How To Write a Formal Email and Keep Professional Look

Writing an email is one of the most popular forms of communication these days.

Technological advancement has boosted the usage of this type of communication in the business environment. This means that employees are now obliged to know how to write various formal letters to their bosses, colleagues, or clients.

Writing a formal letter poses a number of obstacles for any individual who has to apply to a person concerning the business.

In this article, you will find out the main tips on how to write formal emails effectively while keeping a professional look.

Tip #1: Always use an email signature

Many people neglect to use an email signature in their emails. This way, they prevent the recipient from learning more information about them.

However, it is proved that the use of an email signature is important since they help to boost your image and the image of the whole business. Besides, if you want to create one, you may use this email signature generator.

However, you also have to ensure that you choose the right type of email signature for you and your business. In order to do so, you may take a look at all the email signature examples and find the one that is appropriate for you.

Tip #2: Stick to a professional tone of voice

The tone is very important in emails. Usually, we tend to write our emails in a hurry, though such an approach to emails might get you into trouble.

Because the email we write can not convey our body language and prevents us from expressing our feelings effectively, it is extremely important to ensure that it includes all the features that enable the receiver to learn your thoughts and emotions. Thus, the use of an appropriate tone can help your message be both clear and relevant.

Tip #3: Avoid making jokes

Obviously, humor is necessary even at a workplace. But it is extremely important to ensure that your humor is appropriate in certain situations and to the people you communicate with.

In order not to sound irrelevant, it is better to first identify your recipient, for instance, whether it is your boss or a colleague, a woman or a man, and so forth.

However, you also have to consider that the reader might not like your humor, so it is better to avoid it in formal letters. Instead, you can focus on being polite and friendly with the recipient.

This way, your letter will be 100% efficient and relevant.

Tip #4: Be helpful and tolerant

Being helpful and tolerant are key characteristics of a formal email. Formal emails are usually written in order to inform somebody about something or provide/ask for a solution to a certain issue. t is obvious that the letter has to be respectful towards the person you write to.

You may start with a friendly “Hi” and finish with a professional email signature in order to make the reader feel that you are ready to provide them assistance. Or you really expect their help while sounding friendly and polite.

Tip #5: Check grammar and visuals

Even if you followed all the tips mentioned above, it still does not mean that your letter will sound exactly how you expected. The reason for this is that you might have made some mistakes during the writing process.

In order to make the formal letter sound correct and clear, you have to ensure that it does not have any grammatical or lexical mistakes. You may use various applications that will help you to eliminate your mistakes in minutes.

Moreover, make sure that the visual you choose for your email is appropriate. This is important as well since the failure to do so might make your email look either irrelevant.

Tip #6: Share files via hostings

Without a doubt, having to download a file takes extra time. In addition, the necessity to download the file might discourage the reader to open your email at all.

In order to encourage the recipient to read your email and open the file you attached to the email, make sure you share your files via hosting.

This method allows the recipient to have access to data without the need to download it to their local PCs.

Tip #7: Use a business email address

When you write a formal email, make sure you use your business email address instead of your personal one.

Business email address promotes trust between the business and a client. If the client sees that he/she receives a message from an unknown user, they might not answer the email at all.

In addition, the use of business emails helps you to store all the important emails together so that you have fewer chances to lose a certain file or an important email.

Tip #8: Check your subject line

The majority of people neglect to indicate a subject line in their emails. However, doing so boosts the effectiveness of the whole email a couple of times.

Such an approach to letters helps you to grab the recipient’s attention. In addition, it enables you and the recipient to find certain emails faster.

Tip #9: Avoid emojis

The use of emojis is one of the most popular ways of helping the reader to learn your emotions and feelings. However, those symbolic representations of emotions are unacceptable in formal emails.

Emojis might break down the barriers in formal communication, which is obviously not appropriate in this type of letter. In other words, the use of emoji makes the reader think that you want to bring the conversation down to a personal level.

Conclusion

An email represents you as an individual and so, it is important to pay attention to what information you include in your email in order not to affect the quality of communication with the recipient.

You have to stick to the following tips on how to write formal emails as well as keep a professional tone in them:

• Use an email signature to boost your image and the image of the whole business;

• Use a professional tone that would allow conveying your emotions to the recipient;

• Try not to use humor in your emails;

• Always remember to sound respectful and be polite to the reader;

• Ensure that your letter does not have any mistakes;

• Share files via hostings in order to boost the chances that the recipient will access all the data in your email;

• Use a business email address

• Do not forget to indicate the subject line in your email;

• Always avoid emoji in formal emails.