Writing for Business Success/Business writing in action/Email
On this page, we examine one of the most common forms of business communication: the email. One of the reasons that emails are so common is that they can be used for so many different purposes. For internal communications (i.e. between staff in the same organisation), email can be used for memorandums, newsletters, event notifications, announcements, meeting requests, status updates, appreciation, and so on. Externally, email can be used to communicate both with other businesses and with customers.
We first consider the ideal structure and format of emails. These guidelines apply to most types of email, whatever their context. The aim is to make the purpose of the message stand out as clearly as possible to the reader; this is especially important for email because many people feel overwhelmed by the number of emails that they receive each day from different sources.
At the end of the page, you will have the opportunity to read through several different examples of typical business emails, both internal and external, and find out how they are adapted for different receivers and contexts.
Contents
The structure and format of emails
There are six primary features of a business email:
- Subject line
- Greeting
- Opening
- Body
- Closing
- Signature
Subject line
The subject line is one of the most important features of any business email message. It should quickly and concisely summarise the contents of the email in such a way as to make the recipient want to open the message (remember an inbox is a sea of subject lines - make yours stand out!). Try to use verbs in the subject line wherever possible, to get maximum attention: “Attend Friday’s call - Important,” “Respond to this customer ASAP,” “Your account is about to expire - Please get back to us!” There’s not always a verb that fits, especially if your email covers multiple topics (“Changes in Management and New Product Line”); however, you should still be concise: no one wants a full email in the subject line.
Greetings
The greeting is really just a matter of good etiquette. Your goal is to sound professional yet friendly. If the recipient is a teammate or colleague, a less-formal, friendly greeting is appropriate: “Hi John”; “Good Morning Shilpa.” If your audience is outside your department or business, or is a superior, you would probably be more formal, for example, “Dear Cathy” or "Dear Mrs Jones". The appropriate form of greeting is highly dependent on the culture of both the society the business is part of and the particular workplace. If you are new to a workplace, it is best to ask colleagues what is appropriate, or look at examples of emails in that business.
Openings
You might need an opening paragraph if the message is a long one with many details. Make sure you make it clear to the recipients why they are receiving this email. Think of an executive summary where you are providing the key information of the message without all of the details. This is especially helpful for messages to senior management, who may not be interested in all of the finer points.
Body of the Message
The body of your message should be concise and to the point. As with any writing, always keep your audience in mind. It is common for people not to read all the way through long emails, and/or to only read with half of their attention. Ask yourself whether you are conveying your message in a way that will be best understood and that minimises any potential for misinterpretation. Are there lots of facts, background information, and/or documentation that must be included? Since emails are generally short, you need to decide what information should be included for the message to be complete and accurate, and what information would be best suited as an attachment.
As you write the body of your message, you might notice how challenging it is to include as much information as possible while also trying to keep the email short. Are you writing in long, complex sentences? Take note of your sentence structure, and make sure each sentence has one clear idea or connected ideas to make the sentences easier to understand. To summarise information, you can also use bullet points in your message to keep it brief but thorough.
Note: If you find that your email is becoming too long, with multiple pages of information, consider re-writing it as a memo or report. You can then send your longer report or memo as an attachment, with a short email introducing the attachment and its context.
Closing
The close of your message should include a call to action, with specific desired outcomes and dates. Ask yourself why you wrote this message in the first place. Why is this message important, and what do you want the reader to do? By when? For example, you may want a response from the recipient, and include something like “Please confer with Jane and respond to the team no later than June 2nd.”
Signature
Your signature should contain full contact information including your name, title, address, phone number, and email address. Remember, this message is not a personal note, it is from the organisation.
Writing an email
Refer to the learning materials in the Effective business writing learning pathway for the general principles of communicating successfully in writing. Principles such as word choice and tone, style, concision, and clarity apply to email as much as to any other sort of business writing.
For email, there are some additional steps you can take to ensure that your message is understood:
- Organise the content of your message carefully:
- Briefly state your purpose for writing the email at the very beginning of your message.
- Be sure to provide the reader with a context for your message. If you’re asking a question, cut and paste any relevant text (for example, computer error messages, assignment prompts you don’t understand, part of a previous email message, etc.) into the email so that the reader has some context for your question. When replying to someone else’s email, it can often be helpful to either include or restate the sender’s message.
- Use paragraphs to separate thoughts (or consider writing separate emails if you have many unrelated points or questions).
- Finally, state the desired outcome at the end of your message. If you’re requesting a response, let the reader know what type of response you require (for example, an email reply, possible times for a meeting, a recommendation letter, etc.) If you’re requesting something that has a due date, be sure to highlight that due date in a prominent position in your email. Ending your email with the next step can be really useful, especially in work settings. For example, you might write “I will follow this e-mail up with a phone call to you in the next day or so” or “Let’s plan to further discuss this at the meeting on Wednesday.”
- Format your message so that it is easy to read:
- Put a blank line between each paragraph to create separate blocks of text - this use of 'white space' makes the text easier to read.
- Use bullet points for important details so that they are easy to pick out.
- Use bold font to highlight critical information, such as due dates.
Try reading your message out loud to help you catch any grammar mistakes or awkward phrasing that you might otherwise miss, or ask a trusted colleague (if appropriate) if they can look over your message before you send it.
Acknowledgements
The content on this page was adapted from Internal Emails and Memos and External Communication, authored by Robert Danielson and provided by Lumen Learning under a CC-BY-4.0 licence. The content is part of the online course Business communication skills for managers.
