The burden of communication is on the communicator; not the recipient. Therefore proper email etiquette is to use strong subject lines, links, numbered lists and reasonably short paragraphs.

1. Subject Lines - all emails need a well articulated and relevant Subject Line.
   
1. Examples of good email subject lines:
1. Client X going live on Tuesday July 29 before Friday Board Meeting
2. Training help file on email etiquette posted on schipul.com
3. Feast with the Beast Presale Facebook AD text (sent to the zoo)
2. Bad subject lines torture your coworkers with anxiety which lowers morale and greatly reduces profitability.
   
3. Every time an email is sent with a bad subject line, a baby seal dies. This is sad. Save the baby seals! Use good subject lines!
   
2. Links - ease of use changes behavior.
   
1. Ease of use changes behavior. Without links people will NOT click through to see work that has been done.
2. It is rare that an email goes out that is truly not about SOMETHING that should be linked. Yes these exceptions occur, but they are exceptions.
3. It is not your coworker's responsibility to overcome your unwillingness to copy/paste a link from a site you are probably looking at when you sent the email!
   
4. Every time an email is sent without a link, a puppy dies. This is sad. Save the puppies! Use links!
   
3. Numbered Lists - organize the information
1. Bulleted lists are evil because they do NOT convey priority by the sender. Yet the recipient invariably starts at the top assuming this is in fact the top priority.
   
2. The value of forcing yourself to use numbered lists is that the sender (you) must organize your thoughts before confusing everyone else. It has been my experience that most people do not "order" bulleted lists but numbering makes them think about it.
3. Raise your hand if you like numbered lists! Now raise your other hand so things balance out. Or to put it another way - be kind to people who need this structure. It benefits you if people understand your message. Embrace diversity including diversity of thought and structure and prioritize your content.
   
4. Short Paragraphs - with rare exceptions
1. Shorter paragraphs with strong subject sentences greatly increase reading comprehension.
2. Speed readers tend to read the first sentence of a paragraph and use that to make a decision if they should bother reading the rest. Shorter paragraphs means more of your message is consumed regardless.
3. They force you to organize your thoughts before wasting everyone else's time!
5. Nickel words - save them for scrabble
1. To repeat - the burden of communication is on the communicator, not the recipient. While it is possible to write in tongues, this needlessly reduces comprehension.
   
2. But don't oversimplify, just make it as simple as possible and no simpler.
3. If you must use an idiosyncratic word - well - LINK IT!