Email is the most popular form of business communication. No matter what kind of role you start in, you will need to write some emails. You’d think that because of this email writing is a pretty easy thing to get right, right? Although sending an email may seem like a straightforward thing to do (and less intimidating than a phone call perhaps) don’t let this lead you to believe that there isn’t an art to it. Good email communication requires some thought, good use of language and a certain amount of planning.

Contents

  1. Writing an email
  2. Establish the email’s purpose
  3. Get the content together
  4. How to structure the email
  5. Get the level of formality and tone right
  6. 3 key emails you will send at some point
  7. Make sure it looks good
  8. Final checks
  9. Following up
The average office worker spends a quarter of their working life dealing with emails.

Writing an email

Establish the email’s purpose

Before you get down to writing a new email, ask yourself the simple question: “Why am I writing this email?”. Usually, the answer should be pretty straightforward: “I need to send over a report to a client” or “I need to arrange a meeting”. Being clear on the aim of your email will help you to establish what format the email should take and what actionable message you would like to share with the recipient.

We recommend trying to stick to one topic per email. If you need to email somebody about several different issues then ask yourself if it might make sense to put them into separate emails. It can be easier to keep track of different email threads and conversations if the topics are kept separate.

Should I respond to all emails?

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