Writing business emails — 5 essential parts of an email

| Vaidehi Bhashyam Mehta | @mehta_vaidehi

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With the internet allowing for instant communication, letter-writing is becoming rarer by the day. Text messaging seems to be the preferred way of communicating. And with it has evolved a whole new language — txt msg english.

We write and read emails every day. While your personal emails to friends and family are casual and intimate, business or work-related emails are formal, or at best semi-formal. Despite being tech-savvy, most managers today still struggle to use the email efficiently as a means of communication, whilst others are blissfully unaware of where they are going wrong.

But, there’s no denying that email-writing is important and has become an essential means of daily communication and a record of dealings and transactions.

Here are the essential elements of an email and once you follow this structure, writing a good email becomes quite easy.

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Yes, this is always an email address. Check to see if you have written it correctly.

If you intend to copy or Bcc: anyone else into the email, be sure to add those addresses in the appropriate place.

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If you want your email or message to be read, your subject line should draw the reader’s attention. So start with a good subject line that will compel the recipient to open it.

Is it brief?
Keep your subject line short and sweet. Convey the gist of your message in as few words as possible.

Is the message clear?
When the recipient sees the subject line on his inbox, it should give him a clear idea of what your email is about. Please remember that, while the subject line should be brief, it should not be vague. If it is vague, it is very likely to be binned even before it is read.

Will it catch my reader’s attention?
The subject line for your email should grab your recipient’s eyeballs and urge him/her to open it. If it doesn’t, the matter is over even before it has begun.

Take a look at these subject lines and decide for yourself which appeal to you — the ones on the left or those on the right?

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Your greeting or salutation depends on the kind of email you are writing.

Even business emails are now written in a conversational style. Regardless, if it is the first email you are writing to a person or group, be cautious and do not begin every email you write with “Hey” or Hi, y’all”.

Depending on who you are addressing, how well you know the person and the nature of your message, here are some suggestions:

Formal: #

Informal: #

With practise, you are sure to devise your greeting to begin an email?

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Follow these suggestions and, I assure you, your emails will be good:

“Thank you for your patience.”
“Thank you for your business.”
“I/We appreciate your assistance in this matter.”

“Do contact me if you have any questions”
“Should you require any clarifications, please do let me know and I will be happy to help you.”

“I look forward to hearing from you.”

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Not every email carries an attachment, but if you have mentioned one or more in the body of your message, please be sure to add the file/image/link you have referenced.

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This is the last part of your email and it’s important to make a good impression so all the hard work you put into writing your email is not wasted.

Set up your business email with your signature, designation and phone number, and your company’s address block, so your reader has all the information at a glance.

Here are some suggestions for signing off:

Formal #

Yours sincerely,
Yours truly,
Regards,
Best regards,

Less Formal #

Thank you.
Have a good day.
Until then,
Until later,

Informal #

Cheers!
See ya!
See you soon!
Take care.

Just follow the five steps above and you’ll find that writing a good business email is really quite simple.

Vaidehi Mehta is our Content Strategist, curating and writing content across multiple platforms. She is a teacher and trainer with degrees in Economics, English and Education. Having dealt with reams of content with varying levels and versions of English, she is currently a ‘grammar pacifist’, prone to the occasional sigh.

 
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