Tips on Writing Business Emails
December 1, 2009 by blackgirlgrown
Filed under professional development, technology, work
Email is the most often used method of business communications today but for many it’s the least productive because they have no idea of how to compose an effective business email. Most business people really don’t understand the dos and don’ts of composing a business email.
Fill in the subject line: The first step in composing an effective business email is to fill in the subject line. The subject line cannot be left blank. Sending an email with a blank email will, in most cases, go unopened for several equally important reasons. When I get an email with a blank subject line, I seldom open it. I figure if the subject of the message wasn’t important enough to the sender to have told me what it is in the subject line, then it’s not important enough for me to spend my valuable time reading. An email from someone that I don’t know without a subject line is likely to go opened. I won’t take the time to save it to a file and then scan it for viruses so I can safely open it. Too many viruses are sent in emails these days. The subject line must be filled in and it must be definitive. A one-word subject line, like “Parking Decals” doesn’t make the grade either. What about parking decals? A subject line like, “Renewal of your parking decal” is an effective subject lines because the person reading the subject line knows why he/she should be interested in the message.
Get to the Point. A mistake that far too many people make when composing an email message is that they take far too long to get to the main point of the email. Business emails aren’t emails to a friend but a business communications. We are busy people and don’t have time to wade through idle chatter even if we are friends. You need to keep your friendly emails separate from your business emails and should have separate email addresses for each. It doesn’t matter how close you are to the person you are contacting you need to come to the main reason for the business email right away. Be polite but be concise and be direct. Come straight to the point. Don’t waste the reader’s valuable time with superfluous matters.
Don’t Use ALL CAPS. It sounds as if you’re shouting at us. At the same time, you don’t want to use all lower case letters. Many people get into the habit of never using the shift key to capitalize the first letter of the first word of every sentence or to capitalize other letters and words that should be capitalized because of chat rooms and from it being accepted in personal emails. All business communications should obey the rules of good grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc.
Avoid Texting Jargon or Abbreviations. You should avoid at all cost is using email abbreviations or chat room acronyms in business emails. They have no place in any business communication. If you mean, “please,” type “please” don’t type “PLZ.”
Be Brief. Be brief but be brief in a polite way. If you see that your message is going to extend beyond three or four brief paragraphs, consider revising the message or attaching the message as a file to a brief introductory email message. The important thing here is to be polite. Never be abrupt so it sounds as if you’re barking out orders or growling at the recipient.
Remember Your Manners. Always remember to say “please” and “thank you” and say them as if you mean them. The best way to do that and have them come across as being sincere is to actually mean them when you say them. Never use them in a way that sounds condescending, prissy, catty, etc.
Include Your Signature Block, Avoid Quips and Quotes. Always include your signature block that gives your contact information: business name, your full name and title, business address, telephone number, fax number, and web site URL. Don’t clutter up the signature block with a clever saying or quote. It’s unprofessional.
Proofread. Proofread every email before clicking on the send button. If you send a message that sounds as if it was composed by a ten year old, don’t be surprised if people that you never intended to read it receive it and start kidding you about your “way with words” or maybe it would be more appropriate to say your “lack of a way with words.”
Reply Promptly. Reply promptly to business emails that you receive. 24-hours is considered a reasonable length of time to respond. If, for some reason, you need more than 24-hours to compose a definitive reply send a brief message immediately explaining why you need more time before replying to the sender’s message.
Remix of original article: How to Write A Professional Email in 10 Easy Steps- written by Jerry Walch on Factoidz.
