Knowing the golden mean in formal writing patterns and the appropriate mood of an email is an art form called eclecticism which is the effective blending of different styles and approaches.
The business world is busy. There is no time even for an extra cup of coffee, not to mention a long and vague email. Be specific and concise in writing a business introduction email, take a reader right to the point from the subject line. Get rid of blurry thoughts and requests in your letter.
Ask your ego to step aside when you are introducing yourself in a business email. People don’t care about who you are, which university you graduated from, what achievements you have reached (unless it’s related to the topic of a request). They care only about how they can benefit (most often) and how they can be helpful to you (in terms of politeness). And this is totally normal.
Be short when introducing yourself, don’t give information that has nothing to do with your request. Try to use only the facts: your name, job title, and some points about the results of your work if they are relevant and can help convince a recipient to continue reading your email.
Do you want to make your email non-trivial? Do you want to be like no one else? Okay, but you should slow your roll here. Keep in mind that the business world has some traditions and patterns you are required to follow. Pay specific attention to creating a unique business writing strategy.
By following email etiquette and a defined structure, you simply show that you respect the interlocutor by default. And as it’s known, respect is the basis of successful collaboration. So, yes, the classics are important in writing a business email.
Humor is a powerful communication tool, just don’t overdo it! Let it be just a slightly visible motive in your email. It is like chocolate: the majority like it, but there is always somebody who hates it or has an allergy. So, make sure your humor will be understood by an email recipient. Otherwise, it’s better not to take a risk.
The way you structure your email matters. It not only makes it easier to read and understand but also reveals you as a professional in the interlocutor’s eyes. There are some essential parts of the business introduction email you should stick to:
Pay attention to the subject line
According to Convince & Convert, 33% of people decide whether to open an email or not based on a subject line. An effective subject line performs the below-mentioned functions:
- It tells people what to expect in the email.
Experts from the business essay writing service CustomWritings.com say that a good subject line lets a recipient see what lies within a letter at a glance. Imagine, you have received an email with the subject line “Met You At Event. Let’s Connect,” “A New HR Strategy for Your Business,” or “Request for a Quick Call with our Sales Manager.” There is no place for ambiguity in these subject lines so you can easily understand what the sender has in mind.
Mentioning the subject line “Request for a Quick Call with our Sales Manager,” we can refer to the following business email example, offered bySuperOffice:
- It may evoke interest in the email’s content.
A subject line can help you attract the recipient’s attention in the inbox overwhelmed with emails and motivate him/her to open yours. In a subject line, you can mention a solution that may be useful for a receiver like in this example: “ECommerce owner? We know how to grow your eCommerce business.”
You can also make a subject sound humorous, but once again, don’t overdo it! Good examples are here:
“Please Touch Me! Get Enterprise Delight via Multitouch”(Multitouch)
“Deals That Make Us Proud (Unlike Our Nephew, Steve)”(Groupon)
- It helps get your email prioritized in the inbox.
A subject line can motivate a recipient to prioritize the email because of its urgency. You can see it in the following subject line examples:“Requesting A Business Meeting On Wednesday,” “Last Call To Join Our Conference: Free Coffee, Bad Apples & the Future of Currency.”
* Subject line tips for a business email
1. Keep it short and sweet.
Laconic subject lines are more likely to trigger an email opening. Keep in mind that people often check their inbox via their mobile phones, so make sure you optimized a subject line (as well as the email itself) to mobile. Subject lines over 25-30 characters are truncated if you scan an email on mobile.
2. Keep it catchy, but don’t promise anything you can’t offer.
If people see the title “Apples,” they expect to see at least one apple inside. So, don’t cheat by saying something in the subject line that does not actually correspond to the email content. Otherwise, you risk losing the recipient’s trust.
3. Avoid filler words.
Your space is limited. Use it wisely!
4. Don’t overdo punctuation and caps.
Capital letters are often associated with a feeling that somebody is shouting at you. Nobody likes to be shouted at. Excessive punctuation, as well as all caps, may look amateurish and trigger spam filters, so be cautious using them.
5. Use the below-mentioned principles to motivate people to open an email.
People open emails with subject lines that include curiosity, urgency, offers, personalization, relevance and timeliness, cool stories, and name recognition. Using phrases that express these concepts, you can significantly increase your email opening rates.
Start an email like a pro
Are you sure that you know how to start a business email competently? The secret lies in a nice salutation. You can use informal greetings like “Hi” or “Hello” with a recipient’s first name if you know this person well and communicate regularly.
If you need to make your business introduction email sound formal, use the first name followed by a surname. In case you don’t know a name at all, you can refer a person using “Sir/Madam” or the name of the department (like “Editorial Department”).
Write the email body like a marketer. Find the right approach
Smart and unobtrusive marketing should flow in your blood when you are writing a body for your business email. Try to evoke the recipient’s interest when explaining the purpose of your email in the most concise way possible.
Be empathetic and put yourself in the recipient’s shoes. Imagine you are a very busy person who has received someone’s email. What do you expect to see inside?
First of all, you expect an email to be as short and clear as possible. Likely, you don’t have much time to read it. You want to understand who is writing to you so it is logical to start an email with a short introduction. State your name, job position, the company you’re working for, the place where you’ve met, or anything else that would be helpful to let the recipient know who you are and why he/she should continue reading the email. Don’t talk too much about yourself (2-3 sentences will do).
Further, you wonder why this person is writing to you. When writing the email body, try to move right to the point by announcing the purpose of your letter. We subconsciously understand that the sender values our time if an email is short and very specific. It is very important in business.
In this business email example fromNinjaOutreach, you can see how a good body should look:
Close a business email with style
The final sentences above your signature are important. This is the right place to set a kind of emotional connection with a recipient implying further collaboration.
The email closing should be genuine and realistic. You can wish a person something pleasant on your part. And you also can use a call to action letting the reader understand how he/she should respond to your email. Don’t assume that people understand by default what the next step is.
Don’t forget about a digital signature below the closing remark. Better to follow a specific template including the common closing phrase (like “Best Regards,” “Kindest Regards,” “Best Wishes”) and contact information (full name, title and company, website, phone number, and email address).
Here is a good digital signature example:
Business Email Format: Rules And Recommendations
The details of the email such as font, text size, alignment, etc. really matter. I hope that these business email format tips will be helpful to you:
- Try to break your text into shorter paragraphs, lists, and bullet points to streamline information. Apply headings 1, 2, and 3 to distinguish the concepts and make it easier to perceive an email. To emphasize important text, you can also use text in bold. It catches the reader’s eye and makes it easier to scan the email. Italics is a bit softer way to bring emphasis to a certain area of text.
- When it comes to font, San Serif is the best option since it is easy to read on-screen. Gmail uses Sans Serif as the default. It is an element of the email classics, as well as the left text alignment.
- Make the text size no less than 12 to ensure that it’s well readable even on small screens.
- Don’t insert any pictures as it immediately creates the feeling of getting a promotional email. The exception can be a conceptual letter where the image is an integral part of the message.
- Better to avoid multiple colors in the email text and underlined phrases as they may be easily confused for links.
Here’s an excellent business email example with a proper format created by Vijay Khandekar, a growth marketer at SERPed.net, that you can learn from:
Conclusion
The business world is busy and overwhelmed with emails. It means that your letter is under tough competition with others who likely are sending similar requests in their emails. So, to stand out and struggle for the recipient’s attention, you should know how to write a business email that will reveal you as a polished professional and can help you make a deal.
In this article, I overviewed the proven practices on how to start a business email, how to write an effective and unobtrusive email body, how to close a business email, and important formatting rules that might be helpful to you on the way to establishing clear and effective business communication.
And what are your most efficient business introduction email writing techniques? Share your experience with our community.
FAQs
How do you structure a business email address? ›
The most standard and recommended form of a professional email address is of course the firstname.lastname@domain.tld format. But there are some other ways you can get a professional email address, such as: firstnameinitial.lastname@domain.tld. firstnameinitiallastname@domain.tld.
What are the 7 tips to writing effective and professional emails? ›- Subject Lines are Important. ...
- Use Bullet Points and Highlight Call to Action. ...
- Keep it Short. ...
- Don't Muddle Content. ...
- Be Collegial. ...
- Watch Your Tone. ...
- Avoid Too Many Exclamation Marks and No Emojis. ...
- Avoid Quotes That Could be Offensive to Others.
Remembering to be clear, cohesive, complete, concise, and concrete when communicating will help improve your writing. Of course, these principles also apply to verbal communication, where things like body language and eye contact can sometimes muddle a message.
What is the best format for professional email? ›- Subject line: Short, simple, and to the point. ...
- Greeting: “Dear [First & Last Name]” or “Dear [Mr./Mrs. ...
- First paragraph: Be clear and direct. ...
- Second paragraph: This section should go into more detail about the reason for your message.
The most professional way to setup an email address is to use your first name and last name without numbers. For example, john.smith@domain.com. You can also use just your first initial or last initial such as johns@domain.com or jsmith@domain.com. You can't go wrong by keeping it simple.
What is included in a simple business email structure? ›Writing a business email
As with any email, a business email should include a brief but descriptive subject line, one or more recipients, and an attachment if needed.
- Clear.
- Concise.
- Concrete.
- Correct.
- Coherent.
- Complete.
- Courteous.
- Don't write like the reader is your best friend. ...
- Don't assume the reader knows who you are and why you are emailing. ...
- Don't use informal language and emoticons. ...
- Don't ramble on and on and on. ...
- Don't forget to proof read for spelling and grammar mistakes.
- Use a clear, professional subject line. ...
- Proofread every email you send. ...
- Write your email before entering the recipient email address. ...
- Double check you have the correct recipient. ...
- Ensure you CC all relevant recipients. ...
- You don't always have to "reply all" ...
- Reply to your emails.
- A Concise, Direct Subject Line. ...
- A Proper Greeting. ...
- Proper Grammar, Correct Spelling. ...
- Only Essential Information. ...
- A Clear Closing.
What are the six steps to writing a professional email? ›
- Know Who You're Writing to. There are some universal truths when it comes to sending emails. ...
- Always Self-Edit. Regardless of who will be seeing your email, you should read it first yourself. ...
- Utilize Canned Responses. ...
- Create an Email Signature. ...
- Reply to Emails Quickly.
- Subject. Your subject should include a brief explanation of the email as a whole, and what they might want to click on. ...
- Body. This section of the professional email is the part that is sure to leave an imprint on your boss. ...
- Signature.
- The subject line. Arguably the most important component of the email, the subject line is the deciding factor in whether your message is read or deleted. ...
- The salutation. The start of the email sets the tone for the main body. ...
- The bit in the middle. ...
- The ending.
I would like to take a moment to introduce myself and my company. My name is [name] and I am a [job title] at [company name]. Our company provides customers with cutting-edge technology for all their email signature needs. At [company name], there are a number of services we can offer, such as [short list of services].
Is info@ a good business email? ›No, an info@ email address is not a good business email address. This is because info@ is so widely used that it's hard to identify a specific email in the inbox. Instead, using your actual first name is a much better business practice because it feels more personal to customers.
What email system do most businesses use? ›- Microsoft 365 for companies that use Microsoft apps.
- Google Workspace for keeping everything on the cloud (and Google users)
- Zoho Workplace for email hosting and collaboration tools on a tight budget.
- IceWarp for user storage options.
- Fastmail for privacy.
- The right greeting. Greetings in an email are important. ...
- Understand your intention. What's an email for? ...
- Explain your intention. ...
- Get to the point. ...
- Send your best regards. ...
- Sign off properly. ...
- Write an appropriate email signature. ...
- Proofread.
- The Heading. The heading contains the return address with the date on the last line. ...
- Recipient's Address. This is the address you are sending your letter to. ...
- The Salutation. ...
- The Body. ...
- The Complimentary Close. ...
- The Signature Line. ...
- Enclosures.
Don't Include Humor and Sarcasm
Emails can easily be misinterpreted through text without context. Humor is culture-specific. Avoid both humor and sarcasm in e-mails as the recipient may be confused, or worse, offended.
- Subject Line.
- Greeting.
- Intro/Purpose.
- Detail.
- Ask/Action.
- Closing/Sign-off.
WHAT ARE THE ABCS OF email? ›
...
Follow these ABC's of email and see what happens!
- Always be courteous. ...
- Always be clear. ...
- Always be concise. ...
- Always be credible. ...
- Always be courageous. ...
- Always be centered.
- Writing a poor subject line. ...
- Not personalizing your greeting. ...
- Announcing too much in one message. ...
- Employing ambiguous language. ...
- Copy and pasting. ...
- Forgetting to explain attachments. ...
- Using jargon words. ...
- Failing to use a signature.
Avoid addresses that include a nickname, hobby, pet's name, or any other personal information. You don't want to showcase something that could lead to discrimination or give a bad impression. And, definitely avoid political, religious, or gender references.
What are 5 basics of business etiquette? ›- Be on time. Whether you're attending an interview or daily standup meeting, being on time in a work environment shows that you respect everyone's schedule. ...
- Recognize your team. ...
- Dress appropriately. ...
- Respect shared spaces. ...
- Build emotional intelligence.
The three sentence rule means you have to ask yourself a series of questions for every email you read before you reply. Is this an email I should be responding to? If you can't answer it in three sentences or less, you have to decide what to do with it.
What should a professional email always contain? ›A professional email should include a subject line, greeting, body, sign-off, and signature. You should always separate these parts with paragraphs to make your message easily readable. Keep your email body short and concise, and start each paragraph with the most important information.
What is the key rule of email communication? ›The most important rule of thumb is that your messages must be easy to read. It is usually best to go for an 11-point or 12-point font size and an easy-to-read sans serif such as Calibri, Helvetica, or Arial.
What are the top ten tips on how do you write a professional email? ›- Include a Subject Line With Key Words.
- Have an Appropriate Greeting.
- Write Concisely.
- Keep It Professional.
- Be Personable.
- Clarify the Purpose.
- Say Thank You.
- End With a Call to Action.
Here is how the “3 email rule” works: * You send me an email asking for help or clarification or advice * I respond via email with my thoughts, comments, questions, etc. * You send another email back with additional questions, or the need for clarification. (3 emails have been sent - hence the name of the rule.)
What is the most common email format? ›The most standard and recommended form of a professional email address is firstname.lastname@example.com format. But there are some other ways in which you can create a professional email address, such as: firstname@example.com. firstnameinitial + lastname@example.com.
What is the best generic business email address? ›
Here are some ideas for essential generic email addresses:
hello@, howdy@, hi@ or info@ for general inquiries or customer service. billing@ for billing and payments. support@ for your helpdesk or customer service. admin@ for technical administrative purposes.
No, you are not legally required to put “LLC” in the domain name for your business. In fact, if you look at most websites on the internet, the vast majority do not include a corporate designator (“ending”) in their domain name. Many consider it a little “noisy”. Meaning, it's just extra, unnecessary characters.
What are the four parts of a business email? ›- The subject line. Arguably the most important component of the email, the subject line is the deciding factor in whether your message is read or deleted. ...
- The salutation. The start of the email sets the tone for the main body. ...
- The bit in the middle. ...
- The ending.
- Writing a poor subject line. ...
- Not personalizing your greeting. ...
- Announcing too much in one message. ...
- Employing ambiguous language. ...
- Copy and pasting. ...
- Forgetting to explain attachments. ...
- Using jargon words. ...
- Failing to use a signature.
- Forgetting attachments.
- Sending to the wrong recipient.
- Choosing a bad subject line.
- Using the wrong writing tone.
- Sending at a bad time.
- Replying to all (all the time)
- Neglecting your signature.
- Working with too many (bad) Fonts.
- 'Does that make sense? ' ...
- 'Obviously' Using this word can also make you appear condescending, says Dianna Booher, founder and CEO of communication firm Booher Research Institute. ...
- Emojis. ...
- 'LOL' ...
- ALL CAPS. ...
- all lowercase letters. ...
- Informal salutations. ...
- 'Cheers'
- Use a clear, professional subject line. ...
- Proofread every email you send. ...
- Write your email before entering the recipient email address. ...
- Double check you have the correct recipient. ...
- Ensure you CC all relevant recipients. ...
- You don't always have to "reply all" ...
- Reply to your emails.
- Clear.
- Chosen.
- Concise.
- Consistent.