Email stands for electronic mail. It is the easiest and the cheapest way of communication. It is used in formal, semi-formal as well as an informal way of expression or writing.
Every email you write has the same basic structure: Subject line, greeting, email body, and closing. But as with every written form of professional communication, there’s a right way to do it and standards that should be followed.
Subject line
The subject line could be the most important part of the email, though it’s often overlooked in favour of the email body. But if you’re cold-emailing someone, or just establishing a professional relationship, your subject line can entice people to open the message as well as set expectations about what’s enclosed. On the other hand, a poorly crafted or generic subject line (like “Hi” or “You don’t want to miss this”) can deter the reader and result in your email landing in the spam folder.
“Spend double the amount of time crafting the right subject line as you do on the [body] because if they don’t open the email, it doesn’t matter,” says Cole Schafer, founder and copy chief of Honey Copy.
Openers
In most email writing situations, you’ll want to include a quick greeting to acknowledge the reader before diving into your main message or request.
The exception: When you’re on an email chain with close colleagues, it often becomes more natural to drop the opener (as well as the closing). Though it may initially feel like a faux pas, it signals a better professional rapport.
Body
The body of an email is the meat of your message, and it must have a clear and specific purpose, such as getting feedback on a presentation or arranging a meeting with a new client. It should also be concise. That way, people will be more inclined to read it, rather than skimming it and risking missing critical information. If you can, boil it down to a few choice sentences.
And for emails that require more length and detail, keep it as focused as you can. “Nobody wants to receive a novel. You want to keep it between three, four, or five lines of text,” says Schafer.
Closings
Just as you want to start things off on the right foot with your greeting, you also want to part well. That means writing a friendly sign-off.
Categories of Email
Suppose you want to give a birthday party. You want to invite some of your college friends, your colleagues and some of your senior in the office. Suppose you are writing an email to them to invite them. Is the email writing format the same for all persons? Can you use the same language and wordings in the different email writing format?
Emails are of three types:
- Informal email
- Semi-Formal email
- Formal email
The email writing format is the same for each of the categories. Though the choice of words and language differ depending upon the type of email. One can use friendly and casual language in informal emails. The language used in formal emails should be professional, clear, and formal.
Informal Email
An email written for any friends, family members or relatives comes under this category. The use of polite, friendly and casual words along with proper greetings and closings are some of the rules of informal emails.
Suppose you have to write an email to your friend inviting him or her to your birthday party.
To: abc@def.com
CC/BCC:
Subject: Invitation to a birthday party
Hi ABC!
Hope this mail finds you in the best of your time. I am very happy to invite you to my birthday party on Nov 03 at ABC Hotel from 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm. The theme of the birthday party is ‘Pirate of the Caribbean”.
It would be great if you come and join us at the party. We will have a great time and fun together.
See You Soon
XYZ
Semi-formal Email
An email written for any teammates or colleague is a semi-formal email. One can use friendly language but have to maintain the limit and decency. The length, proper greetings and closing and clarity are some of the rules of the semi-formal emails.
Writing a letter to inform your classmates regarding the intra-college quiz competition.
To: ghi@jkl.com
CC/BCC:
Subject: Intra-college Quiz Competition.
Hello Everyone!
This is to inform you guys that an intra-college quiz competition is going to be held in our college on Nov 25 from 11:30 am in Hall – 01.
Everyone is therefore asked to take part in the competition so that our department can win.
For further queries, feel free to contact me.
Thanks
UVW
(Class Representative)
Formal Email
An email written for business communication or professional use comes under this category. The email written for any government department, school authority, company or any officers is the formal emails. Use of polite and formal words, the reason for writing mail, clarity, proper greeting and closing are some of the rules of the formal email.
A mail for resignation.
To: mno@pqr.com
CC/BCC:
Subject: Resignation Letter
Dear Sir,
Please accept this mail as a notice that I am leaving my position with this organization. As per the norm of the company I’ve to give a month notice before resigning. I hope you will get a good replacement for me within this period.
I appreciate the opportunities that I have been given to me to help me grow. Wish you and the company the best in the future.
Please let me know what to expect as far as my final work schedule and the employee benefits. Please let me know in case of any assistance for the above.
Kindly look into the matter.
Thanks and Regards
RST
(Project Head)