Understanding how to write emails can be an important skill to have in order to have effective communication with colleagues and clients. Mastering email writing can enhance your professional image and efficiency. Below I will discuss the different components to an email, how best to approach each section and any mistakes to avoid.
The Basics of Business Email Structure
The first thing to think about when it comes to emails is the subject line. You want to create a short, direct, attention-grabbing subject line that tells the recipient exactly what your email is regarding.
Once you begin to write your email you want to address your recipient appropriately, politely and formally. For familiar colleagues or bosses, you could simply greet with 'Good morning/afternoon .....(name)'. For clients, you might want to be slightly more formal and start with 'Dear Sir/Madam' or Dear .....(name)'.
The opening sentence of your email should tell the recipient the purpose of the email so be direct and polite. For example, if you are requesting something you might start with, ' I hope this message finds you well. I am reaching out to request your assistance with...'. Or, if you sending information to clients, 'I hope you're doing well. We wanted to keep you informed about...'. Both of these opening sentences tell the recipient the purpose of the email straight away and they get to the point.
Writing with Clarity and Purpose
No one wants to read an overly long email or an email that is too complicated. You want your recipient to know exactly what you need or want them to do and they can respond appropriately to you. In order to do this, you need to write the body of your paragraph with a specific purpose in mind and be concise and straight to the point. You can use polite and formal sentences to ask for something you need or to give instructions to the recipient. To make it clear, you could use bullet points or steps to take which would be clear for the reader. It is important to get to the point early in the email so the recipient doesn't get bored, start skimming and miss any important details you need them to know. It is also important to make your point clear so there is no misunderstanding. If there is misunderstanding and the recipient doesn't understand your email this can in turn cause more emails to be corresponded unnecessarily. Avoid using overly complicated words, keep your language and sentences simple and easy to understand, they can still be formal and polite without using informal language, but don't get too complicated.
When writing emails to colleagues or bosses, the active voice is more effective to use because they are talking about the subject of the sentence which will make it easier to understand for your recipient. The active voice sentences are also easier to structure and fewer opportunities to make mistakes which also makes it easier for the reader to understand your request.
Tone and Formality in Business Emails
When writing business emails it is important to recognise your audience, who the recipient of your email is. It is also important to acknowledge the purpose of your email. For example, you are requesting information from your colleague, a semi-formal email may be appropriate. Or, you may be sending reports to your boss, a formal email may be more appropriate. Or, you are emailing a client to give updates, a formal email may be more acceptable. The more important your email is, and the higher up the authority ladder you go the more formal you should write. However, you also want to sound personable and friendly, so it is acceptable to ensure you include a 'hope you are well' or 'hope this message finds you well' at the beginning of the email to sound more approachable and caring. Ensure you always keep politeness within emails, especially if you need to request something urgently as the recipient is a lot more likely to want to help you when they feel they are being asked nicely and appreciated.
Structuring the Main Content
For your main content and paragraphs you want to keep it as clear as possible. If you can, try to use bullet points or numbered steps to organise the information for easy readability. If you need to use paragraphs, make sure the sections are clear and easily digestible, i.e. don't make the paragraphs too long. To ensure you are getting across your point of view or message, you can ask the recipient questions, such as, 'does the email make sense to you, is there anything I can clarify?' or 'do you have any thoughts or feedback on this?' Using questions ensures seamless communication, if they don't understand they feel comfortable in asking you for help and minimises any awkwardness or delays in the task, so it is a good idea to encourage responses from the recipient.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
In order to write the best emails, make sure you avoid these following mistakes:
Don't write overly long emails, keep the paragraphs clear, concise and don't digress from your purpose.
Ensure you check for any spelling or grammar mistakes, a small mistake can have a different meaning which will create misunderstanding.
Make sure you end your email with a very clear and straightforward call-to-action (the question or request you say to the recipient), you don't want to confuse your recipients.
Polishing and Proofreading
Before pressing send on your email, make sure you reread your email to ensure there are no mistakes, a second read is super important to notice any mistakes made and if your writing makes sense. If you want to take extra precautions, you can use Grammarly, a site which checks your sentences so you can be assured your email is accurately written.
Effective Closings phrases
When you've got to the end of writing your email, the ending is just as important as the greeting and it is important to know when to use the right closing phrases.
The following phrases are useful when you're email is more formal and is to a client, job application, boss/manager: best regards, kind regards, with best wishes, yours sincerely (very formal).
The following phrases are useful when you're emailing a colleague or a familiar person in a workplace setting: thanks, thanks in advance, many thanks.
Email example
Below is an example of a formal request email:
Dear Mr Mitchell,
I am writing in reference to the current situation with the Skipton Airport Project. We have a number of questions which we hope you could answer.
First of all, could you please provide us with an update on where you are on the Skipton Airport Project. We would also appreciate it if you could clarify what the current issues with the delivery system are, and confirm when you expect them to be resolved.
In addition, at the end of our last meeting we requested a copy of the latest project update report. Unfortunately, we have still not received it. We would appreciate it if you could forward this to us.
Could you also please confirm whether the post-installation support covers the equipment 24 hours a day? And what is actually included in the support? In particular, we would like to have confirmation if the cost of parts and labour are included in the package? We require this information as soon as possible.
And lastly, we are considering extending the period of the post-installation support from your company from 6 months to 12 months. We would be very grateful if you could provide us with a quote for this extension.
It would be really appreciated if you could deal with these matters urgently.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Yours sincerely,
Ian McAdam
Development Manager
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