The email is one of the most widely used forms of internal and external communication and therefore something you cannot afford to ignore.
An email paints a picture of you, the sender, especially when the recipient has no more information to go by than what is in the email. Hence, you should appear both professional and polite when communicating your message, so that the recipient understands it and responds properly.
From the subject field to the signature in 5 minutes
A good email begins in the subject field. You might be familiar with how emails tend to disappear in the inbox among all the other messages also calling for our attention. So be sure to use an eye‑catching and meaningful description of the contents of your email.
This makes it easier for the reader to find your email, and the desire to read it rises significantly when the recipient knows what they need to use their limited (working) time on.
Dear COMPANY or Hi Connie
There is no perfect template for proper email correspondence, and one issue that often causes problems is the initial greeting.
In a handwritten letter, the rule says we should write “Dear”, followed by the name of the recipient. This rule is often transferred to the art of writing good emails. If you’re writing to a relatively new recipient whose name you know, you can easily write “Dear Connie Nielsen”, followed by the text of your email. If you know the recipient better and you have exchanged emails before, you can start by using a more informal form, such as “Hi Connie”.
However, if you write to a company or organisation, do not write “Hi COMPANY” or “Dear COMPANY”, but “To COMPANY”.
Remember not to punctuate your opening phrase – not even with a comma or an exclamation mark – as many do today. This is not done in Danish. Instead, you can leave a line space between your opening greeting and the text of the email. However, in English it is correct to place a comma after the initial greeting.
The content of an email
The content of an email should be no different from a normal letter. This means that what you write is accurate, comprehensible, has the appropriate tone and is free from spelling and punctuation mistakes. Given that many people receive hundreds of emails a week for professional purposes, it is often a good idea to stick to the absolute essentials.
If you have more than one question in your email that you would like answers to, it might help to put the questions in bullet points as an aid to the recipient.
Smileys and tone
Likewise, be careful with the use of smileys, unrecognised abbreviations and irony in the first emails, as it may appear unprofessional and might trigger misunderstandings. Since there isn’t a perfect template for emails, it is often a good idea to copy the other person’s tone. This way you won’t get into immediate trouble.
Several studies show that the receiver interprets the tone of an email about 20 percent more negatively than the sender intends. Thus, as you have probably experienced, there may be a significant difference in tone if, for example, you exchange emails with COMPANY or Connie from accounting. But that is OK. The most important thing is that the message is communicated effectively.
Attachments and links
If you attach files, always make sure to mention it in the email – write both what the files contain and which file formats they are in. When these are texts, the most professional format to use is PDF. If you send a link, then mention what the site contains.
This way you ensure that the recipient’s confidence and desire to open the files or links is greater. You can also copy the contents of the attachments or links directly into the body of the email, so the recipient doesn’t have to open anything else. Make it as easy as possible for your recipient to read your message.
Complimentary close and signature
Close your email politely. There is no strict rule on how. Whether you want to write “Sincerely”, “Kind regards” or something else is entirely up to you. Most email programmes can be set up to automatically insert signatures, so you never forget them.
At the same time, the automatic signature might standardise the communication, whether it is a message sent by an individual or a company. This is something to be aware of. In addition to the polite closing, it is a good idea to include your name, job title and contact information if you are writing as an individual.
