Email Etiquette Tip #1: To, CC & BCC

This is the first post of a five-part series focused on Business Email Etiquette.

Who are you emailing? 

One of the best ways to effectively communicate to your audience is to make sure you have the right people included on your emails.  Sometimes it can be confusing on who to and not to include on certain communications.

The below tips will help you distinguish between who should be on the To, CC, and BCC lines of your emails.

Video Recap

Who should go on each line?

To:  

• The person who you are specifically targeting with your communication
• The person who needs to take an action 

Carbon Copy (CC)

• Someone who needs to know the information, but has no action to take
• Someone who needs to know that the communication has been sent
• As a way of introducing the people on copy to the person in the "to" line
• As a point of escalation when you can copy upper management to ensure a timely response/action (Try avoiding any escalations until you've made several attempts to contact them.)

Blind Carbon Copy (BCC)

• Use sparingly - ask yourself "Why am I using BCC instead of CC?" and ensure the answer is not for a deceptive reason
• Use for mass email communications to a large distribution list to prevent reply alls
• Use to protect privacy of those you are sending the communications to

Were these tips helpful?  Contact me today to set up a session with your team by dropping me a note at [email protected].