Did you know that at the national level, 60% of the population use email messengers? According to a study conducted by Radicati Group, a French person would send more than 30 emails every day. In this sense, email is the most used means of communication in the professional world. This way of communicating is fast, allows fluid exchanges to deal with all types of subjects and can be addressed to various recipients: sending emails to customers or prospects, requests for additional elements to process a file, sending reports to your boss, etc. However, certain rules of use govern the writing of professional email. and they should not be overlooked.

Signitic helps you write a professional email for structured business exchanges.

Why take care of the writing of a professional email?

Email is used to communicate with all types of interlocutors: professionals, companies, companies, customers, colleagues, etc. Being able to write an email well in the professional world is essential for demonstrate your seriousness and your involvement in your work. Leaving a spelling error in the recipient's name, forgetting to add an attachment, or writing in an overly familiar tone would be harmful for you and for your business. In addition, a poorly written email can also be prohibitive for your recipient who will then be less attentive to your request.

Thus, according to a study conducted by the Voltaire Project in 2021, 77% of employers consider that the spelling and expression deficiencies of their employees have a major impact on the productivity and professional efficiency of their teams, all functions combined. One more reason to take care of the spelling and syntax of your professional emails!

How do I start writing a professional email?

The subject of the email

The subject of an email is of great importance and must be carefully written. These are in fact the first words of the email that the recipient will read. The object must therefore indicate the subject accurately and be concise. Sending an email with no subject or with insufficient details is a mistake not to be committed: your email may not be opened by your interlocutor or end up in the junk folder. Likewise, the subject of the email must be clear enough for the recipient to make an informed choice in the order in which their emails are processed.

To be sure to write the subject of your email correctly, follow these few rules:

Write only a few words, ideally between five and seven;
only send one subject per email;
choose a subject that relates to the rest of the email;
Choose a sentence without a verb ;
Do not include linking words that may make the object heavier.

The appeal form

The appeal form is A mark of politeness that can be found at the beginning of the email, who Mark the contact and indicate who you are talking to in the message. To properly write your appeal form, you first need to understand who you are talking to. Indeed, you cannot use the same formulas or the same tone according to the recipients. In a professional email, it is better to favor an excess of politeness than the other way around., especially when speaking to a supervisor.

For call forms with the right tone write:

Hello followed by the first name To talk to a colleague ;
Hello Madam or sir followed by the last name when you know the person you are talking to;
Madam, sir if you do not know the recipient;
Mr. Director or Madam Director when you speak to a line manager with a title.

The appeal form therefore goes depend greatly on the relationship you have with your interlocutor. If you are close to a colleague, you can communicate with them in a less formal way, for example.

The rules for writing the body of a professional email

The prioritization of information

The prioritization of information in the body of the email is very important since it is she who conditions the good retention of information by your reader. Before talking about your request, you need to put the object into context. The context can be a simple Positive catch phrase, especially if you are about to discuss an unpleasant topic. Several techniques can be put in place to write your hook, you can:

introduce yourself;
follow up on an initial exchange;
introduce the subject.

Following this hook, announce your request and explain what the benefit will be if there is one. The key to a successful body of text is Place the main information at the beginning of the email and continue with separate paragraphs for each additional idea. The structure of the text must be able to quickly highlight the most important information to which the object refers: we then speak of an inverted pyramid. However, remember that a professional email should not exceed more than four paragraphs, at the risk of being too heavy to read.

Have a simple and concise writing

To be understood by all during your professional exchanges, we advise you to adopt a simple writing style. Avoid sentences that are too long and terms that are too technical unless you are confident that your reader will be able to understand you. For good comprehension and readability you can:

Put the key dates or important information in bold ;
Use liaison words and connect sentences to each other;
utilize Bulleted lists to help the reader find key information at a glance.

Correction of French mistakes and verification of email elements

Spelling, grammatical or syntax errors are particularly annoying in a professional email. On the one hand, your message will be more difficult for your interlocutor to understand, On the other hand, these mistakes can give a bad image of your involvement at work or even induce a lack of seriousness or interest in the eyes of the reader. So remember to reread yourself well to avoid typos. There are also online proofreaders to help you effectively eliminate residual mistakes in your text.

Before sending your email, it is necessary to always check the various elements that compose it. Have you added all recipients and the attachments announced? Do you want the recipients to be a hidden copy or just a copy? Indeed, you need to make sure that you are transmitting the right information to the right people in A concern for confidentiality.

How do you conclude the writing of a professional email?

An adapted form of politeness

As with the call form, it is essential to write a polite form at the end of the email. This formula is a mark of respect that must be adapted to your interlocutor. Avoid lighter turns of phrase with your boss as you might with a friend or colleague, for example. However, if you're worried about overdoing it with “respectful greetings,” try to keep it simple: A “best regards” is totally acceptable.

The email signature

The signature of your email must allow your reader to identify you well and shows a certain seriousness. To do this, you must indicate at least your name, first name, the position you hold and your telephone number. However, the email signature is also an essential way to make an impression and to show your creativity: you would be wrong to deprive yourself of it! There are many tools that can help you personalize your email signature banner.

Do you know Signitic, a simple and fast solution for create email signatures in your image? Integrate photos, contact details, links to your social networks or even the graphic charter of your company in one click. Significtic is a powerful communication tool that improves your visibility on your professional emails!

The example of a well-written professional email

In order to accurately visualize what a perfectly written professional email can look like, discover an example of an email sent to a work colleague to request information:

Hello Fabien,

In order to successfully complete the meeting next Friday with client X, a presentation document must be drawn up beforehand by me.

I'll leave it to you to send me our new commercial brochure in order to incorporate it into the said presentation. Wednesday evening at the latest would suit me perfectly.

Thank you in advance for your return.

Regards,

Fabrice Dupont

Account manager

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