About
Over the last ten years the use and dependency of e-mail communication in the work place has become the leading form of business writing. Unfortunately, e-mail has actually encouraged sloppiness as writers have failed to apply the same standard of business writing to their e-mail as to their other written correspondence.
Writing Tips: E-mails
Follow the front-page rule.
Never write anything that you would not want to be printed on the front page of a national newspaper (ex: New York Times). Writing business e-mails should take on a professional tone at all times. There are no exceptions to this rule. Remember, once you hit the ‘Send’ button, your e-mail can be easily circulated all over the world. Does the document that you attached, or the e-mail itself, contain information you would not want around the globe? If so, don’t send it electronically.
Proofread, proofread, and then proofread again.
The best thing you can do to help your e-mail writing is to read each e-mail you write several times before you press the ‘Send’ button. Check for typos and be sure you have spelled everyone’s names correctly.
Double-check your recipient list.
Double-check the e-mail addresses of those people you are sending the e-mail to. The last thing you need to do is send information about a company/person to an inappropriate person.
Don’t make jokes.
Do not use your business e-mail account to circulate jokes, chain e-mails, or any other offensive material. If your colleagues e-mail you a joke, copy it and put it in your personal e-mail account and send it to their personal e-mail account.
Include manageable attachments.
When including attachments to the e-mail, please reduce the file size as much as possible. To ensure that the e-mail went through the recipient’s server, be sure to either send them another e-mail without the attachment or call them. Confirming receipt of the e-mail is the only way to know that they did receive it. Please do not assume that someone received an e-mail if it included an attachment.
Avoid using ALL CAPS.
In the world of writing business e-mails, using ALL CAPS is considered shouting and offensive. Even if you wish to emphasize a word or phrase, use another means such as bold face or italics to do so.
Follow the reply rule carefully.
When you receive an e-mail from one person with other people listed in the CC (Carbon Copy) section of the e-mail header, be aware of using either Reply or Reply All. If you intend to reply to just the primary author of the e-mail then use Reply. Likewise, if you intend to reply to everyone on the distribution list, be sure to use the Reply All function.
Use high-priority sparingly.
Reserve the ‘high-priority’ label for e-mails that are, in fact, high priority. Labeling e-mails that are not really ‘high-priority’ is like the boy who cried wolf; over time you will have the reputation that all of your e-mails are ‘high-priority’, but no one will respond quickly since you use it too often.
Use a strong subject.
The subject line is usually the most overlooked aspect of writing business e-mails. Strong subject lines help recipients better understand why they received an e-mail and make it easier to search for in the future.
Include your complete signature.
Include your complete contact information at the bottom of your e-mail so that the person you are writing to can either mail you information or call if they have questions. Remember, this is a business environment, and most of the time, you will want to make yourself accessible as much as possible. By not providing your phone number at the bottom of the e-mail, you are making it more difficult for someone to reach you if they have a question. Additionally, in today’s global creative economy, a website is now considered a business credential. Not including your company’s website in your signature might actually give the impression that you do not have one.
Elements of Business E-mails
When writing business e-mails, following the format and style of a professional letter is an effective way to make a strong first impression. Learning the format of a simple, direct business communication is the easiest part: there is little variation in the information that must be included.
Heading
To: Who the e-mail is specifically addressed to; the receiving and acting parties.
CC: ‘Carbon copy’; additional parties who should receive the e-mail but are not directly related to the subject (e.g., administrators, peripheral parties)
BCC: ‘Blind carbon copy’; recipients to whom you send a copy of the correspondence, but whom other recipients are not aware of. The BCC line will not appear on any recipients’ copy of the e-mail. Use with caution—the politics of bcc-ing can become entrapping.
From: You, the author of the e-mail; include your full name and job title, if appropriate.
Date: E-mails “stamp” each letter with both the send and arrival date and time.
Subject: A brief, specific statement of the e-mail’s subject matter.
Greeting
This is also called the “salutation” and is formal unless you know the person you are sending the e-mail to and have an informal relationship with them.
- Begin with “Dear.”
- Follow this with one space.
- Include the person’s title and last name.
- Followed this with a colon.
Body
This is the main part of the letter, which contains the content/message you are communicating.
- Be respectful and accurate.
- Introduce yourself.
- Tell the reader why you are writing to them.
Complimentary close
These include statements like “Sincerely” or “Best regards” and should be respectful and formal.
Signature
After the complimentary close, type your signature (first and last if in a formal e-mail and first only in an informal e-mail).
Extended signature
The final element is the extended signature information. It is traditionally entered into the e-mail “template” used by the author, and it is automatically sent out with every e-mail. It should include:
- Author’s name
- Author’s title
- Company name
- Company address
- Main company telephone number with author’s extension
- Author’s e-mail address
- Company website address
See a Model: General Follow-up E-mail
E-mail #1: General Follow-Up (Incorrect example)
From: Sender@email.com
To: Recipient@email.com
Subject: hi there (Item 1)
Date: October 12, 2006
Do you have anything I can help you with? (Item 2) The last time we spoke you had a customer who was thinking about buying one of our products but hadn’t made a decision. (Item 3) Let me know if want to purchase anything. (Item 4) Our new product has a great feature you might be interested in. (Item 5) Thanks for your time. (Item 6)
First Name (Item 7)
What’s wrong with e-mail #1?
Item 1. The subject is too general.
Item 2. The e-mail lacks a greeting. The first sentence fails to introduce (or reintroduce the writer). The proper manner is “I wanted to touch base and see how things are going for you…”
Item 3. The writer does not mention the specific product.
Item 4. This is slang and does not highlight any specific product. This sentence also ignores what the objective of this e-mail is: follow-up with someone to see if they would like additional information.
Item 5. There is no name for the product and no reference to the company’s website, where the reader can find out more information.
Item 6. The writer does not offer a phone number or reference a website.
Item 7. The e-mail does not contain a closing or all of the proper information for a signature.
Summary: The writer fails to include as much specific information as necessary; does not empathize with the reader; does not write in a clear, appropriate manner; and does not seem to understand that the reader may have additional questions or may need additional time to respond.
E-mail #1: General Follow Up (Correct example)
From: Sender@email.com
To: Recipient@email.com
Subject: Follow-up General
Date: October 12, 2006
Good afternoon, Recipient.
I wanted to touch base and see how things are going for you and see if you were working on any new [product] projects that I might be able to help with. The last time we spoke, you had a customer who was interested in [product] but had not made any final decisions.
In case you have not been to our website lately, we have a new [product] with [feature] that has been quite popular.
Give me a call if I can be of any assistance, and take a moment to visit our home page: www.website.com. I look forward to hearing from you at your earliest convenience.
Regards,
Name
Address 1
City, State, ZIP
Phone
Company Website Address
Revision Checklist: Business E-mails
Focus/Purpose
Does your subject line clearly indicate the subject matter of your memo?
- Write a descriptive subject line so your readers will know upfront why you are writing.
- Be brief and precise.
- Explain the point and purpose of your e-mail in five words or less.
- Be accurate. Make sure your introduction, discussion, conclusions, and recommendations relate to your subject line.
Is your e-mail focused on one central point that is well developed and evaluated?
- Include information that is immediately relevant to your topic.
- Avoid references to the distant past or future except where it applies to current events.
- Stick to information that is necessary for your readers to understand and act upon your message.
- Make sure your conclusions or recommendations are supported by the information you have provided.
Development/Elaboration
Does your introduction provide your topic, purpose, and necessary background information?
- Explain your purpose for writing—that is, what you want to communicate or achieve.
- Provide a succinct definition of your topic early in your introduction.
- Include background information that readers might need to understand the content or importance of your e-mail.
- Be as brief and direct as possible.
Do you provide important details?
- Cover relevant details, providing enough information that the reader can respond or take action.
- Be as specific as possible. Cite locations, times, counts, and other relevant, available tangibles.
- Answer the ‘5Ws’:
- What is the main point of your memo?
- Who does it affect or pertain to?
- Why is it important?
- When will it be effective/important, or when does it call for response or action?
- How should the reader act or react to its message?
Does your conclusion sum up your major points and communicate recommendations or expectations of what is to happen next?
- Summarize the major points, especially action points, that you have brought up in your discussion.
- Form specific conclusions or recommendations based on the information provided in your e-mail.
- Make clear what you expect to happen next so that readers know if they should evaluate, consider, or act upon your conclusions.
- If there are tangible follow-up actions, specify exactly when, where, and how they should take place.
Organization
Have you organized your information into brief, well-formed paragraphs?
- Group information (or sentences) by subtopic, relevancy, or importance.
- Use a logic that works for your topic and purpose when organizing information.
- Form paragraphs around groups of related information (or sentences).
- Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that states the subtopic of the paragraph and its significance.
- Order ideas within the paragraph logically, by chronology, importance, etc.
- End each paragraph with a sentence that sums up the effect or implication of the information provided.
Do you emphasize important information through headers, bold or italic fonts, or in lists?
- Use headers to divide your text into sections that are defined by purpose, subtopic, action point, etc.
- Highlight important statements with boldface or italicized text. Use moderation—too much formatting will have the reverse effect and make your writing difficult to read.
- Be consistent in your use of headers and font formatting throughout the memo.
- Put parallel (such as options) or sequential information (such as instructions) in list format so each point is clearly defined and easy to see.
Have you followed proper procedures and protocol in the distribution and filing of your memo?
- Make sure you have sent copies to necessary people.
- Include required security information or disclaimers.
- Specify the privacy level of your memo if necessary.
- File a copy of the memo for your reference.
Language/Style
Do you use an appropriate language and tone for your receiving audience?
- Consider who is receiving your memo and the level of formality in your workplace: formal or more conversational?
- Consider the subject matter of your memo: serious matter or casual update.
- Avoid text shorthand, abbreviations, slang, and unnecessary jargon.
- If you are writing to a non-specialist audience such as sales, marketing, or higher management, explain terms in lay definitions, examples, and analogies for readers who may not be familiar with your daily jargon and technical language.
Formatting/Protocols
Have you formatted your memo properly, including all necessary fields and information?
- Make sure you have included all necessary parties in your To: and CC: (carbon copy) lists.
- State the date in a standard format. Do not include day of the week.
- Include a descriptive, concise subject line.
- Use your organization’s template if they have one.
- Always correct your spelling and grammar, regardless of who will receive your communication.