Email Unwritten Best Practices

You probably write emails. Like, all the time. You also receive emails. A lot of them, probably.

Most emails you read, and probably most emails you write, suck. Here’s some tips to make them suck less.

The Core Rules

1. Use the right recipient field

This is where most people screw up right from the start. I’m kind of pedantic on this, but it matters. Here’s the rule:

• Anyone you require action or a reply from goes in the To: field. These are the people who need to DO something with your email.
• Anyone you want to read the email but from whom you expect nothing, goes in Cc:. They’re informed but not responsible.
• If you have a list (say, acme-team@), but don’t expect everyone to reply, put the list in Cc, and add the actual people you expect a reply or action from in To, even if they’re already on the list. Any email system worth its salt will deduplicate for you, and people won’t get two copies.
• Nobody ever should be put in Bcc: except for the use cases below.

Why does this matter? Because when people see their name in the To field, they know they need to act. When they see themselves in Cc, they know they can just read and move on. It’s about setting expectations clearly.

2. Keep recipient lists clean, explicitly

Email threads have a tendency to grow like weeds. People get added, contexts change, and suddenly you’re discussing sensitive budget details with someone who joined the thread three emails ago when it was about lunch plans.

• Adding people: If you need to bring someone into the thread, follow rules above, and add a note in the body of the email so everyone is aware. For example, “Adding Louise for visibility”.
• Removing people: If someone is not really relevant anymore, drop them from the thread. But first, tell everyone. To do it, move the person to Bcc, and say at the start of your reply something like “Adam to Bcc”.

This isn’t rude - it’s considerate. Adam doesn’t want to get 20 more emails about something that’s no longer relevant to him.

3. Bcc large lists

People love to reply to all, even when that’s not the right thing to do. Help them to help themselves, and put large lists in Bcc (and yourself in the To field). Rules for Bcc (tell in the body who’s in Bcc) apply, but doing this will avoid a reply storm.

Example: Team update - Q3 results goes to large list in Bcc. You avoid the inevitable “Thanks!” “Great job!” “Congrats!” reply-all storm that follows any company-wide announcement.

4. Keep it short

There is no need to make a whole paragraph of what you could say with a sentence, and nobody ever should take a short response as a personal offence. Here’s my strong opinion: basically no email should ever be longer than 5 sentences. Some exceptions apply, but they’re rare.

• Bad: “I hope this email finds you well. I wanted to reach out regarding the project we discussed in our meeting last Tuesday about the quarterly planning session. After giving it some thought and discussing with my team, I believe we should probably move forward with option B, assuming that works with everyone’s schedule and doesn’t conflict with any other priorities you might have.”
• Good: “Let’s go with option B for the Q3 project. Does next Tuesday work for the kickoff?”

5. Use the Subject line

The subject is what everyone will read first when they receive your email. Some people don’t read everything right away, and anyone will happily avoid reading more than they need to.

If your message can fit 5-8 words, make it your subject and add “EOM” (End of Message) at the end of it. No body required then.

Examples:

• Meeting moved to 3pm EOM
• Budget approved - proceed EOM
• Need quarterly numbers by Friday EOM

If your message is longer, you should still make your subject line specific and actionable.

• Bad: “Meeting”

• Good: “ACTION: Review draft proposal before Friday’s client call”

• Bad: “Question about project”

• Good: “Should we prioritize mobile app or web dashboard?”

6. Start with bold

Write your 5 sentences. Make the sentence that tells the actual message - the action needed, the critical information, whatever - bold. Now take the bold sentence and move it up to the top of the email. You’re welcome.

If your email needs to be more than 5 sentences, this rule should be non-negotiable.

Why this works: People scan emails. They read the first line, maybe the last line, and look for anything that stands out. Lead with what matters.

7. Avoid back and forth by giving options

Asking “Thoughts?” or “What can we do about this issue?” elicits a conversation. Email is the wrong medium to have a dialogue. If you can’t offer options, offer a meeting, a call, a slack chat, something more synchronous.

Otherwise, try going with something like “Can I help the most by talking to their manager, reviewing their document, or leaving you to it?”, or “Can we discuss whether option A or B should be how we move forward?”

• Bad: “What should we do about the server issues?”
• Good: “Should we migrate to AWS this quarter or patch the current servers and migrate next quarter? I need to know by Friday to update the budget.”

Advanced Techniques

8. Use delays and scheduling strategically

Most email systems let you delay sending. Use this power responsibly.

For late-night emails: Schedule them to send during business hours. Nobody needs to get your 11pm brainstorm and feel pressured to respond immediately.

For follow-ups: Instead of remembering to check if someone responded, schedule a follow-up email for a week later. If they respond before then, delete the scheduled email.

For time-sensitive info: Send quarterly reminders, birthday notifications, or project deadlines using scheduled send.

9. Master the art of templates

You probably send similar emails all the time. Stop rewriting them.

10. Know when NOT to use email

Email is terrible for:

• Urgent matters (call or Slack)
• Anything that needs back-and-forth (call or Slack)
• Complex discussions (meet)
• Emotional topics (talk face-to-face)
• Brainstorming (use collaborative docs)
• Giving critical feedback (in person)

If you find yourself writing a third reply to clarify something, stop. Call the person.

11. Reply hygiene

Reply timing: You don’t need to reply to everything immediately. But if something will take you less than 2 minutes, just do it now.

Reply content: If you’re replying to a multi-point email, quote the relevant parts and respond to each point clearly. Don’t make people guess which question you’re answering.

Reply scope: If the conversation has evolved beyond the original topic, change the subject line to reflect the new topic.

12. The two-sentence rule

This is my personal favorite: most emails can be answered in two sentences. The first sentence answers the question or acknowledges the request. The second sentence provides any necessary context or next steps.

“Yes, I can review the proposal by Friday. I’ll focus on the technical sections and send you my feedback Thursday evening.”

“The budget was approved at $50K. I’ll send the updated project timeline after I talk to the development team.”

Email Etiquette That Actually Matters

Don’t CC your boss to make a point. If you need to escalate something, escalate it properly. Don’t passive-aggressively add your manager to prove you’re right.

Don’t reply-all to say thanks. Just don’t. If you must acknowledge something, send a private thank you.

Use proper grammar in professional emails. You don’t need to be Shakespeare, but basic punctuation and complete sentences help people take you seriously.

End threads decisively. When a discussion is resolved, send a final email summarizing the decision and next steps. This prevents zombie email threads that resurrect weeks later.

Tools and Automation

Filters: Set up filters for newsletters, automated reports, and low-priority notifications. They should bypass your inbox and go to separate folders you check weekly.

Signatures: Include your preferred contact method if something is urgent. “For urgent matters, text me at [number]” or “For same-day responses, ping me on Slack.”

Auto-responses: If you’re going to be slow to respond for a known reason (vacation, big project deadline), set up an auto-response explaining when people can expect to hear back.

The Real Secret

Good emails aren’t about following rules. The important bit is to respect people’s time and attention. That’s true, incidentally, for most communication modes.

In my experience, most problems come from people treating email like a stream of consciousness rather than a communication tool. Your email should have a purpose, a clear ask or piece of information, and a logical structure.

The goal isn’t perfect emails. The goal is spending less time on emails and more time on actual work.

Any other email good practice I forgot?