How to Write a Professional Email in 4 Steps

Email is a primary tool for communicating in the workplace. It provides a record of conversations and offers a written reference for important information, not to mention that emailing is a good way to quickly share information with coworkers.

If you’re not sure how to write a business email, here’s some guidance based on the four components of a professional email format: the subject, the email greeting, the body of the email, and your signature.

Creating a Professional Email Subject Line

The subject line is the first thing your recipient will see, so it should provide them with a clear idea of what the email is about. The subject should also be short and concise, especially since the person you’re sending it to is only going to see roughly the first 30 characters (including letters and spaces) if they view it on a mobile device.¹

You can use colons or dashes to help keep your email subject lines short and to the point. Examples include:

• Follow-Up: Today’s Meeting
• Question About My Schedule
• Urgent – Supply Issue

Using a Proper Business Email Greeting

While beginning a work email with “Dear [Recipient’s Name]” might have once been considered a sign of respect, nowadays this can feel like an impersonal greeting. So, how do you start an email that conveys professionalism without sounding too stuffy?

Consider starting a professional email with a simple “Hi” or “Hello,” followed by the recipient’s name. (You can also leave out the person’s name if the email is being sent to someone you communicate with regularly.) This type of greeting is personable, yet also professional.

If the email is going to two or three people, you may want to mention each person by name so they know it’s a group email. An example would be starting the email with, “Hi Alexis and Caleb.” If the email is going to a larger group of people, such as an entire department, a greeting like “Hello everyone” or “Hi all” is a good option so each recipient knows it went to several others.

How to Craft the Body of a Work Email

One survey found that 57% of workers don’t read the entire email if it is eight or more sentences in length.² This means that just as the subject line of a professional email should be short and concise, this advice also applies to the body of the email.

In the body, provide some context to explain why you’re contacting the person, but don’t give unnecessary details. Instead, inform the recipient of what you need or the questions you have using as few words as possible. You may also want to use bullet points to separate questions or ideas and help make the email easier to read.

Toward the end of the email, let the recipient know when and how they can best contact you. If you need an answer by a specific time, the last sentence is a good place to put the deadline.

Ways to End a Professional Email

There are many options for signing off a business email. You can end it with “Sincerely,” “Regards,” “Best regards, or even “Thanks.”

For communications being sent to outside agencies or individuals, it’s also customary to end your email with your name and contact information — commonly referred to as a signature. Many email platforms enable you to create a professional signature that automatically attaches to your emails. This signature should provide all the information the recipient needs to contact you should they need.

Many employers provide guidelines to follow when creating your email signature, but here’s a generic template you can use if yours does not:

A Professional Email Example

If you’re still a bit unsure about how to write professional emails, sometimes it helps to see an example. Here’s an example of a business email you might send when working in a healthcare role:

For more tips about how to write a professional email, you might also want to ask your supervisor for help. They can help guide you based on your employer’s preferences. In the meantime, this can serve as a basic guide for sending business emails that are respectful and professional in tone.