6 Steps to Writing Professional Business Emails

Welcome to Wisdom Wednesday.

In today’s newsletter, we will discuss how to write professional business emails. Don’t think that, because it is a business email, you need to use complicated grammatical structures or advanced vocabulary. The opposite is true - business emails should be short, direct, and clear.

Let’s look at the six steps I take to achieve this.

Step 1: Is Your Email Necessary?

Many business professionals feel overwhelmed by the number of emails that they receive. Before writing your email, decide if it is really necessary or if there is a more suitable method of communication.

On the same subject, decide who needs to be ‘carbon copied’ (cc’d’) on your email. Do all the executives need to know that you have emailed your boss to arrange a date for the next quarterly sales review? If not, don’t cc them.

Step 2: Suitable Greeting

Think about the formality of the email. If it is someone you know, including your boss, then usually ‘Hi John’ or ‘Hello John’ are fine.

However, if it is someone that you do not know then ‘Dear Kate’, ‘Dear Ms Foster,’ or ‘Dear Dr Foster’ may be more appropriate.

Use ‘Ms’ for a woman whose marital status you do not know (married ‘Mrs’ - single ‘Miss') or who prefers to be called ‘Ms’.

If you do not know their name you can write ‘Dear’ plus their job title. For example:

‘Dear Reservations Team’

If you are applying for a job or making a complaint, I suggest that you make every effort to find the name of the person that you want to contact.

Step 3: Plan - KISS principle

KISS is an acronym for ‘Keep it Short and Simple’ (sometimes ‘Keep it Super Simple’ or originally ‘Keep it Simple, Stupid’). As in Step 1, think about the business person who is potentially overwhelmed with tens or hundreds of emails every day. If they do need to hear from you, they want to find out what you want and any action that they have to take in the shortest possible time. Furthermore, they will probably scan your email for the general points before deciding if they are going to read it in full. Help them by making the key points clear.

I suggest that you need at least 4 paragraphs:

• Introduction - the first paragraph should be a short introduction to yourself and your company (if necessary) plus the reason for your email.

• Body - the second paragraph should contain the details the recipient needs to know. If you have several points consider using bullet points.

• Action - the final paragraph should detail any action that the recipient needs to take, if necessary.

• Conclusion - you may have a concluding sentence such as ‘I look forward to hearing from you’ or ‘I look forward to meeting you at the conference’.

Step 4: Suitable Ending and Signature

In most cases ‘Kind regards’, ‘Best regards’, ‘Warm regards’, or just ‘Regards’ are appropriate. More informally, you may use expressions like ‘See you soon’ or ‘Be in touch’.

Your signature should include your name, your company and basic contact information like your email address and telephone number. You may want to include your website.

Step 5 - Subject Line

At this stage, I find it easier to write a subject line based on the key points from my plan in Step 3. The subject line should tell the recipient exactly why they need to read your newsletter. For example:

‘Reservation Enquiry - Corporate Event - ABC Events - Summer 2025’

Step 6 - Proof Read Carefully

Before pressing ‘Send’ you must proof read your email and look for grammatical or spelling errors. At this stage, you can also look for ways to shorten your email and/or make any points clearer. Remember KISS!

You can also use AI, such as Grammarly, to check for grammar or spelling errors. Please note that these sites are not always correct so treat them only as a guide. Be consistent with American or British spelling.

Example Email

Putting these steps into practice this is what a clear and concise email should look like:

Subject: Reservation Enquiry - Corporate Event - ABC Events - Summer 2025

Dear Hotel ABC Reservations Team,

My name is Iain Shirlaw from ABC Events. We are a US company specialising in organising global corporate events.

We are organising an event in the summer of 2025 and are interested in booking accommodation at your prestigious hotel, as detailed below:

• 15 double rooms for 30 clients

• 10 single rooms for our staff

• Arrival: Saturday, 14th July 2025

• Departure: Wednesday, 18th July 2025

• Parking: secure parking 20 cars on all nights

• Dinner: Dinner in your Michelin-starred restaurant on 17th July 2025

Please confirm availability and prices for this event and please include any packages you have for corporate clients.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

Iain Shirlaw

ABC Events

[email protected]

Conclusion

Following these steps will help you write clear and concise business emails and improve the chances of your emails being read.

What is the next business email you need to write? Follow these steps and let me know how you get on.

Word of the Day - Recipient

Recipient - noun - a person or organisation who receives something such as an award or email.

Do you have any Business English questions?

Please email me and I will do my best to answer them in future newsletters.

Until Friday - have a great day!

Iain.

www.communicateenglish.com

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