Business Correspondence Rules

Work with letters

    Received letters must be read. After all, someone and for some reason wrote them to you. Of course, this does not apply to spam.
    If for you mail is not one of the main tools in your work, then check it a couple of times a day. For example, in the morning and afternoon.
    If correspondence is the same tool as a telephone for you, then the mail client should be started constantly with automatic checking of new messages every few minutes.
    You are very busy and received a letter. Quickly examine its subject and sender to see if it requires an urgent response. If this is not a simple friendly message, but an important business conversation, then respond immediately, without delay. This is a great way not to accumulate a bunch of messages that will be difficult to figure out later on.

Addressees

You should always notice, correctly understand and use the To, Cc, and Bcc fields.

    “To” - everything is clear here. The letter and its contents are addressed to this recipient, there may be several.
    “Copy” - the addressees who are in the copy receive a “note” letter and a response from them is not required.
    “Bcc” - indicating the addressee in this way, you secretly send him a letter. The main recipients or those who were indicated in the copy will not know about sending a letter to this person. You can use it for mass mailing so that all recipients do not recognize your address book.
    If several recipients are indicated in the letter, then use “Reply to all” to reply, then your answer will not pass by them. You can add and remove recipients at any time.
    By sending a letter to several recipients, you risk not getting an answer at all. Therefore, do this as agreed or as a last resort.

We also recommend reading our article on how to increase work efficiency.
Topic of the letter

    In no case do not leave the topic empty. The people you chat with can receive many emails per day, and yours may simply get lost and be left without a timely response.
    The topic should be concise but understandable. Empty or too long message headers will give you or a novice or the absence of elementary rules of correspondence.

Content

    Start your letter with a simple greeting. The usual “Good afternoon” or “Hello Igor” will be enough.
    If you received a formal letter, then you should respond to it in the same way. An informal answer would be out of place - this is disrespect for the respondent and a demonstration of low culture.
    The business letter must be accurate, concise and informative. Indicate exact dates, numbers and facts. Try to state your thoughts briefly but clearly.
    Business correspondence is not a place for vivid emotions. This is not dryness - it saves time.
    If the letter has several questions or tasks, then do not forget to structure your answers. Do not answer monosyllabic: “Let's do it,” “It will be ready.” At least write the dates or add important nuances.
    No mistakes! Spellchecking is very simple, don't ignore it.
    Do not send the letter without reading the written. Make sure that everything is written correctly and clearly, check the correctness of the recipients.
    Quote the text of the letter in the answer. The interlocutor may not remember what exactly is being discussed, so do not force him to look for previous messages.

Investments

    Without warning, you can attach a small file of 2-3 megabytes to the message. To send larger files, ask the recipient if he can receive such a letter.
    Attach text files and images freely to letters. Other types of files can be blocked by mail servers, merge them into archives to avoid this. It is better to use the ZIP format, since RAR may not be processed correctly on different operating systems.

Signature

    Having a signature is very useful and shows your professionalism.
    The signature should include the name and surname, position and company name, website, your contact phone number or other relevant contact information. Try to keep your signature no longer than 5-6 lines.

Also read our article on the rules for writing business letters.

Keep in mind that your work email is more open than personal. Do not use it for love correspondence or for registration on various sites.