E-mail Writing

How to write an effective email

Even though there are multiple communication modes, email is still considered the
most reliable and formal mode of communication. Unlike social media platforms or
chat applications, email is universal. This makes email one of the most preferred
communication tools, for work. With more and more organizations adapting to
hybrid mode, where some employees work from distributed remote offices and
some of the employees work from their homes, email conversations have increased
manyfold. While chat, comments in team collaboration software can be to the point
and a bit informal, business email is still considered formal and elaborate. It is one
of the most important asynchronous modes of communication. The recipients can
receive the email, read it, understand it and then respond to the email.
A well-drafted email with a neat structure provides the reader an understanding of what you are
trying to convey and the details that they need to respond with. While writing an email is an art, it
can be perfected with practice. Some of the best practices in drafting a perfect email - the one that
the recipient doesn't miss among the heap - are listed below:

1.Use a professional email address

2.Have a simple and clear subject
3.Begin with a positive greeting
4.State the background
5.Provide the purpose in a crux
6.Mention the CTA
7.Add closing remarks
8.Use professional signatures
9.Run a spelling/ grammar/ sanity check
10.Use CC/ Bcc wisely
11.Format your email consistently
12.Schedule your email
13.Set up reminders for follow-ups
1. Use a professional email address

Imagine that you are a hiring manager and you receive the following two emails -

Which email are you more likely to open and read and which person would you consider
hiring? Obviously the second person, given that all other parameters are the same. Ensure that you send
non-personal emails from a professional email address. Whether you are applying for a new position or
just contacting a support team to get your questions answered, the email address you use helps you gain the
trust of a new recipient.

It is highly recommended to use a custom domain-based email address while sending official
communication or sending emails to your business contacts. However, if you do not have one, ensure that
your email address is professional, with your name or with your business name.
2. Have a simple and clear subject

The Email Subject is the first thing that anyone reads (sees?) in any email and is often one of the
factors that influence the recipient to open and read the emails. Whatever is said, most of the
readers 'judge' the email by the 'Subject' line.

In fact, a lot of recipients decide whether to open an email or not, based on the subject - when
they receive emails from non-contacts or strangers. It is the most precise content of the email, and
most business relationships have begun with great subject lines. Your subject line should be a
small summary of the email and can also set an expectation on the call to action needed from the
email. In short, your subject should be able to pull the attention of the recipient, enough to click
on the email and read it.
Examples:
3. Begin with a positive greeting

Start the email with a positive note. Provide a relevant greeting for the recipient, based on the
region they are from, the time of the year they receive this email, or just a simple 'Good day
from...’.

When the email turns into an email thread or conversations with a lot of to & fro replies, you can
drop the greeting. However, when you are emailing someone for the first time, the greeting gives
a positive vibe to the reader and you can be assured of a response in a positive tone.

Examples:
4. State the background

If you are emailing someone for the first time, introduce yourself, and state the background of the
email. You need to state how you know the recipient, and why you are emailing the person. For
example, when you are emailing someone you met at an event or emailing a contact introduced
by a friend, be sure to mention the event name or your friend's name along with the details on
how you know the recipient.

Examples:
5. Provide the purpose in a crux

This is the main part of the email where you mention the core content or purpose of
the email. Ensure that you write the core email content in clear short sentences.
Avoid unwanted jargon, or too technical/industry-specific terms in the very first
email, when you are not sure about the recipient's knowledge in those areas. If you
are reaching out, based on research or if someone has recommended this contact,
make sure you mention that in the email. This will help the reader understand the
context of the email better. If you have a lot to say, it would be better to
communicate the main and important items in the first email and save the rest for
later.

Too long emails might be skipped and you might not get the much-needed response
from the other person.
6. Mention the CTA

Every email is essentially a task list for someone. It either expects a response with
some details or action from the recipient. In some cases, the recipient might have to
connect you with someone who can act on the email. In any case, mention the
action expected from the recipient clearly in the email. This should be immediately
after the core email where you state the purpose of the email.

Examples:
7. Add closing remarks

In addition to the CTA, add closing remarks to give that finishing touch
to your email. Use simple sentences as in the sample below, without
being too pushy.

Examples:
8. Use professional signatures
Do not forget to add a professional signature to the end of your email. Your signature
helps you to establish your authenticity, your role, your brand, along with the required
contact information.

When you are emailing someone for the first time, use an email signature that specifies
your full name, your role, and the company or brand you are associated with. Additionally,
you can include your company's website and links to social media handles. However,
make sure that you use simple signatures when the email turns into a long conversation -
or configure a simpler signature for replies/ forwards.

Sign off the email with a 'Sincerely' or 'Regards' or 'Best regards’

If you are sending an internal email, you can include your department and role, but skip
the company website and social media handles. You can save 2 or 3 signature templates
Examples:
9. Run a spelling/ grammar/ sanity check

Once you have completed writing your email, read the email again from the recipient's perspective and ensure that it
makes sense. Add attachments, if required. Use a spelling/ grammar check to give the email a quick spelling/
grammar/ phrasing check. You might be surprised at how even experts benefit from the spell checks and sanity
checks in their emails. Make sure that you spot the error due to commonly confused words, which can also cause
embarrassing errors in the email.
10. Use CC/ Bcc wisely

You can include other relevant contacts in the email cc/ bcc to have them in the
loop. For example, when you send an email to someone, who has been introduced
by another common friend, it is good to copy that common friend in the cc of the
email, thank him/ her for the introduction, and continue the email.

In general, it is not a good practice to Bcc someone without the actual recipient
knowing unless you think that future conversations are irrelevant for them. In some
cases, you may need to add a compliance email address in BCC to archive the
emails separately.
11. Format your email consistently

A poorly formatted email not only puts the sender in poor light but also affects the readability of the email.
Ensure that your email is of consistent font face and family. Use a 'professional' and 'readable' font for your
emails. You can use 'Bold' or 'Underline' formatting to highlight portions of email content. Most of the
email services provide 'Rich text editors' with multiple formatting options. In some cases, using tables in
emails can help reduce a lot of unwanted bloated content in the email.

To ensure that you can choose 'presets' for the default font family and size, which matches your
signature settings. By this, you can be assured that your emails are neatly formatted and presented
to the recipients.
12. Schedule your email
If you're a night owl or work with people across timezones, the scheduling feature in your email will make sure that your
email reaches the recipients at the right time and catches their attention. Though people wake up to their emails, it is mainly
to scan if there's something urgent or too important that's waiting for them. Most people respond to emails only later, when
they get to their work tables. Hence scheduling an email, to reach the recipient during their peak work hours enhances the
chance of them responding immediately.

Do a little homework to check the timezone of the recipient and schedule the email to be sent at the right time, that matches
the recipient's location and timezone.
13. Set up reminders for follow-ups

Even after all hard work, the recipient might have read the email and missed it or
sometimes even missed reading your email. So set up reminders for the emails, to
notify you when there's no response from the recipient within a day or two of
sending the email.

A genuine follow-up email, reminding the recipient might sometimes work

wonders. A lot of people who miss the first email or intentionally ignore them, often
respond to the follow-up email in the same conversation instead of a new email on
the same topic. The follow-up email can be simple and to the point.
 Examples:

Email communication is essential to establishing contacts and

building relationships. Writing an email can be a breeze when you
ensure that you keep it simple, to the point, and follow the
email etiquette rules.