[Lessons Learned] Writing Business Emails

 Random Observation/Comment #427: My job at the Cooper Admissions department was crucial to my business email etiquette. Communication is almost 75% of my current job, so it single-handedly taught me to follow-up and have an easy-to-read format. 

 I write business emails like I blog. I give a short 3-sentence paragraph in the beginning as a background, use a lot of lists in the middle, and then end with a closing focused thought.  I try to keep it short, clean, straight-forward with a purpose, and easy to read.  Here’s my typical format:Hello <First Name>,Thanks for the meeting. I just wanted to summarize a few items:

<Theme>.  <Summary of theme take away><Idea 1>
<Idea 2>
<Theme 2>. <Summary of theme 2 take away>

Next Steps:

<Action item> – <Resource responsible>
<Action item> – <Resource responsible>

Look forward to catching up in <time period>.Thanks,
<Me>A few things to notice:

• Greeting/Closing. Most people are old school and don’t like emails without a formal “hello.” It’s never bad to have it, but could be too informal if you don’t, so put it in there unless you’re on your 3rd email back and forth.
• Purpose. Use the first paragraph to put together your purpose. If you’re asking people for information, then give context. If you’re telling them news, then set it up with a short intro.
• Use a list with sub lists. I always have lists. They’re everywhere in my life and it’s just so much easier to read and you’ll be able to organize information into categories.
• Have a clear next steps. If you’re looking for information from someone, clearly have a next step part so people know what’s happening after the email. Do you expect someone to respond?
• Bold key words. I tend to bold the beginning of lists and people’s names. If it’s super important, highlight it yellow.
• Space out the text. Especially in a business email, I do not exceed 2 or 3 lines before creating a new paragraph. It just helps readability. I also try to keep the whole email shorter than a typical preview screen (e.g. 10 lines). If you have a lot of material, try sending out a separate email if you can split the focus.
• Graphics. Use embedded screenshots where appropriate. A picture is worth 1000 words.

You’d be surprised at how many people don’t follow an easy-to-read email format, and how these emails are overall just ignored or glossed over. If you already follow these guidelines – Thank you!

IF YOU DON’T AND YOU ANSWER EMAILS IN ALL CAPS, SHAME ON YOU. LOUD NOISES.

~See Lemons Write Biz-e-mails 

#lessonslearned #businessemails #career #emailetiquette #writing #businesswriting