HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS E-MAIL

1. Organization
Purpose: State the purpose of the email – what the email is about.
Circumstances: Explain the circumstances that prompted the letter.
Action: Explain that action should be taken. The action can contain a
request, give permission, refuse permission, approve or disapprove of an
action.
a. Purpose - Opening / Introduction
- Purpose – What the e-mail is about.
- Make reference to any previous correspondence
- Mention the most important points
e.g:
Dear Sirs,
We have obtained your name and address from Aristo Shoes, Milan, and we
are writing to enquire whether you would be willing to establish business
relations with us.
b. Circumstances – BODY
Explain what you want, reasons for writing this email in more detail.
e.g:
We have been importers of shoes for many years. At present, we are
interested in extending our range and would appreciate your catalogues
and quotations.
c. Action – CONCLUSION
- Explain that action should be taken.
- It can be a request, give permission, refuse permission, approve or
disapprove of an action.

REQUEST EMAIL

• 1. Use a proper greeting

• 2. Introduce yourself

• 3. State the favor you are asking for

• 4. Keep it simple

• 5. Tell the recipient why the favor is important

• 6. Offer to provide assistance to the recipient

• 7. Close the letter politely

• 8. Proofread your letter before sending it

REMEMBER

• - Use simple language: Email is not a place to show off your vocabulary.
Avoid using business or technical jargons (unless they are appropriate and
you‘re confident that your audience understand these terms)
• - Be concise: People don’t need the entire full context of why you are
sending them an email. If it‘s the first email on one particular topic, try to
give your audience the ”Why, When, Who, How, etc.” as briefly as possible
• - Call out action items early on: If there are actions required of your
readers (review a file, provide a response by a certain date/time, etc.), it’s
recommended that you put these action items at the beginning at the email
and call them out (bold, underline, different color, etc.). People have short
attention so you need make sure they understand what they need to do
right away.
• - Choose an appropriate tone: All emails should be polite, but not all emails
need to be joyful and super friendly. In some instances, your tone needs to
be firm, especially when you’re calling out their mistakes and providing
constructive criticism.

2. Model Email
15 January 2021

From:

To:

Subject:

Dear Sirs,

We have obtained your name and address from Aristo Shoes, Milan, and we are
writing to enquire whether you would be willing to establish business relations
with us.

We have been importers of shoes for many years. At present, we are interested in
extending our range and would appreciate your catalogues and quotations.

If your prices are competitive we would expect to transact a significant volume of

business.

We look forward to your early reply.

Yours faithfully,

Angelo Bonetti

Chief Buyer

3. Writing Style
● Short – words, sentences & paragraphs
● Simple – decide what you want to communicate – Write cohesively &
purposely
 ● Strong – concrete words, active verbs, stress main points
● Sincere – write naturally & sincerely

Greetings
Dear [name],
Hi [name],
Hi,
Hello [name],
Hello,
To whom it may concern,

Opening Sentences
• Following our phone conversation,
• I am sending you…
• Attached please find the documents you requested regarding…
• In regards to the upcoming pilot program, I have listed below the tasks and
deadlines that need to be completed.
• Further to our last discussion, I would like to bring to your attention the
following issues:
• As we agreed, there will not be …
• Please reconsider our proposal for …
• In response to your job post for Marketing Director, please find below a
brief overview of my skills. I have also attached my CV for your review

PHRASES OF REQUEST

• Very polite

- I would be grateful if you could … .

- I would appreciate if you could … .

• Polite

- Could you please … ?

Polite but direct
 - Could you … ?
- Would you … ?

• More direct

- Please send me … .

Closing Sentences
• I look forward to your reply.
• Thank you for the time you have taken to review my candidacy for the
position.
• Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions or concerns you
may have.
• Thank you, in advance, for your time.
• I await receipt of the information we discussed.
• Please forward me the exact information.
• Please consider my request at your earliest convenience.

Sign-offs before the signature

• Sincerely,
• Thank you,
• Best Regards,
• Thanks,

Signature
Name
Title, company name
Email
Phone/Fax
Web Address