Addressing people formally and respectfully makes them feel recognized and valued. Often people get confused when they want to address multiple people in an email. This is why you must understand ways how to address multiple people in an email like a pro. So here we go!

1. How do Address Multiple People in an email by using the “To” Field?

1.1) ‘To’ field

This field is used for composing and starting an email to a single person directly. You can send emails to multiple people by separating the email address by comma (,). Here’s an example:

deep@gmail.com, ssn@yahoo.com, fu23@go.com, 87y@microsoft.com.

However, using multiple email addresses in the ‘To’ field can lead to unnecessary confusion. ‘To’ field is mainly for the individual the mail is intended. They are expected to respond and act on it. Let’s say that you are a student and need to submit an assignment to your teacher, in that case, you will your teacher’s email address in the ‘To’ field.

So if you need multiple people to take action on your email message using the ‘To’ field add multiple email addresses to it. But do not stuff with multiple email addresses for the sake of clarity. It is better to use CC’ or the ‘BCC’ field to send emails to multiple recipients.

To send emails to people you need to put an email address in the ‘To field‘. And if you are using the BCC field, you should include the sender’s email address in the To field.

Let’s say that joy@up.com wants to email Babi, Vijay, and Summer. And joy should do the following:

joy@up.com should be in the To field, where everyone can see joy@up.com.

Now you can put Babi, Vijay, and Summer’s emails in the BCC field.

Here’s what everyone can see:

Babi will see the email from Joy but Vijay and Summer won’t see the email.

Vijay can see the email from Joy but Babi and Summer won’t see the email.

And Summer can see the email from Joy, but Vijay and Babi can not.

1.2) ‘CC’ Field:

The abbreviated form of CC is Carbon Copy. When you sent an email address to multiple people in ‘CC’, they will get a copy of the email. The carbon copies would then be sent to secondary recipients and marked as such so that the receivers didn’t confuse them for originals.

CC field comes to use when you want to get a leave from your manager. At the same time, you need to inform HR as well. This field comes to use in a situation like that when both of the party need to handle the action. Here are some of the different ways that people use TO and CC fields:

Some use comma (,) between email to multiple people to indicate that there are more than one person and one email address.

Some use a semi-colon (;) to separate emails among multiple recipients to indicate there are multiple recipients.

This is why and how to address multiple people in an email using the ‘CC’ field.

1.3) ‘BCC’ Field:

Blind Carbon Copy (BBC) is used to send emails to multiple people and you do not want to share the recipient’s names with everyone in that email. The ‘BCC’ field is used by the sender to fulfil an obligation to another person without involving the primary recipients of the email message. ‘BCC’ field can be useful in these three scenarios:

Whenever you email someone outside the organization then you may want to keep the recipient’s identity secret and protect the privacy of each other.

If there are ongoing problems, you might want to bring your colleagues or seniors discreetly.

Sometimes you want to move out from the ongoing email thread. For example:

Dear Mr Ansel,

Thanks, Violetta (Move to BCC) for introducing us.

Ansel, how have you been? I would love to…

The BCC field allows you to keep email threads to be independent of each participant. If anyone uses the ‘Reply All’ button, multiple individuals won’t get roped into the conversation. BBC may not always show the email page whenever writing emails. You have to enable it, as every person has their way to turn off or on the BCC field. Thus, you may need to consult the help files on that particular email client. This is why and how to address multiple people in an email using the ‘BCC’ field.

Have a look at how to turn the BCC field on choosing the program you use for Outlook and Outlook express.

1.3.1) Steps For Outlook:

• Open your outlook and make a new email account.
• On the toolbar click on “View”
• And check on the BCC field.

1.3.2) For Outlook Express:

The first two steps are the same as the above the only difference is in the 3rd step which you need to check on “All Header”.

Before you forward your BCC email make sure to copy and paste first as this will avoid sharing the email address of the original email. Usually, people under BCC won’t see other addresses listed, but everyone can see the addresses listed in the original email.

2. How do Address Multiple People in an email to a large group?

It is quite challenging to address multiple people in a group, there are various ways of greeting them, so let’s see how to do it:

2.1) For Addressing 2-4 People:

While addressing two to four people in an email, you can address each person directly like Dear Jane, Thomas, and Sunny, Greeting Sunny, Thomas, and Matt. Sometimes you are not certain of the recipient’s gender that time it’s good practice to use their full names and avoid gendered titles.

2.2) To Address a Specific Team:

To address a specific group in an email in the organization with the appropriate salutation is a must. Always start it with Good Morning, Team, Attention Sales Staff, Dear XYZ Team, and so on. It is also possible to address multiple people similarly in the same organization such as

Dear Marketing Team, Sales Team, Greeting Marketing, and Sales Teams,

But make sure you do the groups that need the message and do not clutter with any other team’s inbox. For more tips on how to respond to an interview email, visit here.

2.3) How to Address Female Recipients in an Email?

Addressing a woman by her proper title is a good practice of proper email etiquette. Keep these following tips in mind so that you know the best and most thoughtful way to address whomever you encounter.

2.3.1) Place the Preferred Title:

Always include “Mrs.,” for a married woman, “Ms.” for an unmarried woman and “Miss” for a young and unmarried girl. If you are unsure about the woman’s title use Ms., also you can use the same for older people who are unmarried. Ms. title is a neutral and safe option to go with a woman you do not know. As we know Mrs is the official title for a married woman, but keep in mind that some women preferred to keep Mrs in their title even though their spouse passes away or after divorce. If you have a doubt, it is probably a good idea to ask them how they would prefer to be addressed.

2.3.2) Start With a Salutation:

Begin your email with a salutation tone based on the occasion, let’s say wedding invitations will be a formal tone and Christmas will be a casual one. Always check for spelling errors in the recipient’s address before sending it. Otherwise, your email might get lost.

3. Why Do We Need to Address Multiple People in an Email?

Email is mostly used in the form of professional communication, you need to understand addressing multiple individuals in an email. This is useful when you need to send identical information emails to multiple people at once. The following are some points that many professionals in any discipline would need to address multiple people:

• Sending offer letters.
• To provide notice of recognition.
• To share memos inside the office.
• Official correspondence between different departments.
• Formal appreciation in a group email.
• Provide customers and clients with the same information on company changes.
• Publishing policy change announcements.
• While giving notice of the contract.

So these are a few points in which you need to send emails to multiple people, there are many more on which you may need to use multiple addresses.

4. How Should the Subject line of an Email Address Multiple Recipients?

If you want to grab the attention of your recipients. A good subject line is a must, here are some of the tips to write a strong subject line:

4.1) Personalize with Each Recipient or Company Name :

Uses of personalization can increase the chances to open your email recipients. But you need to know to whom you are sending the email, so try to make your subject interesting.

4.2) Make it Short and Crisp:

Your subject line should tell what the email is about so that the recipients can prioritize the email. Most people read emails from their smartphones and put the important words at the beginning which is between 9 words and 60 characters. Otherwise, persuasive details may get cut off which may lead to the importance of your email being underestimated.

4.3) Use Keywords related to an Email:

Most professionals use filters and folders set up to manage their email so it is essential to put the email-related keyword on your email. Thus, it will help your email to make it searchable and easy to find.

4.4) If Being Referred by a Mutual Acquaintance:

If someone referred you make sure you mention their name, do not write it on the body of the email. Simply add the full name of that person in the subject line. This will help your email stand out in the recipient’s inbox.

4.5) Highlight the Value:

When you send a cold email to a recipient that you do not know, you must highlight the value in your subject line. They will surely want to open your email and you might have the opportunity that you were seeking.

4.6) Avoid using Filler Words:

Never use words like “thanks”, “hello”, and “nice meeting you” in your subject line, those things you can and should be written in the email content body.

4.7) Mention a Deadline:

Adding a deadline in your subject can exponentially increase the chance for you to get a response like please reply by EOD Monday. This works when you have a lot of information to convey in the email. For example:

4.8) Do Not Use Capital Letters:

Writing your subject with all caps can convey the wrong intention to the recipient. It is equivalent to yelling digitally which is in no way an ideal situation. Your email should be easy to read and not make them angry, so avoid using caps, exclamation points, and other special characters.

4.9) Tailor the Subject to Each Recipient:

When you send the same email to many recipients make sure you tailor it according to the recipient and reread it, and do not make the silly mistake of putting a wrong name or title in the subject.

4.10) Make Sure to Add a Greeting Before Addressing Multiple People in an Email

While addressing more than two people always add a greeting with each person’s name:

Dear John, Steve, and Poppy,

Dear team, we hope you all are doing well!

Dear colleagues, very good morning.

Have a look at this example:

To: Mr John Green, Mr Steve Marshall, Ms Poppy More

BCC: Mr Jack Jonas

Subject: To Invite on Trip

Dear John, Steve, and Poppy,
I hope you are doing well.

It has been quite a long since we met at Christmas. I have planned a small trip for all of us to Las Vegas on the 23rd of January. I will be leaving the city tomorrow and will catch up with you in the city park.

I will wait for your reply to my email and wish for you to join me on this trip.

Best regards

Ansel

And in case you are wondering how to address the large group in an email, here’s another:

Subject: Project Discussion- Thursday at 11 am

I’m writing to request a project discussion.

Dear colleagues,

It’s essential for us that have a good understanding of this project. Could you kindly what time works for you or if there are any questions I can answer?

Thank you

Steve John

Subject: Update on Project XYZ

Dear members,

These are our demanding times and we need your little help to meet our goal and impact our victims of the accident.

Please donate at least 500Rs today to ensure we have the strength and make a small impact.

All the best,

John

5. How to Greet Multiple Recipients with Formal Email?

Formal email does not mean communicating electronically at the expense of personal interaction. You can use greetings like Dear sirs / Respected sir there is nothing wrong with using them. However, you must add some more polite words to send emails to your official correspondence like a boss, supervisor, manager, HR, department head, and professor. Here are a few guidelines to help you out with greeting multiple recipients:

5.1) Think about them, not you:

Try to think about the ways how can you make them feel comfortable and respected with your words. Once you get that, you can use above mentioned greetings to address the recipient individually. This will help your email reflect positively to the recipients and as a result, help you.

5.2) Tone of your Email Matters:

You should always know to whom you are writing emails. Is it your close friend, boss, or someone you don’t know at all? Your tone of the email should not be the same for everyone. Therefore, it is important to select the tone before writing an email or letter based on the relationship you have with that person.

5.3) Take your Time to Respond to the Email:

Before you give a response to their email try to think about any discussion that you had and make and structure responses thoughtfully. Take enough time to accommodate feedback and questions.

5.4) Use the Power of Brevity:

If you are representing your organization always make sure your responses are short with a maximum of 4-5 paragraphs. When this method is effective, when done correctly, you can convey your thoughts clearly and effectively.

6. Final words:

Things like how to address multiple people in an email with the perfect subject are the most important skills these days. Not only it will avoid your email from being ignored but also leaves a good impression on today’s business world. I hope by following the tips above, your email will be well-received by the organization.

The waters of digital communication are sometimes hard to navigate and all of us have needed a reliable guide through it at one point or the other. This article will serve as just that and help out in ways you need it to and you might find a few tips you didn’t even know you needed.

Last Updated on January 26, 2023 by harsh