Last Updated on August 3, 2024
Updated: June 1, 2023
Writing an email sounds simple, but there are many ways for the well-intentioned writer to go wrong. Of course, the rules for what is “wrong” depend on the setting or workplace culture. Nevertheless, there is still a general format that a beginner (especially a recent hire) should master. As they say, you have to know the rules before you can break them! In this post, I will go over this timeless email format and share ways to pep it up if you wish. This guideline is both for beginners and seasoned professionals! I can guarantee that you will polish and streamline your writing while saving time in the process.
Start with a Greeting
We’re naturally going to start with the beginning. It is always good practice to address the person you are emailing first—this gives people a chance to be eased into the contents of your message. You wouldn’t randomly start talking to someone in person without saying ‘Hi’, right? By addressing them first, you can avoid any clunky awkwardness. Some classic examples include:
“Mr./Mrs./Ms. [last name],”
“Dear [Name],”
“Good morning/afternoon, [Name],”
Apparently, it is proper convention to use a colon after the greeting when writing a formal email to someone you don’t know. (i.e. “Dear [name]:”) I do not think that this rule is worth paying attention to—most professionals don’t even know this, so feel free to skip this step. If you are sending an email to someone much older than you, this might get your brownie points!
Also, if there have been several emails exchanged back-and-forth on one thread between you and someone else, feel free to omit the “Dear …” at the beginning. Instead, you can just start your message with their name. (i.e. “John,”) It’s not the 1800s, so this formal greeting used after the first message will seem very stiff and overly dated. Deleting the ‘Dear’ will also save you time!
Get to the Point
The most important part of your electronic message is the message! If you can master this part, you have technically written a successful email.
First things first…say something nice! This isn’t necessary but it makes your email more polite! Again, you wouldn’t start demanding someone’s full attention without giving a little attention back. Some great examples of this are “I hope you are well.”, or “Did you enjoy your vacation?”, etc.
Next step, get to the point of your message. The longer you take to get to this point, the more confused your reader will be. I’m not telling you to speak like a robot. But if you need something, ask! If you have a question, ask!
Spit. It. Out.
Most people tend to add filler language to soften their message, which is fine, as long as it doesn’t confuse others. If you get lost in your own writing, chances are high that someone else will, too.
Pro Tip: Sometimes, if you need to send an email on a tight schedule, you can delete some of the unnecessary pronouns in your message. Here’s two quick examples:
Q: Can you make this edit to the word document?
A: Sure thing! I will make those edits right now!
Revised: Sure thing; will do now!
Q: When do you expect to receive [x] from me?
Revised: When do you need [x]?
Call Time of Death
This is morbid, but true. As stated in the previous section, you ought to get to the gist of your email quickly. If you did not add some sort of pleasantry at the very beginning of your email, you can during the closeout. Some classic ones include:
“Warm regards, [Your Name]”
“Best, [Your Name]”
“Keep me posted, [Your Name]”
…among others. Someone had the brilliant idea to create an alignment chart from the popular Dungeons & Dragons (D&D) based off of people’s email sign offs! If you’ve never heard of this chart before, you can read more about it here. Choose what feels right…even if it’s evil!
Final Steps
In every piece of written work that you do, it’s important to proofread. Proofreading is vital, and doesn’t have to be painful! I often receive emails with messages that either don’t make sense, or contradicts itself because the writer was rushing and didn’t proofread. Click over to my post on How To Edit for more information.
Writing an email is easy as long as you get your point across, but you don’t master the task until you treat it like a real conversation. If you are a new recruit at your job, take these rules to heart until you get a feel for the work environment (better safe than sorry).
Do you have any rules or tips that weren’t mentioned here? Comment down below!
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