Business Correspondence and Email Etiquette

Introduction: Email as the Main Instrument of Business Communication

Despite the advent of messengers, video conferences, and corporate social networks, email remains the primary channel for business communication. According to research, the average office worker sends and receives over 120 email messages a day. At the same time, more than 60% of professionals believe that poorly written emails lead to misunderstandings, wasted time, and deterioration of business relationships.

The ability to write effective business letters is not merely “literacy.” It is a professional skill that affects your reputation, productivity, and efficiency. A single well-written letter can speed up a project by a week, while an unsuccessful one can destroy relationships with a client.

Structure of a Business Email

1. Subject Line

The subject line is the first (and sometimes the only) thing the recipient will see. According to studies, 47% of recipients decide whether to open an email based solely on the subject.

Rules for an effective subject:

• Specificity: “Q3 Report: Sales up 15%” instead of “Report”
• Action: “Required: Budget approval by Friday” instead of “Budget”
• Length: 6-10 words (optimal for display on mobile devices)
• Priority: Use markers like [URGENT], [FYI], [ACTION REQUIRED] judiciously
• Update the subject: when the topic of the correspondence changes, update the subject line

Examples:

• Bad: “Question” — unclear what it’s about
• Good: “Question: coordinating meeting date with client LLC ‘Alfa’”
• Bad: “Meeting” — which meeting?
• Good: “Rescheduling meeting from March 15 to 17 — please confirm”

2. Greeting

The level of formality in the greeting depends on your relationship with the recipient, the corporate culture, and context.

Formal (first email, clients, management):

• “Dear Ivan Petrovich,”
• “Dear Mr. Johnson,”
• “Dear Dr. Schmidt,”

Semi-formal (colleagues, established contacts):

• “Good afternoon, Maria!”
• “Hi John,”

Informal (close colleagues, internal correspondence):

• “Hi Alexey!”
• “Hey team,”

3. Body

The BLUF Principle (Bottom Line Up Front): The main idea goes in the first paragraph. Don’t make the recipient read three paragraphs to understand what you want.

Structure:

• First paragraph: why you’re writing (the purpose of the letter) and what you need from the recipient
• Middle paragraphs: context, details, rationale
• Final paragraph: clear call to action

Formatting:

• Short paragraphs (2-3 sentences)
• Bullet points for lists
• Bold for keywords and dates
• Avoid long emails (if it’s longer than one screen, it won’t be read)

4. Call to Action

Every business letter must end with a clear CTA (call to action):

• “Please confirm by Friday, March 15”
• “Please select a convenient time from the proposed options”
• “If you have objections, please let me know by the end of the day”

Without a CTA, the recipient often doesn’t understand what is expected of them.

5. Signature

A standard business signature includes:

• First and last name
• Position
• Company
• Phone number
• LinkedIn (optional)

Don’t overload your signature with quotes, logos, and disclaimers (although a legal disclaimer may be mandatory in your organization).

Rules of Email Etiquette

Reply vs Reply All

• Reply: when the response is of interest only to the sender
• Reply All: when the information is important for all participants in the correspondence
• Rule: if in doubt — use Reply (not Reply All). Excessive use of Reply All is one of the main irritants in corporate communication.

CC and BCC

• CC (Carbon Copy): for information purposes. People in CC are not expected to reply but should be kept in the loop
• BCC (Blind Carbon Copy): recipients in BCC are not visible to others. Used for mass mailings, protecting the confidentiality of email addresses, or (controversially) for discreetly informing management

CC Rule: add only those in CC who genuinely need the information. Excessive use of CC overloads colleagues’ inboxes.

Timing of Sending

• Optimal time: 9:00-11:00 and 14:00-16:00 (business hours)
• Avoid: late evening, weekends (unless urgent) — this creates an expectation of after-hours work and can negatively impact the recipient’s work-life balance
• Schedule send: use the deferred sending function if you’re writing emails at night or on weekends

Tone of Voice

Email lacks nonverbal signals (tone of voice, facial expressions), so the tone is easily misinterpreted:

• “Do this” — can sound like a command (even if you meant a request)
• “As I already said...” — can come across as irritated
• Use of CAPS LOCK — is perceived as shouting

Recommendations:

• Reread your email through the eyes of the recipient before sending
• Use “please” and “thank you”
• To neutralize tone, provide context: “It would be wonderful if you could...” instead of “Do this”

Business Email Templates

Request for Information

“Good afternoon, [Name]! I am reaching out to request [specific information] within the context of [context/project]. This information is needed for [purpose]. I would appreciate it if you could send the data by [date]. If you have any questions, I would be happy to discuss.”

Follow-up

“Good afternoon, [Name]! I am following up on our conversation from [date] regarding [topic]. I wanted to check the status: were you able to [specific question]? I would appreciate an update. If you need any additional information from me — let me know.”

Diplomatic Refusal

“Good afternoon, [Name]! Thank you for your [proposal/request]. I have carefully considered your offer and highly value [specific positive aspect]. Unfortunately, in the current situation we are unable to [specific reason]. However, I would be glad to [alternative: return to the discussion in the future / propose another format / recommend a colleague]. Thank you for understanding.”

Complaint (claim)

“Good afternoon, [Name]! I am writing regarding [specific situation]. On [date] we [description of facts — without emotion]. This led to [specific consequences: financial losses, delays, etc.]. I request [specific request: compensation, replacement, explanation]. I would appreciate a response by [date]. If necessary, I am ready to provide supporting documentation.”

Email Overload and Zero Inbox

The problem of information overload through email is one of the key issues for productivity in modern organizations.

Zero Inbox Strategy:

1. Process, don’t check: allocate 2-3 time slots a day to process email (e.g., 9:00, 13:00, 17:00). The rest of the time — close your mailbox
2. Two-minute rule: if a response will take less than 2 minutes — reply immediately
3. 4D Method: for each email — Delete, Do, Delegate, Defer
4. Folders/labels: create a system: “In progress”, “Awaiting reply”, “For reference”
5. Unsubscribe: regularly unsubscribe from unnecessary mailings

Business Letters in English

When writing business letters in English:

• Use simple constructions: “I would like to request...” instead of “I would be most grateful if you could kindly...”
• Remember the differences between British and American English: “colour” vs “color”, “organisation” vs “organization”
• Use grammatically correct constructions: “Please find attached” (not “Please find the attached”)
• Closing: “Best regards” (universal), “Kind regards” (a bit warmer), “Sincerely” (formal)

Common Mistakes

1. Sending to the wrong recipient — always check the “To” field before sending
2. Forgotten attachment — if you wrote “see attached” — make sure the attachment is included
3. Reply All to a confidential email — can lead to information leaks
4. Emotional emails — never send an email written in anger. Rule: write it, save as draft, reread in an hour
5. Emails that are too long — if the email is longer than a screen, consider another format (call, meeting)

Practical Assignments

Assignment 1

Question: You received an email from a new client requesting a 30% discount on your product, referencing competitors’ offers. You cannot offer such a discount but want to keep the client. Write a response using BLUF principles, correct tone of voice, and a diplomatic refusal template.

Solution:

Subject: Re: Discount request — alternative cooperation options

Good afternoon, Alexander!

Thank you for your interest in our product and for your openness in discussing terms. I have carefully considered your request for a 30% price reduction.

Unfortunately, such a discount is beyond our capabilities: our pricing policy reflects the cost of development, support, and updates, which ensure product quality.

However, I would like to offer several alternative options to help optimize your costs:

1. Annual subscription: when paying for a year instead of monthly — 15% discount (savings of ~180,000 rubles/year).
2. “Start” Package: a limited version with basic functionality for 60% of the full package cost. You can upgrade to the full version later.
3. Pilot project: 30-day free pilot in one department so you can assess the ROI before making a decision.

I’d be happy to discuss any of these options on a call — I can offer Wednesday or Thursday at a time convenient for you.

Best regards,
Mikhail Petrov
Client Relations Manager
LLC “TechResheniya”
+7 (495) 123-45-67

Assignment 2

Question: You are a project manager. Your colleague from another department systematically ignores your emails or replies after a 5-7 day delay, which is slowing down the project. Write an email that addresses the problem without causing conflict and propose a systemic solution.

Solution:

Subject: Synchronization on project “Orion” — proposal on communication format

Good afternoon, Olga!

Hope you are doing well! I am writing regarding project “Orion”, where our departments are jointly working on the analytics module.

I’ve noticed our email communication isn’t always prompt — and I understand you have a tight schedule and a large volume of correspondence. I’d like to propose a format that would be more convenient for both of us:

1. Weekly 15-minute sync call (e.g., Tuesday 11:00) — for urgent questions that are currently “stuck” in emails.
2. Shared channel in Slack (or Teams) — for quick questions that don’t require formal email.
3. Shared document (Google Sheets) with task status — so we both see the progress without needing to correspond.

This will help us reduce the number of emails while staying synchronized on the project.

Would it be convenient for you to discuss this format? I can adapt the proposal to your schedule.

Thank you!

Best regards,
Dmitry Sokolov
Project Manager “Orion”