Professional Email and Internet Etiquette

    As a rodeo queen or a contestant it is important to keep in mind that you are a young professional. This must carry over in the communication and interaction you have with committees, judges, and contestants. One of the most common communication methods today is via email. You must maintain your professionalism when communicating via email as well. Here are some tips for proper and professional email communication:

• Never communicate with queen committees or judges via Facebook or other social media unless this method is requested!
  • Facebook and many forms of social media are not a professional way of communicating with people. These mediums are here for SOCIAL interaction. This is not what the first impression you want to give. However, you must be prepared for people to be watching your social media pages, keep them appropriate!
• Respond in a timely manner
  • There is no need to reply to junk mail and forwards of course, but it is important to reply quickly to emails. Generally a 24 hour timeline is a safe bet.
• Use the Subject line
  • This is important because it lets your readers know exactly what the story is upfront! You don’t want your email to be looked over because it has no subject or a vague one. Keep it short, to the point, and succinct.
• Don’t use text or shorthand
  • Due to the frequency people utilize texting and social media it is easy to use shorthand and abbreviations like: lol, u, smh, and the list goes on… Make sure to proofread your content to keep these habits out of your emails!
• Know your recipient
  • If you’re sending something that may contain controversial material (ex: religious, political, etc.), first consider your audience. In a professional setting it is not always best to discuss these types of issues.
• Watch out for spam
  • When signing up, purchasing, or searching things on the internet watch out for spam. When you enter your email on anything many sites will ask to send you newsletters or other offers. Be sure to uncheck this box so that you don’t become bogged down with spam. This helps to ensure your inbox is organized.
• Monitor your number of recipients
  • . It is not always necessary to copy everyone on all emails. This is also true when utilizing the “Reply-all” button. You don’t want to overwhelm people with emails and information that they don’t need.
• Don’t make it personal
  • Keep your personal information out of emails. It is not professional to keep everyone updated on all of your personal activities.
• Utilize Auto-replies
  • If you are going to be unable to check email for a long period of time utilize an auto-reply email to notify senders of this. That way they understand if they do not receive a timely response.

Lauren’s Tip:

“Make the content of your email clear in the subject line. If your email is about a followup for a sponsorship possibility the subject line should read, “Sponsorship Followup: MRA.”