10 Tips to Write Business E- Mail Letters like a Pro

A business e-mail letter should serve as a strong link between you and your letter recipient to accomplish your business goals.  Whether you’re writing to your manager about a project, making a sales pitch, replying to a customer query, your business letter should have a simple, yet formal tone.  Write e-mail letters for business in a professional way to draw attention and persuade action on your message.

Today, e-mail communication has made life easier for us.  No more licking of the stamps and envelope and no more driving to the mail box to drop the letter.  True, e-mail business communication is a just a keyboard away.  Yet, that ease doesn’t dilute the need to write business e-mail letters in a structured manner.

Here are ten tips to write e-mail letters that can help meet your business needs:

1.  Write a strong subject line.  It should indicate the content of your letter and attract the reader to open your e-mail.

2.  Address the recipient of your e-mail with his or her last name.  Use a proper salutation like Dear Mr. , Dear Ms. , Dear Mrs. or Dear Dr. .  The last one is for a person who is a doctor or who holds a Ph.D. degree.

If you do not know the name of your e-mail recipient, try to find it.  Can’t get the name?  Use the phrase, “Dear Sir or Madam.”

Reserve the words like, “Hi”, “Hello there” and others to informal e-mail letters.

3.  Never type your business e-mail in all Caps.  It amounts to shouting in the internet culture.  If you wish to highlight certain words or phrases in your message, use the bold or underline styles.  Don’t bold and or underline too many words, as such content can affect readability.

4.  Write your e-mail letter in a clear and concise way.  Such an approach helps you convey your message better.  Remember, simple and straightforward words are the backbone of your business communication.  On the other hand, grand and complex words are like craters on a road that affect driving quality and time.

5.  Indicate the purpose of your business letter in the first paragraph.  Why should you do so?  If the reader doesn’t find the answer to the question, “what’s in it for me?” then the person may ignore your e-mail.

6.  Break large blocks of text into cohesive paragraphs.  Ensure that not all the paragraphs in your e-mail are of the same length.  Note that paragraphs of varying size create reading interest.

7.  Use a mix of short and long sentences in each paragraph.  Avoid too many long sentences, as they can wane the interest of your e-mail letter recipient.

8.  End your e-mail letter with a closing like, Sincerely, Regards, or Best Regards.  If you want to emphasize key business information and or announce new points, you may write those below your name with the caption P.S. It stands for Post Script.  Example: P.S. Our 50% discount on our bestsellers ends January 15.  Use our online form and order now.

9.  Use the spell check feature of your e-mail software or web-based e-mail service to check for and correct any typos.

10.  Check for the correct grammar in your e-mail message.  Here’s a tip:  Rather than compose your e-mail letter in your e-mail software, type the letter in a word processor.  Next, run the grammar check.  In Word, for example, press F7.  Last, copy your content from Word and paste it into your e-mail message window.

Be aware, however, that a grammar checker may not catch all errors.  So, proofread your business e-mail to weed out grammar mistakes before you hit the Send key.

Powerful E-Mail Cover Letter Writing Tips gives useful information on how to write a successful e-mail cover letter for a job.