10 Tips for Writing Business E-mail

Read the following tips for writing business email correspondence in English. These rules apply to most
situations, however depending on the type of business and the situation, there can be exceptions. Regardless,
these rules are generally very good to follow when writing in English for business correspondence.

1. E-mail should be informal, but not casual.

2. Business e-mail should be short, with no repetition.

3. Always write a subject that describes what's in the e-mail.

4. Most e-mail should not be any longer than 2 paragraphs at the most - very few business
people want to read long e-mail.

5. Use contractions in e-mail (I'd, he'd, we've etc).

6. 'Hello', or 'Hi', or just the person's name 'Peter', is better than 'Dear Mr. Jones'.

7. You should always write a quick introductory sentence so they know why you're sending
an e-mail.

8. After the introductory sentence, write a quick answer to a question they've asked, ask a
question of your own, or say that you're attaching something for them.

9. Finish by stating either what you want them to do next or what you will do next.

10. Sign off with quick salutation, "Thanks, Yamada" and then an email signature.




Example Business Email



To: Paul <p_johnson@abctech.co.nz>
From: Michelle <michelle_coder@avandamet.co.hk>
Subject: Meeting in April

Paul,
I got your e-mail and to answer to your question, yes, a meeting on April 21st at 8am at your office is great! Ill
bring all the documents you need then.
Call or e-mail me if you need anything else before then, otherwise we'll see you in April.

Thanks,
Michelle
-----
Michelle Coder,
Associate Manager, Human Resources
Avandia Technology Hong Kong
| +852 4284-5555 | michelle_coder@avandamet.co.hk |





Business Email Assignment Schedule

For business email writing practice, we will write ten practice emails as homework. Emails should have your
own ideas, and should use the 10 Tips for Writing Business Email handout. If you have any questions, please
ask me, your instructor.
The email homework schedule is as follows:

Start Business Email Topic Due
Class 1 Invite a co-worker to a meeting Class 2
Class 3 Request shipping information from a supplier Class 4
Class 5 Send an Excel spreadsheet to your CEO Class 6
Class 7 Send product price information to a customer Class 8
Class 9 Suggest a schedule change to a co-worker Class 10
Class 11 Reply to a complaint from a customer Class 12
Class 13 Invite a customer to a product sales meeting Class 14
Class 15 Request price information from a supplier Class 16
Class 17 Send a product photo to your manager Class 18
Class 19 Reply to a New Years greeting from a co-worker Class 20


Remember that in most situations, the 10 Tips for Writing Email are appropriate. However in certain
situations, not all tips are required.