empty apologies shows that you’re not really willing to take responsibility for a mistake or misstep. If you need to extend an apology via email, follow up with the steps you will take to resolve the issue.   

Unnecessary Punctuation

Unnecessary punctuation can be off-putting in any email, especially your work-related communication. Follow basic grammar and punctuation rules. If an exclamation point or question mark is needed, stick to using one at a time, and don’t flood your email message with characters and punctuation marks that aren’t needed. 

Not Proofreading

Proofreading your emails before you send them could help save you from making an embarrassing mistake! These days, there are plenty of automated editing tools built into email software to help you avoid issues. Still, it’s important to make another proofreading pass over your emails before you send them; the software isn’t perfect, and sometimes, it misses common mistakes in business emails!

Start A New Job Off Strong

Now that you’ve reviewed how to write better business emails, let’s talk about starting a new job off strong. Solid professional email skills are so important not only for keeping a current job but for making a great first impression. We’ve gathered a few other tips to help you start strong on your first day, and you can check them out here. 

New Hire Custom Gifts

In addition to great email communication, it’s important to welcome new employees with custom logo-branded gifts. You can create a branded gift set, such as a custom MerchBox, with hand-picked gifts that are perfect for each new team member. Even better, you can customize each box based on your budget, so they’ll always be right-sized!

Contact Us

Now that we’ve reviewed some professional email writing tips and talked about ways to start a new job strong, it’s time to get ready to welcome those new hires! Contact us for more new hire gift ideas, to start your order, or to get your questions answered about creating your own MerchBox. We’re looking forward to hearing from you!