How to Write Business Emails That Get Read, Respected, and Replied To
By Digby R. Kerr · Kerr University™ · · All Articles
Years ago, I sent an email to a client at the end of a long day. It was three short paragraphs, and I thought it was perfectly clear. The client read it as cold, even slightly hostile. It took two phone calls and an apology to repair a relationship that one badly-worded email had nearly damaged.
That email taught me more about business writing than any course I'd taken. Tone doesn't disappear when you write — it just becomes easier to get wrong, because the reader fills in the gaps with whatever mood they're already in.
What Makes an Email Get Read
1. The subject line does half the work. "Question" gets ignored. "Decision needed by Friday: Q3 vendor contract" gets opened first. Be specific about what you need and when.
2. Say the most important thing first. Busy people read the first sentence and decide whether to read the rest. Don't make them wait for your point.
3. One topic per email. If you need a decision on three things, send three emails — or three clearly numbered sections. Mixed-topic emails get partial replies, and the unanswered parts disappear forever.
What Makes an Email Get Respected
Respect, in writing, comes from precision. "Let's touch base soon" respects no one's calendar. "Could we speak Thursday at 2pm for fifteen minutes?" respects everyone's time, including yours.
I also learned to remove a particular word from my professional vocabulary: "just." "I just wanted to check..." "Just following up..." Every "just" quietly tells the reader your message isn't very important. If it weren't important, you wouldn't be writing it. Say what you need, plainly.
What Makes an Email Get Replied To
End with a clear, single, easy action. Not "let me know your thoughts" — which requires the reader to do the work of deciding what kind of response is needed — but "Could you confirm by Wednesday whether option A or B works for your team?"
Try this: Before sending your next important email, read only the first sentence and the last sentence out loud. If those two sentences alone don't tell the reader what this is about and what you need from them, the email needs another pass.
The bottom line: Clear writing is a form of respect. Every sentence you tighten is time you're giving back to the person reading it.
Ready to accelerate your career?
Claim your complimentary 30-minute strategy session with Digby R. Kerr.
Book Your Free Session