E-Mailheads and Signatures

Create an e-mail letterhead for formal proposals, contracts, offers, and the like. But, use it sparingly, and only when appropriate. Recipients may balk at the wasted linage, unless there is a clear purpose. Keep it short - 3 lines are enough.

Proper use would be whenever it is necessary to make it clear that the message is from your company, rather than from yourself, such as an offer to purchase.

Create a signature for consistency. Keep it short and concise. Include your e-mail address in case the signature gets separated from the header. Don't duplicate in your signature any material you have in your e-mailhead.

Here's an example:-

Capitalizing*, and other odd things

Business communication requires proper use of written language. It requires proper use of capital letters. Some offices permit - even encourage - all lower-case for internal memos. But, this is rude and slovenly when used for inter-company communications. Would you write a business letter on company letterhead using all lower-case? We hope not!

Specifics

1. internet - is a generic term, not a proper noun. Use lower case and capitalize only at the beginning of a sentence. (However, many journalists are capitalizing Internet. By today's rules, this is not correct, but English is a living language with custom a major factor. In time, it may be correct to capitalize Internet.)

2. intranet - is a common noun. Capitalize at the beginning of a sentence and when the word has been particularized - as in the IBM Intranet (like the Ohio River), but: IBM's intranet.

3. World Wide Web - should be capitalized, according to Webster's - see below. (However, by the same rule, other things of the same class like gopher and archie should be capitalized, too. As these are rarely capitalized, you may decide not to capitalize “world wide web.” Whatever you choose, be consistent.)

4. The initials, WWW, which stand for “World Wide Web,” should be in capitals. (But Webster's does not always capitalize abbreviations. If you capitalize the whole phrase, capitalize the abbreviation, and vice versa.)

5. e-mail - the “e” is always lower case. At the beginning of a sentence, the “M” is capitalized – as in e-Mail. And the word should be hyphenated. (“email” - no hyphen - means “enamel” in German and French.)

6. on-line - should be hyphenated, not written solid (online). However, “Online” is commonly used in trade names (eg.America Online), in which case it should be written as the trade name dictates, usually solid and capitalized.