Professional Email Templates: Email Formatting & Examples

Greeting Home EmailTemplates ColdEmailMasterclass Bookademo Allposts Templates ProfessionalEmailTemplates:EmailFormatting&Examples ProfessionalEmailTemplates:EmailFormatting&Examples KateErwin December8,2021 Contents Informalvs.FormalEmailWritingBasicProfessionalEmailFormattingSubjectLineGreetingEmailBodyIncludeanEmailSignatureProfessionalEmailTemplateEmailTemplatesforSpecificSituations1.Announcement2.BusinessFollowUpEmail3.Request4.Question5.Complaint6.Apology7.TerminationKeyTakeaways Takesomeofthestressoutofwritingformalemailswiththeseprofessionalemailtemplatesandemailformattingexamples. Informalvs.FormalEmailWriting Wewriteemailsformanydifferentreasons,buttheytendtofallintotwocategories:informalandformal. Aformalemailmightbeoneyousendtoafriendorfamilymember.Aquickcatch-up,aninvitationtodinner,arecommendationforagreatrecipe—somethingsimplelikethis. Formalemailsaregenerallyusedinabusinesssetting.They’recommoninB2BandB2Csales,andinintra-officecommunications.Ofcourse,thelinebetweeninformalandformalemailscanbevague,andsometimesyoumightuseelementsofeachinanemail,butit’simportanttorecognizethedistinction. Forexample,youmayhaveagoodfriendinyourofficeandthewayyoucommunicatewiththemwilldependonthesubjectoftheemail.Ifyou’reschedulingalunchmeetingitmaybemoreinformal,butifyou’resendingrecommendededitstoacontract,thenit’slikelygoingtobemuchmoreformal. Everyonehastheirownstyleofwriting,butyouwillfindyousometimesneedtobemoreformal,andothertimes,youcanuseamorerelaxedstyle. BasicProfessionalEmailFormatting Whenyousendaninformalemail,theconsequencesgenerallyaren’thigh.Whenyousendyourfriendaninvitationtodinner,itdoesn’tparticularlymatterwhetheryoumixupafewwordsandrambleonalittlebit. Thesameisn’ttruewhenyou’resendingaprofessionalemailthough,soit’simportantyoufocusontheformatting.Ifyoubreakdowntheemailintoitsbasicelements,thenit’smucheasiertoplanoutyourcommunicationandstructureiteffectively. Aprofessionalemailshouldhavefourbasicelements: Subjectline Greeting Emailbody Emailsignature Togetthemostoutofyouremails,eachaspectshouldbeoptimizedandpersonalizedtotheindividualyou’reemailing. SubjectLine Thesubjectlinemightseemlikesomethingyoufillinasanafterthought,butit’sextremelyimportant.Businesspeoplegethundredsofemailseachdayandfartoooften,there’slotsofspamclutteringuptheirinbox. Tosavetimeintheirbusyschedules,peopleusesubjectlinestodecidewhetherornotthey’regoingtoopenanemail.Infact,47%ofpeopleopenemailsbasedonthesubjectline,sothisisaprimeopportunityforoptimization. Yoursubjectlinesneedtograbattentionaswellashintatthevalueyouoffer. Thiscanbeatrickybalancetofind,butaperfectsubjectlinewillhaveabigimpactonyourresponserates. Greeting Inbusiness,peopletendtowantyoutogetstraighttothepoint,butfirst,you’vegottotakecareoftheformalities.Ifyou’requicklygoingbackandforthinanemailthenthismightnotbenecessary,butmostofyouremailswillstartwithagreeting. Forthosepeoplewho’vespenttimedebatingwhethertostartwith“hi,”“hello,”or“hey,”acommonquestioniswhatisthebestsalutation? Thekeyisnottooverthinkitandalwaysdosomeresearchonthepersonyou’reemailing.UseLinkedIntofindouttherecipient’spreferredname(e.g.DanvsDaniel)andkeepitsimple. While“hey”mightleanmoretowardstheinformalside,“hi”and“hello”areperfectlyacceptable,andagoodwaytobeginyouremail. Otheracceptableoptionsinclude: Dear[name] Greetings Hithere Hieveryone You’lldevelopyourownstylewithgreetings,butthere’snoneedtoovercomplicatethem. EmailBody Onceyou’vegrabbedtherecipient’sattentionandextendedthemapleasantgreeting,thenyoucangetintothebodyofyouremail. Thisiswhereyouwillcraftyourmessageandpersuadethereadertotakeaction. However,don’tgettoocarriedaway! Emailsworkbestwhenthey’reshortandconcise.Nobodywantstoseeabigblockoftextandhavetoreadanessay.Instead,it’simportanttokeepyouremailtothepointandmakeitlookappealingtoread(keepparagraphsshortanduseheaderstobreakthingsup). Alwayskeepyouremailsfocusedononemessage.Ifyou’vegotmorethanonepointtotalkabout,thenit’sbettertoseparatethemoutintodifferentemails.Stayfocusedonyourpoint,givetherecipientalltheinformationtheyneedtomakeadecisionandaskforaction. You’rewritinganemailforareason–youwanttoachievesomething.Finishyouremailbyhighlightingtheactionyouwantthepersontotake,andthey’remuchmorelikelytodoit. IncludeanEmailSignature Creatingacleanemailsignatureisaneasystepanditmakesyoulookmuchmoreprofessional.Thiswillmakeitsimplefortherecipienttofindoutwhoyouare,whatyoudo,andhowtocontactyou. Veryoften,wesendemailstopeoplewe’renotfamiliarwith,sobeingabletoidentifyyourselfisimportant.Youremailsignatureshouldincludeinformationlike: Fullname Emailaddress Phonenumber Linktoyourwebsite LinktoyourLinkedInprofile Thiswillhelptherecipientpaintaclearerpictureofwhothey’retalkingtoandincreasethelikelihoodthattheyrespond. ProfessionalEmailTemplate Therearesomanydifferentreasonstowriteaprofessionalemailthatit’sdifficulttowriteagenerictemplatethatfitseverything.Eachsituationrequiressomethingslightlydifferent,soyouwillneedtotweakit,butthisprofessionalemailtemplatecanhelpyougetstarted. SubjectLine:[Issue]–[Salutation][YourName] Dear[researchrecipient’spreferredname], FirstParagraph: Thefirstparagraphshouldbeshortandtothepoint.Don’tbeataroundthebushbecausepeople’stimeisprecious.Forexample,ifyou’reapplyingforajob,includethejobtitle,howyoudiscoveredtheopening,andwhatactionyouwouldliketohappen. MiddleParagraph: Thisiswhereyoushowcasethevalueyouofferanddemonstratewhytherecipientshouldtakeaction.Makesureyoudon’tfocustoomuchonyourselfbutalsotalkaboutthecompany/personyou’rereachingoutto. Inthejobapplicationexample,thiswouldmeantalkingaboutsomeofthegreatworkthecompanyhasdoneandhowitsvaluesmatchyours. FinalParagraph: Thanktherecipientfortheirtimeandreinforcetheactionyouwouldlikethemtotakewithacalltoaction. Closing: Sincerely, Youremailsignature EmailTemplatesforSpecificSituations Thegenericemailtemplateabovecanbemoldedtofitanysituation,butsometimesyouwantsomethingalittlebitmorespecific.Herearesomecommonsituationswhereyouwillfindyourselfwritingabusinessemailandsometemplatestohelpyougetstarted. 1.Announcement Youmaynotnecessarilyneedpeopletotakeactionwhenyousendanannouncementemail,butyoudoneedpeopletoreadit.Here’showyoucanmakesurethathappens. SubjectLine:Excitingupdatestotheteam:Meet[name] Hiteam, I’mexcitedtointroduceyoutoournew[newteammember’sposition].[nameofnewteammember]bringsgreatexperiencein[industry]andwillbe[jobspecification] [nameofnewteammember]is[fundetailnewemployeemightwanttosharee.g.ahugeStarTrekfan],sofeelfreetosayhiandstrikeupaconversation. Sincerely, [Youremailsignature] 2.BusinessFollowUpEmail Networkingisstillaveryimportantpartofbusiness.Whenyoumeetnewpeople,it’simportanttomakesureyounurturetherelationshipandoneofthewaysyoucandothisisthroughafollow-upemail. SubjectLine:Greattomeetyouat[event] Hi[nameofrecipient], Itwasgreatmeetingyouat[howyoumet].Ireallyenjoyedourconversationabout[subject]andwouldlovetocatchupanddiscussitfurtherinthefuture. Yourworkasa[jobtitle]at[company]isintriguingandI’dlovetohearmoreaboutwhatyoudo.Ifyouhavetimeinthecomingweeks,thenitwouldbegreattograbacoffee. I’mgenerallyfreeon[days],doanyofthoseworkforyou? Sincerely, [Youremailsignature] 3.Request Oneofthemostcommonbusinessemailsyouwillwriteisarequest.Whetherit’srequestingdaysoff,askingforaraise,orsomethingelse,it’simportantyougettheseemailsright.Evenifyou’renervousabouttherequest,there’snopointbeatingaroundthebush.Instead,gettothepointinasimplebutwell-craftedmessage. SubjectLine:VacationRequestfor[date] Dear[nameofrecipient], I’dliketousemyPTOforavacationstartingFriday,Septemberthe5thuntilthenextFriday,Septemberthe12th. IwillensurethatallmytasksandresponsibilitiesaretakencareofinadvanceandIhavediscussedmycurrentcaseloadwithmycolleagues,[name]and[name]sotheyareuptodate. Ilookforwardtoyourapproval, [Youremailsignature] 4.Question Questionscanrangefromthemostsimpleyes/nototheextremelycomplicated.Whenyou’reemailingsomeonewithaquestion,it’simportanttokeepthingssimpleandnotdrawpeople’sattentionawayfromthepointsyouneedanswering. SubjectLine:AreWeUpdatingOurSustainabilityPolicies? Dear[nameofrecipient], Inlightofthelatestgovernmentaladvice,Iwaswonderingifwewouldbemakingimminentchangestooursustainabilitypolicies? Ourbrandhasbeenaleaderinsustainabilityformanyyears,andasthisissomethingI’mdeeplypassionateabout,it’sbeenagreatsourceofpride.I’mhopingwecancontinuetomaintainourcommitmenttotheenvironmentinlinewiththenewadvice. Itwouldbegreattoknowifyouplanonupdatingourpolicies,andifyou’relookingforanyinput,thenI’dbeveryhappytocontribute. Sincerely, [Youremailsignature] 5.Complaint Unfortunately,therewillbetimeswhenyouhaveacomplaintandneedtovoiceyourfrustration.Thisisapartofdoingbusiness,butitcanbeadifficultemailtoapproach.Thekeythingisthatyoumakeyourpointclearandkeepthingssimple. SubjectLine:ComplaintRegarding[subjectofcomplaint] Hithere, Irecentlybought[subjectofcomplaint]fromyourstorein[location]andit’snotworking.WhenIwenttoreturnitthenextday,theattendantcouldn’toffermeanyhelpinfixingitandwouldn’tallowmetoreturntheproductforarefund. Ihavebeenusingyourstoreformanyyearsandamextremelydisappointedinthepoorlevelofservice. Pleasecouldyoulookintothisissueandresolvetheproblemforme. Sincerely, [Youremailsignature] 6.Apology Wedon’talwaysgetthingsrightinlifeandsometimesthatmeanswehavetomakeanapology.Thisisn’tfunforanybody,butyoucantakesomeofthestressoutofitwiththissimpleapologytemplate. SubjectLine:[subjectofapology] Hi[customername], Wefoundanissuewith[what]on[when]. Whatdoesthismeanforyou? [notedetailingeffectsofissue] [notereassuringcustomers] Wewerequicktonoticethisissuewith[subjectofapology]andhavelimitedthedisruptionsasmuchaspossible.Ourtechnicalteamhasbeenworkingaroundtheclocktosolvetheissue,andwecaninformyouthatasof[time],everythingisbacktonormal. Fromeveryoneat[company]we’dliketoapologizefortheinconveniencethismighthavecaused.We’renowanalyzingtheproblemandusingthoseinsightstoensuretherewillbenorecurrenceoftheissueinthefuture. Sincerely, [youremailsignature] 7.Termination Manybusinesssituationscanbedelicate.Onesituationthat’sparticularlydelicateistermination.Ofcourse,you’renotgoingtobeterminatingsomeone’semploymentoveranemail,butyoumighthavetoterminateauser’saccount,orsomethingsimilar. SubjectLine:ImmediateTerminationofYourAccount Towhomitmayconcern, Wehaveterminatedyouraccountwith[company]withimmediateeffect. [reason] Havingspokenwithyouon[dateandtime]regarding[issue]wehaveseennochangein[usagetype].Followingmultiplecommunications,youcontinuetobreachourtermsofuse,meaningwehavenochoicebuttosuspendtheaccount. Sincerely, [youremailsignature] KeyTakeaways Writingprofessionalemailsisanimportantpartoflife.Eveninourpersonallives,therewillbemomentswhereweneedtouseamoreformalstyleofwriting. Whenyou’rewritinganimportantemail,it’seasytooverthinkthings,butifyoukeepthingssimpleandtothepoint,youwillhavemoresuccess.Breaktheemaildownintosections,focusonpersonalization,andkeepitshortandsweet. 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