Business Email Format & Structure | How to Write a Business Email – Video & Lesson Transcript | Study.com

Video Transcript

The Business Email

Emails are a popular form of communication in a business setting. Some people receive dozens, even hundreds, of business emails every day. So when writing a business email, you should consider several things before hitting that Send button. Not only do you want to be sure it gets to the right person, but you want the reader to clearly understand what you are trying to say. You must be mindful of your tone and context as well. Additional things to carefully consider when writing a business email include length, structure, confidential information, disclaimers, email signature, the use of Reply vs. Reply All, and Cc vs. Bcc. You want your reader to understand what you are trying to get across in a clear and direct manner while maintaining professionalism.

Structure

Much of an email’s structure is built in, so we will focus mostly on the structure that you, the writer, can control.

Let’s start with the basics. The To line is where you enter the email addresses of your intended recipients. The Subject line should be short and sweet. You want your subject to be eye catching and professional, but direct and to the point. If it is too vague, your email may be ignored. Many subject line entries are only a few words. A good subject line could say ‘Goal Update’ or ‘Meeting Agenda.’ Time stamps identify the time the email was sent and is automatically included in emails documenting the time the email is sent.

Many companies provide disclaimer/confidentiality statements on the bottom of their emails. Sometimes companies require a standard signature line as well. Other times you can create your own signature that you can set up to automatically display each time you send an email. These requirements allow companies to speak with one voice, maintain their brand, and protect against legal problems.

Cc & Bcc

Cc and Bcc allow you to send an email to multiple people at one time. These are also built in to your email structure. Cc means carbon copy (a holdover from the days of the typewriter), and lets you send the same email to two or more people. To enter more than one email in these fields you can separate the addresses with a comma. A downside of using Cc is that everyone gets to see everyone else’s email address. Keep in mind who you are sending your message to and that not everyone will want their email address shared.

Bcc stands for blind carbon copy. This functions the same as Cc where you can send one message to as many email addresses as you would like, however it keeps all emails anonymous. The only email address the person receiving your message will see, is the one in the To field. To be super secret, you could use your own email in the To field and everyone else’s in the Bcc field.

Reply & Reply All

When you receive an email you can reply to the sender using one of two options built in for you: Reply and Reply All. If you’re replying to an email where the sender Cced several people, you have to choose which reply best fits your situation. For example, let’s say you receive an email along with several others that asks ‘Who received the project on writing business emails?’ You may consider sending a Reply All to say ‘I did.’ In this way, others know that there is no need to reply; everyone included in the email knows you have it. Another example is an email you and others receive that says ‘Please reply if you are available to work overtime.’ You want to send a Reply only to the sender because it is not information that others need to know.

Length & Tone

The body of your email conveys your message, so you want to be sure that you use the right length and tone to communicate effectively.

Length

When you consider the volume of emails that many people receive every day, it’s obvious why shorter emails are preferred over longer emails. No one wants to spend all day reading their email! Also, the goal of a business email is to quickly and clearly get a point across. How short is short? That depends. The key is getting across the necessary information. Sometimes that may require a few sentences, sometimes a paragraph or two. The information you include in your email depends on who you are sending it to and what information they need to know.

If a large amount of information is being shared, be sure to use the attachment options in your email. This is useful for attaching reports or other large files. When attachments are sent, emails tend to be only a few sentences long, directing your reader to the attachment. If there are no attachments emails are still kept relatively short.

Tone

You want to be sure your tone and content is written in a way that is read the way you intended. A common problem with email is the potential for misunderstanding because you do not have the luxury of using eye contact, handshakes, or smiles. Pay attention to the tone you convey from the beginning to the end of your email.

Always begin your email on a friendly note, keeping in mind that your tone is how you will be perceived by your reader. You can begin with a ‘Hello’ and the name of the recipient ‘Mr. Smith.’

The body of your email should include proper grammar. You also want to spellcheck your email to maintain a professional look. Before you send the email, be sure to review your email and read it out loud to be sure that it reads in the proper tone. Avoid all caps which may be interpreted as ‘yelling’ in digital communication.

The closing of your email should share the same tone as your message. ‘Respectfully,’ ‘Sincerely,’ ‘Thank you,’ are a few examples of email closings, followed by your name and/or built in signature. If you are typing your name, like the body of the email, make sure you are using correct punctuation and capitalization. We write our names as ‘John Doe,’ not ‘john doe’ on paper, so we should right it the same in an email.

Lesson Summary

Like many things in business there are rules that need to be followed. This holds true for email business writing as well. Here are the takeaways:

• Keep the subject line direct and to the point
• Use Bcc when sending emails whenever appropriate so you are not disclosing email addresses that may be considered confidential
• Use Reply All to share information useful to all recipients and Reply when you want to respond to the sender only
• Keep the length short; if additional information is required, use an attachment
• Always use a friendly and professional opening and closing
• Spellcheck and proofread your email to assure accuracy and an appropriate tone

Lastly, if your company provides email guidelines, follow them. Remember these simple rules and you’ll be an expert email writer in no time!