Writing emails in business seems like an easy task. After all, most businesspeople find them less intimidating than phone calls or direct conversations. But watch out for misunderstandings! Remember, with email, asking or answering questions to resolve confusion is trickier than by phone. Before you write an email, ask yourself:
Why am I choosing email?
Is it because I don’t want to pick up the phone?
Or out of habit?
I see a lot of long, confusing emails where a quick and straightforward phone call would have been more effective. Here, a telephone call might have been much more straightforward and without the risk of causing misunderstandings.
If you decide email is your best option, use the rule I help my clients master: KISS: keep it short and simple.
Keep it in mind when you write your next email. With this advice in mind, let’s tackle the essential parts of your short, simple and professional email in English.
Opening greeting
You need to be polite and make sure you meet the right level of formality. In other words, To whom are you writing?
Is it a more senior person in a company like a senior manager, someone you have been in touch with before a couple of times, or maybe someone you know quite well?
Maybe you don’t know who you are writing to.
Here are the 4 ways of addressing the people:
- ‘Dear Ms Keogh’ - a senior
- ‘Dear Aoife,’ - someone you’ve been in touch with before
- ‘Hi Siobhan,’ - someone you know well
- ‘Dear Sir or Madam,’ - someone you don’t know
Opening line mentioning your last contact
You might have been in touch with your business partner recently regarding the subject of the email.
‘Then, you can use the following lines to start your email:’
‘Thanks for your quick reply.’
‘Thanks for contacting me about…’
‘Sorry for my late reply.’
How to begin an email professionally?
In case you are writing to someone for the first time, you can introduce the subject of the email with the following sentences:
‘I’m writing to you to inform you …’
‘I’m writing to you about the upcoming meeting.’
‘I’m writing to enquire…’
How do I write the body of an email?
Surely, you write an email in business for many reasons.
In this blog post, you’ll learn how to write 3 of the most common kinds of business emails in English:
- enquiries,
- making complaints,
- giving bad news
Here are some suggestions for each category:
Enquiries:
‘I would like to enquire about…’
‘Could you tell me the price for…?’
‘I’d like to know when our latest order is due to arrive.’
Making complaints:
‘Unfortunately, the delivery was damaged.’
‘I’m afraid I was not very happy about how your colleague handled my enquiry.’
‘I’m afraid I need to complain about the lack of information from your help desk employee.’
Giving bad news:
‘We regret to inform you that your delivery is going to be delayed.’
‘We are sorry to announce that the item you ordered is currently out of stock.’
How do I politely close an email?
The way you end the email also depends on what you have discussed before.
I would like to give you three examples: formal, neutral, and informal.
‘Looking forward to hearing from you soon.’
‘Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any further questions.’
‘Speak to you soon.’
What is a friendly email sign-off?
Finally, you need to close the email with a complimentary closing.
Again, I have chosen three different ways for complimentary closing.
Please note that the first one is very formal and hardly ever used.
The second one is neutral, and the last one is informal:
‘Yours sincerely’
‘Kind regards, best regards’
‘Bye for now’
How do you write an email to send an attachment?
You might also attach a document or other files to your email.
Here are three ways how you can mention attachments:
‘I’ve attached the documents as discussed.’
‘Please find the document attached.’
‘I’ve copied the link to the file below.’
Takeaway
Writing emails is a very quick way of exchanging information, data, and documents in business.
It is important to use the right tone in your email, keep it short and simple, and write in a polite but clear way. Consider writing your email and using it as a template for later emails. Using templates created for you by a coach.
It’ll make your business life much more comfortable, and you’ll be able to write quicker emails, get the information you want, hit the right tone, and avoid misunderstandings and confusion with great emails.
Do you want more tips on how to write business emails? Sign up for my newsletter or get in touch.
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