Writing Business Email

Writing business emails can be less formal than writing a letter, but certain formalities still need to be followed.

For example, where a letter might start, "Dear Name", an email might start, "Hello Name" or, if the recipient of the email is well known to you, it can start with "Hi Name".

The thing to remember about writing business emails is that every email you send is saying something about you and your company.

It's easy to let your writing get sloppy when using emails, so always remember to check and double-check every business email you send for spelling and grammatical errors.

We're all guilty of the occasional typo and whilst you might not notice them when you're writing, they will jump out at your recipient as soon as the email is opened.

When writing your email, especially if it's a sales oriented letter, make the paragraphs short.

Most emails are read on-screen and people have difficulty reading large clumps of text.

A good discipline to get into, is keeping paragraphs no longer than three lines long. Just like on this page.

Make your emails easy to read and you've just scored yourself a few points with the reader.

There is a temptation with some people, to use abbreviated txt speak in emails, which should be avoided at all costs.

The simple rule when compiling a business email is "if you're going to write, do it right."

You just can't go wrong if you keep to the normal formalities and keep your language simple.

When signing off, it's common to do so with something like, "Best wishes", "Best regards" or even just "Regards".

It's friendlier than "Yours sincerely" or "Yours faithfully", but of course, both can still be used if you feel it's necessary.