How to Write a Professional Business Email
Emails tend to encourage a more informal, casual style of writing than letters sent by regular mail, yet they play an increasingly important role in the business world today. Like any letter or document written for business, emails should have a specific format and must use formal language. In addition, proofreading for spelling or grammatical errors before sending is highly recommended.
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Instructions
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Open your email and start a new message. Write a subject that clearly states the purpose of your email, so the recipient instantly knows what it is about. Use title case when capitalizing your subject, just as you would for the title in a document, such as Application for Assistant Manager Position.
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Type a formal salutation in the email, one that addresses the recipient by name. For example, "Dear Mr. Jones." Do not address the letter generically with "To Whom It May Concern" or any similar greeting, as this tends to come across as unprofessional.
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Type the body of your email. Follow the same grammar, punctuation, and spelling rules you would use when composing a regular letter. Pay particularly close attention to paragraphs, and try to break up the body so there are never more than four or five lines in a row without a full space separating them. An email letter that arrives as one long, unbroken chunk of text can be challenging to read.
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Type a formal closing, just as you would in a regular letter, such as "Sincerely," then type your name beneath that. Type your job title and/or company name directly under your name, and include contact information, such as your phone number, website, and street address, beneath your title.
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Proofread your email. Most people would not print an important document before proofreading a few times, and so you should not click "Send" until you are sure your email letter is free of errors.
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Tips & Warnings
Do not use emoticons or abbreviate your words (i.e. "ur" instead of "your") in a professional business email.
Do not use all caps in an email, as this is usually taken to mean the sender is angry.
Create an email account specifically for business, and avoid using a funny or whimsical name for the account. The best idea is to combine your name and your company name, for example: janesmith@mymail.com.
When sending attachments, save the files as PDFs or word documents; not all recipients will have the software required to open every file.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Email Concept image by wayne ruston from Fotolia.com
