Six Tips on Writing a Professional E-Mail

It then dawned on me that a lot of people (especially the younger, emoticon-and-twitter-driven generation) may not understand just how or when to write a professional e-mail. With this in mind, I want to share with you my brother’s e-mail:

The time has come. A leading nutritionist has gave the go ahead to start commencing Project Power kids dealing with child hood obesity. We need your help as we partner the medical community to fight Childhood Obesity in the the public schools of Camden, Clay, and Duval county. by using your practical approach, talents, and skills, we can make jacksonville the thinnest city in america because nobody has a program like we do in my opinion. Please join us on the conference tomorrow as we discuss more about what we need from you.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T 

And here is my response:

Hey Jaron,

I am writing you to explain how to write a professional, coherent e-mail. Although your e-mail has a lot of useful information and is not the worst e-mail ever written, these tips will help you (and the initiative as a whole) look more legit and credible, things you desperately need for an initiative such as Viagra samples free by mail this to take off. So, without further ado, let’s begin:

1. Remember your audience. I know a lot of these people are your friends, but what we are doing is very important. Treat it as such and when dealing with business matters, show your recipients you mean business.

2. Include a subject. Lots of e-mails titled “(No Subject)” end up in the junk folder and make recipients question if the e-mail is authentic. Also these e-mails end up buried in the inbox since they don’t know what the e-mail is about at first glance. Taking two seconds to add a subject to your e-mails will save the recipients time and effort, and in turn, they will be more likely to respond to your message.

3. Address the recipient in the beginning of the e-mail. Didn’t it make you feel good when I addressed you at the top? Like you’re important or something? People like to feel important! If you are e-mailing two people, say “John/Jane” or “John and Jane”. And if you’re addressing 3 people, use “All” or “Hi Everyone”. Trust me, it helps.

4. Write a clear message with punctuation. You seemed to avoid the mistake here so kudos but it’s crazy how many people will send out an e-mail that’s just one long run-on sentence and you can’t read it which makes it really annoying so you just give up on the sentence altogether so make sure you don’t do this ever.

5. Conclude with your name. At the very least, let people know who you are in case they don’t recognize your e-mail!

6. Proofread! You have a couple of instances where you are missing capital letters. And really, “has gave”? I know Duval County Public Schools taught you better than that. Remember, you want to gain some legitimacy and credibility from these e-mails.

Okay, I think that sums it up. You can use this e-mail as a reference or as a template. Also learn how to use your e-mail program’s signature feature so you don’t have to type the signature every time. I know this stuff may seem nitpicky, but it’s the little things that make you a better businessman. Hope this helps!

Sincerely,
Andrew McDonald
A-Mac’s Success Blog

Finally, here’s how I would have written my brother’s e-mail:

All,

The time has come. A leading nutritionist in the nation has given the go ahead to commence Project Power Kids, which deals with childhood obesity. We need your help as we partner with the medical community to fight childhood obesity in the the public schools of Camden, Clay, and Duval counties. By using your practical approach, talents, and skills, we can make Jacksonville the thinnest city in America because nobody has a program like we do. Please join us on the conference tomorrow as we discuss more about what we need from you.

Jaron
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

And there you have it. You want to write clearly, professionally, and above all, SUCCESSFULLY! Anything less will reduce your credibility and diminish your chances of getting a response. It also makes the reader more comfortable with your message and makes it easier to understand. So remember these tips the next time you are sending an e-mail to a co-worker, your professor, or a potential investor.

I’m striving for success… one e-mail at a time.