Digital Etiquette: The Proper Way To Conduct Business Correspondence
How not to start messages.
• “Hello.” A greeting without any name can lead to confusion and unease.
• “Can I ask you a question?” Excessive hesitancy can be annoying. Just ask the question; there is no need to ask for permission.
• “I’m here for the gifts/prizes.” Here you are being too obtrusive. If you are taking part in a raffle or a promo, you should phrase your request more politely.
• “Do you see my message?” This is an absurd wording of a question, as it’s impossible to answer “no.” The recipient may think you are making fun of them.
• “More details in another account.” You should not end your message by referring to another account or another platform. If you are contacting a person on a particular platform, you should stick to that for this communication.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.
Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.
