Email is a part of everyday life, for some people it even takes over their lives. We have email at work, at home and even on our mobile phones. The little things make all the difference, and to leave them out or get it wrong could suggest you’re lazy, unprofessional or even incompetent – isn’t it worth taking a minute to think about the emails that you send and what they really say about you?

Here are some 7 things to look out for.

1. Spelling. This may sound really obvious but even the spell checker can get it wrong, giving you the wrong word. Read over what you’ve written.
2. Grammar. This isn’t just for the picky; if you get this wrong it could be misinterpreted by the recipient. The problem of miscommunication is far worse than not communicating.
3. Signature. Do you need an epic at the end of your email? The purpose of the signature it to tell recipients who you are and how to get in touch, not tell a life story and convince people how important you are. The longer the signature, the lower down the pecking list you are.
4. Subject line. Tell the recipient what you’re emailing about so they can take the best course of action as quickly as possible, blank or useless subjects are just a waste of time.
5. Urgent indicator. Is it really, really, that important? Will the Earth explode if the recipient doesn’t read your email right that second?
6. Length. People aren’t generally interested in reading long things on the screen, so keep your emails short and to the point.
7. Pick up the phone. Unless it’s 3 in the morning, why not phone the recipient? No spam filtering to get in the way, it’s more personal, or it might be easier to explain than type. If the recipient is a customer, it might even generate you additional business!

Finally, try sending yourself the email. Imagine the recipient had sent it to you, how does it read, how do you feel reading it? You may be surprised.