Tips on Writing Business Emails

Tips on Writing Business Emails

 2019 Jul 10  Blog | Writing Tips

Due to email we have got the chance to communicate fast and cheaply with colleagues, suppliers and other people around the world. Most people now use email as the major mean of communication during working time. The average office worker receives about 80 emails daily. However, while we send and receive tons of emails, a huge amount of them are ineffective. Some are difficult to read while others lack clarity on how one should act or reply. This means that every office worker must know effective techniques of writing, basic rules and other useful tips on how to write a business email. Here is a guideline that is designed to assist you in creating business emails.

Keep in Mind the Letter’s Purpose

Each email you write should have a purpose. Make sure it covers a specific item, assignment, or request. By mentioning several tasks in one email you risk causing ineffectiveness. On the contrary, when an email is maximally limited, it is more understandable for the reader.

Address an Email Properly

You must always keep in mind your audience. Who you are creating an email to completely determines its tone, formality, and content. Depending on whether you are writing to your colleague, customer, or director, you should select the way of writing. Having your audience in mind, you will create an efficient email.

Therefore, knowing how to write a professional email starts with knowing how to address it properly. The audience consists of everyone included in the sender fields. These are the ‘To:’, ‘CC:’, and ‘BCC:’ fields.

The ‘To:’ field is for the direct reader that has to reply or act depending on the content. The ‘CC:’ field is for those who should receive the conversation for clarity but should not reply or take action. The ‘BCC:’ field is for those who just should see the primary email without the replies.

The Basic Business Essay Structure

Let’s briefly analyze each section and general business email format to find out how to make the email written well.

Subject Line

This part provides a brief summary of the entire email. If created properly, it forces the recipient to read the email. To make it good, just consider it as the email’s headline. Just write a clear 3- to 8-word summary of the content.

Greeting

Make sure your greeting is brief and professional. It is recommended to address the recipient using their name, however, it is not always possible. Examples:
Dear Mr. Brown
Hi Lucy, (salutation format)
Hi, Lucy. (sentence format)
Greetings,
Good afternoon

Brief Pleasantry

If writing an email to the recipient for the first time, it is recommended to begin with a concise pleasantry connecting you and that person. You could remind them how you connected to provide them with the context for the following information.

Purpose

As it was mentioned earlier, a good email has only one purpose. Ensure to plainly present it right after the pleasantry. Write it precisely, directly and briefly. Avoid hiding the request, otherwise, it can be neglected.

Additional Information

If required, you can provide additional information, such as clarifications, links or examples. Keep in mind that only directly relevant content should be included.

Call to Action

Ensure this part of your email is written as comprehensible as possible. You must realize that the reader cannot understand the expected result from the foregoing information. Always keep in mind that emails might be understood improperly if are not written clearly enough. Therefore, in this statement ask for the specific action and mention the timeline. If the email is being sent to several people, make clarifications by directly naming the intended person.

Closing Message

This part simply shows that your email is complete. It is not actually required in modern email writing, but a short polite phrase will help to nicely end your writing. Examples:
Kind regards,
Thank you for your time

Sign-off & Signature

In the end, you have to include a sign-off of your name. Ensure it matches the formality of the email. Examples:
Jack Jones
Dr. Jones
Dr. Jack Jones (most formal)

Review

Once you have composed the email, do not hurry to click send. First, take some time to review it carefully and check it for grammatical or spelling mistakes. Then, check again dates, times, names, links, attachments and other specific details. Also, check whether the correct recipients are included in the sender fields.
Now you know how to write an email that is precise and clearly conveys the necessary information to the recipient.

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