How to Write Email Effectively with Practical Tips and Examples

Not knowing how to write emails shows sloppiness. It damages your reputation in a professional setting. There are no visual or physical cues like facial expression or body language in the writing. You may also appear rude, even if you had good intentions.

Emails are always preferable for day-to-day digital business communication. Being a professional, you must ensure that your email to your team or seniors is not misunderstood. It is also important to be concise. You wouldn’t want the message to be lost in the sea of 100 to 120 emails an average office worker receives daily (Earth Web)! 

Practice How to Write Email with Examples

Basic grammar checks, crafting a good, non-generic subject line, giving greetings, formatting in a good structure, and placing an official signature are vital when writing a formal email. So, use these tips when drafting an official email. 

Craft an Easy-to-understand Email Subject

The email subject is the first thing the receiver sees in their inbox. If the subject feels irrelevant, the recipient bombarded with continuous emails will not open it. 

There is no one way to draft an amazing subject line. But there are some practices to consider. 

• Keep the email subject line short. Subject lines up to 50 characters see a 75% click-through rate than longer ones. 
• Summarise the email. This shows the recipient what is inside the mail, which indicates transparency and builds trust. 
• Avoid jargons. Choose words carefully and make the subject line specific. The idea is to not seem cold. And jargons create a sense of detachment. 

Professional Email Subject Lines Examples

• Team Meeting Reminder: [Date] at [Time]
• Help us Improve: Employee Feedback Survey Inside
• HR Policy Update: Read Before [Date]

Greet the Recipient Appropriately

A formal greeting is essential when writing an email. It sets the tone of the entire message, depending on whether you know the recipient or not. 

Some best practices for greeting recipient (s) are as follows. 

• For formal communication, use ‘Dear [Name]’ or ‘Good morning [Name]‘. When you do not know the person you are mailing to, use ‘Dear’ or ‘Good morning’. This ensures you are not misgendering the recipient using ‘Mr.’ or ‘Ms’. 
• For informal communication, use ‘Hi [Name]’. Writing to your colleague or team member starting with a ‘Hi’ is standard practice. You can use a ‘Hello’ if you prefer to be slightly more formal in this scenario. 
• For two or more people, use ‘Hi [department] team’. It is best to avoid using gender-specific group terms. Ideally, mention the name of the team.

Write an Attention-Grabbing Opening Line 

Just like the subject line should be concise, the first line of the body should be for building rapport. 

Here are some effective tips to consider. 

• Avoid using generic lines that are bulk-sent to people. In general, the opening line should address your concern for the recipient. 
• Use appreciation or gratitude. The first line could also be about showing some gratitude. 

Some Examples of Email Opening Lines 

• I wanted to extend my sincere thanks for [Kind Gesture/Assistance].
• Just checking in on the status of [Project/Task].

Describe the Purpose Precisely

It is too essential that the recipient does not wander off and close the email when reading the body. The purpose of the email should be accurate and to-the-point. The main thing to avoid is chunky texts that go on for more than 500 to 1000 words. 

Tips for writing the body of email are mentioned below. 

• State the purpose. The purpose of the email should be clear in the main body of the email. 
• Avoid long sentences and paragraphs. Long sentences do not make the email body skimmable. So does a long paragraph. Use short sentences with five to six words, ideally. A paragraph in an email should also not be more than two to three lines. 
• State the purpose without industry jargon. The key is to be polite and should not overwhelm the recipient. 

An Example of a Good Email Body

The purpose of this email is to invite you to the project kick-off meeting on [Meeting Date] at [Meeting Time]. During the meeting, we’ll discuss the project goals, roles, and timelines. 

Your valuable insights and expertise will be highly appreciated in this endeavour.

End the Email with a Good CTA

The closing section of email writing should be engaging and should be polite. It should also encourage the recipient to take an action. 

Make use of these useful tips in the closing remarks. 

• Describe your CTA in simple language. The goal is to make the recipient respond to the email positively. Once they are clear about what is expected, they will do that. 
• Sign off positively. It is ideal to have a professional email signature and thank the recipient for reading your mail. 

Best Example of Closing an Email

Let me know if you can make it or if you need any additional information. Looking forward to working together on this exciting project!

Best regards,

[Your Name]

Parting Thoughts

Following the above tips, you will be able to write a professional email that builds a good rapport. Use them to your advantage in any official setting.

Meanwhile, you can check out more business communication courses to build your interpersonal skills!