How to write successful legal or business English emails?

In my job as a copy-editor and proofreader, I have reviewed and corrected thousands of emails - long, short, good, and bad.

To help you write a successful business English or legal English email, that is, an email that is acted upon correctly, I have created a short course that discusses the elements you must think about.

This whole course is available on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Writtenlegalenglish but the videos are also below.

How do you write successful emails?

Introduction

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Hello Everyone!

While writing an unsuccessful email is easy, writing a successful email is not.

So if you want to increase the chance of writing a successful email, my course will show you what I think are the most important elements to think about.

Lesson 1: Why are you writing an email?

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The first lesson in my email writing course is about fighting the natural tendency to start writing straight away. Before typing away, think about why you are writing in the first place - of course, based on plain language principles.

Yes, I know it's not sexy, but as Benjamin Franklin said: “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail!”

Here are the basics you must know to write a successful email - even before you start writing!

Lesson 2: Salutations

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If you're writing an email, pay close attention to the salutation you will use. In lesson 2 of my email course, I explain why, what annoys me, and how to address unknown people:

• Dear Sir

• Dear Madam

• Dear Sirs

• Dear Mesdames

• Dear Sir or Madam

• Dear Sir and Madam

... although you should always try to find out who you're writing to.

Give yourself the best chance of getting it right by watching my video!

Lesson 3: Why you are writing

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The first few sentences of your email are crucial. They will communicate an important message and set the tone of the email. They will also engage the reader - meaning your email will be successful - or not.

Watch to find out more about how you can effectively open your email.

Lesson 4: Present data and information that is needed

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It's safe to assume that the person you are writing to is busy and gets lots of emails. This means that they have to deal with lots of information.

So how do you make sure that the reader remembers and can later find the information you want to communicate?

Find out how by watching my video!

Question text below if you want to copy and paste and try to answer the questions:

1. Please can you bring your ID/passport, birth certificate, proof that you have a job and proof that you are living in this country.

2. To organise the meeting, could you please let us know i) if you can meet this week, ii) who will be taking part in the meeting, iii) if you need any technical equipment if you plan to give a presentation, iv) anything else you need from us for the meeting.

3. Please can you send us the information we requested in our email of the 23rd, the documents which we have listed in the attachment to this email, and the invoices for the purchases you told us about in the meeting today.

Lesson 5: A call to action

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If you want the person you are writing to to do something or react in some way, this is called "a call to action". Most emails have one. If you write your call to action well, there's a high chance your email will be successful.

Find out how you can write an effective call to action in my video.

Lesson 6: Offer to help and closing your email

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Some people consider this to be "boilerplate" and therefore, possibly unimportant. However, I think it's really important - the way you end your email will have an effect on the reader.

Learn how to end your email effectively in my video!

Lesson 7: The subject line

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In my opinion, the subject line is the most important part of your email.

Why?

Watch the video to find out!

Lesson 8: Exercise - Redrafting an email #1

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Now that we've covered all the main points that you must be aware of, let's look at an email that seems to look OK but really needs to be redrafted.

Here's the email text if you would like to copy and paste and correct the email:

Dear Mr Simon

Our previous email of the 23rd May said that some invoices that we sent to you haven’t been paid. The invoices were those for May, June and July 2019 for the purchases you made for printer ink and other office supplies. It would be wonderful if we could receive the payment.

Brian Brown

Lesson 9: Exercise - Redrafting an email #2

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This is another email that despite looking OK, also really needs to be redrafted while putting into practice what we've learnt so far.

Email text to be changed:

Dear Sir

Your response to our request for further information is still awaited and the deadline for the project is fast approaching. The information includes financial statements for 2017-2019 and the documents we highlighted in last months email. I would appreciate your prompt response in this matter.

Brian Brown

Lesson 10: Final comments

In this video, I just want to share some final comments about writing successful emails.

Thank you for watching this course. Hopefully, the issues that we've looked at and the redraft exercises will help to make your emails more successful from now on!