Basics Of Writing An E-mail
Today e-mailing has become a common way of formal communication, more so in our professional life. The reason being, it’s easy, quick, & convenient in many other ways. It has become one of the necessities that one should know. While one may understand a mechanism on how it works, it can also be quiet a tedious process when you have to personally draft an e-mail to your boss, colleagues, or your professional acquaintances. There are times when you may tend to feel a bit anxious while writing an email. But, relax. This happens with many of us.
In this article, I am going to pen down all the basic yet important aspects of writing an effective email. Ideally, there are two types of email – Formal & Informal. Since we often write an email for professional communication, I will be focusing on key pointers on drafting a ‘Formal’ email.
1. Your e-mail ID – If you don’t already have a formal email, it is important that you create an email ID which denotes a combination of your first & last name. For example, pooja.kumar@email•com. You can add numeric or special characters in case it’s necessary while creating your ID. Avoid using an informal email id like crazycat4real@email•com for professional use.
2. Sections of an e-mail window – Once you open a window to compose an e-mail, you come across To, Cc, Bcc, Subject Line, & body of the email. Let’s understand the purpose of each one of these.
a) Email Recipient
To: Mention your primary recipient’s e-mail ID. The one you are expecting a reply from.
Cc: It means Carbon Copy. This is where you need to mention the e-mail ID of the secondary recipient. The one who needs to be aware of the matter, but is not expected to respond to your email, except in certain situations.
Bcc: It means Blind Carbon Copy. This is used ideally to protect the identity of the recipients from each other, and also to avoid confusion that may arise if any of the recipients (as there can be multiple) reverts to email using the ‘Reply All’ option.
b) Subject Line: Choosing the right Subject Line is of utmost importance. It should be short, max 6 – 7 words, yet informative. It should clearly convey the purpose of the e-mail that you send. Failing which your mail may not get the attention of the reader, or the mail can be left unread.
c) Body of the e-mail: This is a place where you draft your email matter. To understand how to go about drafting an effective email, please keep reading.
3. Drafting an e-mail: As you read earlier, one of the key reasons for using e-mail is that it is faster. This means not only does it reach the recipient in a short time, but also takes little time of the recipient by passing on some important information. Let’s see how can you achieve that. A formal e-mail ideally consists of 4 parts.
a) Greetings or Salutation: It is an opening of the e-mail where you address your recipient by using words like Hi, Hello (more appropriate for telephonic conversation though), Dear, etc. combining it with the name in case of individuals. For groups, you can use Hi Team, Dear Colleagues, etc. In the Indian context, they even use ‘Respected’ word as a salutation when they are writing to senior authority. Sentences like ‘Hope you are doing well!’, ‘How are you doing?‘, etc. are used as a formality and are not really expected to be answered. Also when you are responding to a trail mail, you need not say Hi every-time during the day after you have said it already. Say ’Hi Again!’ if you get back to the same trail after a day or two.
b) Introduction – This refers to mentioning a reason why you are writing this email. This can be short in one or two sentences that can give background information regarding what you are writing.
c) Additional Information: Provide all the details regarding the matter that your recipient needs to know about. Know that nobody is interested in reading long essays. Keep it simple & to the point. Avoid using difficult language. Use paragraphs if you are mentioning a different point of conversation.
d) Sign-off with Conclusion: It is the closure of your email. You can conclude email with what you are expecting, hoping & call for action accordingly. Use the right tone of language while you do it. For example, the manager can be direct about what he wants his subordinates to do, and just instruct. But if you are writing it to seniors then you may use an indirect way of letting them know what you are expecting from them to do about the matter. Sign off using Regards, Best Wishes, Thank You!, etc. followed by your professional signature or simply your name, contact details, etc.
4. Sending an e-mail: There are instances when an email is sent to a wrong recipient, it’s sent without final check/verification, and also when it is not even drafted completely, etc. This happens by mistake for sure, and here is my suggestion on how you can avoid such mistakes.
You can furnish the details in the following order:
* Subject Line – To start off with a headline on the matter.
* Email Draft & Adding Attachments – Describing the matter.
* E-mail IDs to be kept in Cc / Bcc – To ensure all related personnel to the matter are addressed if required.
* Main Recipient email ID – To ensure the right main people are addressed.
When you follow this, you negate the possibility of sending an incomplete email. Once you complete the draft & adding an attachment to it, you can check all the details mentioned in the mail, & the attachments to ensure your email has everything that you wish to convey & share. Once you finish the main task, now you need to carefully add all the recipients (To, Cc, & Bcc – as required).
We need to be careful while choosing the recipient names. There could be multiple email IDs with similar initials which pop up in the suggestion list when you start typing the name (as you might have used it earlier). At times we click on one of those topping the list without noticing it properly. And that’s where we end up sending the email to the wrong recipient. The situation becomes worse when we are dealing with multiple different clients.
5. Here are some tips you can follow while drafting an email
a) Keep it simple & crisp, include all the necessary details at once rather than sending a couple of emails providing information in bits & pieces.
b) Use punctuation correctly to set aright tone of the email.
c) Avoid using emoticons as that may seem informal, and symbols, pictures, etc. as it may overload the memory space of the recipient’s inbox.
d)Use appropriate font type and size to provide good readability. Avoid artistic styles of the font as they may not be supported by all the systems. Avoid using too many font types in the mail.
e) If you have included any attachment, bring it to the notice of recipient by mentioning phrases like ‘Please find the attached….’
f) Always proof-read what you have drafted before you hit the ‘Send’ button.
g) Keep a checklist of all the steps you need to follow, the details that you need to furnish, and in case any attachment you need to include.
h) Know when to send emails. Ideally, you can send it when you know your recipient would be able to check & revert. Sending it after working hours or holidays may not be appropriate.
Written communication is treated as a record, and e-mails are one of those – specifically in professional life. Hence it is important to have a professional approach while sending emails. I hope the information above helps you in understanding the important aspects of email & also keeps you from sending email inappropriately.
Hope you find this article useful. Do let us know in the comment below in case you have a suggestion on writing an efficient email.
