When it comes to writing a business e-mail, the reality is that there are so many different rules for business writing than there is for personal writing. For many, this style of writing does not come naturally because it is far more formal. There are also many unsaid elements to a business email. The recipient should feel that you are confident and knowledgeable. There are several aspects to writing the perfect business email, but the good news is with some practice, you will learn these skills fast and these e-mails will be natural.
There are several small tips to making sure you have the right presentation for your business email. From setting up a business e-mail address – e.g. [email protected] – to having a great business site and even simple things like business cards burnishes your image as a serious professional. Making sure that you have all of these tools in place allows you to start your e-mails from a platform of increased professionalism. This helps build the confidence needed to make sure that your message does not just read as highly professional, but that everything surrounding the message is equally as resonant. This idea goes back to that old saying that you should dress for the job you want, not the job you have.
Now that you have a website, professional e-mail handle, business cards, and other elements of business, you are ready to write your e-mails. Here are five tips that will help you get your message across with great efficacy.
In all formal correspondence, the greeting of “Dear” is pretty standard fare, and just because it is an email, and emails by their very nature seem informal, does not mean you should employ a different greeting. Here are some basic greetings:
You can use either a comma or a colon after the person’s name. With women, it is always wise to use “Ms.” Instead of “Miss or Mrs.”, this communicates a modern approach as many women you will write in professional settings appreciate their identity not being enveloped in their husband’s last name. For gender-neutral names, the best course of action is putting the recipient’s full name, for example:
This avoids any embarrassing pronoun flubs.
Once you have finished the greeting, the next is the starting point. If you are replying to a message, then thank the person for sending a message and specifically reference the message, for example:
If you are in a conversation, always reference the subject of the last email. This will avoid any confusion as to the direction of the e-mail chain. It is also why having an e-mail subject is extremely important.
Keeping things simple and short is the key to effective business communication. The first thing to do is answer the questions about what you are looking to make happen and how the person you are writing can make it happen. Here is an example:
Getting right to the point is the best way to be direct and the good news is you are not being rude – the reality is your recipient is glad that you got right to the point. The reality is you should always be slightly overdressed when going to work than being casual, and especially in your first email, being formal is the key. Your contact will appreciate your politeness and professionalism. Embedded within the email is the expectation that your contact should answer promptly.
Another massive point is that your e-mails should not be long at all. The longer the message, the more the reader will skim. If the reader skims, then the chances for a positive outcome diminish relative to the length of the email. To be even more direct, your contact will think that you are high maintenance and look to shuffle you away.
However, not all issues can be summarized. If the reason why you are writing is detailed, let your reader know that you have a sizable inquiry. Provide a basic, one paragraph sketch of the problem and ask to meet to further discuss the issue. This shows the reader that you respect their time and understand that you are not the only customer they have.
Every email should end with a single sentence that sets up the next step for you and the recipient. Generally, these are calls to action or if the email may not require a response, an easy transition towards our closing salutation. Here are some examples of this idea:
End this message by having a proper set up for future correspondence; Knowing how to end an email is a critical part to keeping the conversation open.
There are a lot of people who feel like there’s a more personal connection with a closing such as “Cheers” or feel like they are being very formal with “V/R”, but the reality is both are out of place. Here are the proper professional closing salutations:
After this, you just have one more step before you can hit that tempting send button.
Before you ever hit send, you need to make sure that you proofread. There is nothing that can destroy your credibility quicker than a spelling or grammar mistake. Any chance you can take to shorten the email, do it. Do not say in 10 words what can take 4.
One of the most important things to make sure you have right is the spelling of someone’s name. Do not hit send until you double and triple check how a person’s name is spelled.
These simple things are an easy way your business email will be taken seriously and acted upon.
