9 Do’s and Don’ts of Writing an Authentic Email

We can easily learn a lot about each other from social media these days — almost too much. It doesn't take much to look someone up on Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter before a meeting or sending an email. You can learn where someone is from, what he or she likes, information about their family, education, social life... the list goes on.

But, what is appropriate to mention in your email? You want to clue your contact in that you are interested in their life, but not that you crept a lot through their old photos, and know more about their life then you originally intended.

If you are looking to stand out, trying to be different won't get you as far as it used to, these days being authentic will bring recognition and loyal clients.

When writing an email to a client, authenticity is important, and avoiding revealing your stalker-like tendencies is even more important. To show interest in the contact, you should include a conversation piece on an aspect of their life. For example, if they live in Cleveland, an appropriate comment would be to mention how well the Cavs are doing.

Depending on the level of how well you know someone, topics can be more personal. For instance, if you know someone well, asking how his or her family is doing is a nice gesture. But if they are someone you only met once, then less personal details are more appropriate, such as things you can learn with a quick look on LinkedIn.

Here are our 9 dos and don'ts for writing an authentic email.