Answer first

A professional email is short, says what it wants in the first two lines, and is easy to act on.

To write an email professionally: use a specific subject line, greet the person by name, state the purpose in the first sentence, keep the body to one topic and under 150 words where you can, make the ask explicit with a date, close with a simple sign-off, and add a signature with your name, title and one way to reach you. Then read it once as the recipient before you send.

Length
50 to 150 words for most emails
One email, one ask
Put the ask and the date in their own line
Before you send
Read it as the recipient; run it through our free email spam checker if it is going to a list

The structure of a professional email

Every professional email, whether it is a request to a client, a follow-up after a call or a note to your manager, has the same six parts. Keep them in this order and the email reads well even when it is written in a hurry.

  1. Subject line: what the email is about, specific enough to find later.
  2. Greeting: the person’s name, with the formality the relationship calls for.
  3. First line: why you are writing, in one sentence.
  4. Body: the detail the reader needs to act, and nothing else.
  5. The ask: what you want, from whom, by when.
  6. Sign-off and signature: a plain closing, your name, title and one contact method.

If an email needs more than one ask or more than one topic, it is usually two emails or a meeting.

Subject lines that get opened

The subject line decides whether the email is read today, next week or never. Write it last, after you know exactly what the email says.

  • Be specific. “Contract for the Lakeside project: signature needed by Friday” beats “Contract” or “Quick question.”
  • Lead with the noun. Inboxes truncate at about 40 characters on a phone, so the topic goes first and the detail after.
  • Put the action in it when there is one. “Approval needed”, “FYI, no reply needed”, “Dates for the Q4 review” tell the reader what the email will cost them.
  • Avoid the words filters hate. “Free”, “urgent”, “act now”, all caps and a row of exclamation marks read as promotion to both people and spam filters. If the email is going to more than one person, test the subject and body in our free email spam checker first.

Greeting and first line

Greeting. “Hi Maria,” is right for almost all business email in the United States today, including a first email to a client. Use “Dear Ms. Alvarez,” when the other side is formal (a legal, government or academic contact, or someone who addressed you that way). “Hey” and “To whom it may concern” both cost you: the first is too casual for a first contact and the second says you did not find out who you were writing to.

First line. State the purpose. “I’m writing to confirm the delivery date for the new order.” “Following up on our call this morning about the pricing options.” “Quick request: can you send the signed W-9 by Thursday?” Skip “I hope this email finds you well”; it delays the point and the reader skips it anyway. A one-line pleasantry is fine after the purpose, not before it.

The body: one topic, plain words

  • One topic per email. The reader should be able to answer in one reply.
  • Short paragraphs. Two or three sentences each. On a phone, a six-line paragraph is a wall.
  • Lists for anything with more than two items. Dates, options, steps and attachments go in a list, not a sentence.
  • Plain words. “Use” not “utilize”, “before Friday” not “prior to the end of the week”, “we can’t” not “we are unable to at this time.”
  • Lead with the conclusion. If you are reporting on something, give the result first and the reasoning after. Busy readers stop after the first paragraph.
  • Say what you mean about attachments. Name the file and what it is: “Attached: the revised quote (PDF, 2 pages).”

The ask, the sign-off and the signature

The ask. Put it in its own short paragraph near the end, with a date: “Could you confirm the start date by Wednesday, October 15?” If there is nothing to do, say so: “No action needed; this is for your records.”

Sign-off. “Best regards,” “Thanks,” and “Best,” cover nearly every business email. “Sincerely,” fits formal letters. Skip “Cheers” with people you have not met and anything cute.

Signature. Your name, title, company, and one or two ways to reach you (phone, website). Keep it to four to six lines, use real text rather than an image so it shows up and can be copied, and leave out quotes and a list of every social network. Our free email signature generator builds one that pastes cleanly into Gmail, Outlook and Apple Mail, and the signature examples by role show what to include for realtors, loan officers, insurance agents, car sales and founders.

Five professional email examples

Copy the shape, not the words. Each one is under 120 words.

1. Follow-up after a meeting or call

Subject: Next steps from today’s call: proposal by Thursday

Hi Daniel,
Thanks for the time this morning. As discussed, I’ll send the revised proposal with the two pricing options by Thursday, October 16.
Two things I need from you before then:
1. The number of users you expect in year one
2. Whether the January start date is fixed
If anything changes on your side, just reply here.
Best regards,
Jordan

2. Request to a colleague

Subject: Approval needed: Q4 vendor invoice (#4821), due Oct 20

Hi Priya,
Could you approve invoice #4821 (attached, PDF) by Monday, October 20? It is the final payment for the website redesign, $4,250, and finance needs the approval in the system before they can release it.
If you’d rather I route it to someone else, let me know.
Thanks,
Jordan

3. Telling a client about a delay

Subject: Delivery update for order 1187: new date October 24

Hi Maria,
Your order will arrive on Friday, October 24, one week later than planned. The supplier short-shipped one component and the replacement is on its way.
To make up for the delay we’ll cover the shipping on this order. If the new date causes a problem on your end, call me at (555) 010-2200 and we’ll work it out.
Sorry for the trouble, and thank you for your patience.
Best regards,
Jordan

4. Introducing yourself to a new contact

Subject: Introduction from Sam Lee: Conduyt and Northwind

Hi Alex,
Sam Lee suggested I reach out. I lead customer relations at Conduyt, and Sam mentioned your team is reviewing CRM options for the spring.
I’m not writing to pitch anything today. If it would help, I’m happy to share what we’ve seen work for teams your size, or point you to a useful comparison. Would a 15-minute call next week be worth your time?
Best,
Jordan

5. A first email to someone who doesn’t know you

Subject: Your dealership’s response time on internet leads

Hi Tom,
I looked at how your store handles web leads after hours and noticed replies go out the next morning. Dealers who answer within five minutes keep about twice as many of those leads.
We help BDC teams do that with automatic texting and a built-in dialer. If it’s useful, I can send a two-minute walkthrough; if not, no reply needed.
Thanks for your time,
Jordan Tate, Conduyt

If an email like number 5 goes to more than a handful of people, run it through the spam checker and read our email deliverability guide first, so it reaches the inbox at all.

Mistakes that make an email look unprofessional

  • Burying the ask. The reader finishes the email without knowing what you want.
  • Vague subject lines. “Question”, “Update”, “Hello” get lost and never found.
  • Reply-all by reflex. Reply only to the people who need the answer.
  • Writing angry. If you are annoyed, write the draft, close it, and send a shorter one an hour later.
  • Typos in names and dates. The two things people notice first. Check both.
  • Attachments you forgot. Attach the file before you write “attached.”
  • A signature that is one big image. It shows up blank when images are blocked and can’t be copied. Use text with a small photo or logo.
  • Sending at the wrong moment. A Friday 6 PM email is read Monday; a Sunday night email reads as pressure. Schedule it for working hours.

A 30-second checklist before you hit send

  1. Does the subject line say what the email is about?
  2. Is the purpose in the first sentence?
  3. Is there one topic and one clear ask, with a date?
  4. Could any sentence be cut in half?
  5. Are the names, dates and numbers right?
  6. Is the attachment attached?
  7. Are the right people, and only the right people, on the To and Cc lines?
  8. Does the signature have your name, title and one way to reach you?

Frequently asked questions

How do you start a professional email?

With the person’s name and the purpose: “Hi Maria, I’m writing to confirm the delivery date for the new order.” Use “Hi” for most business email and “Dear” when the relationship is formal. Put any pleasantry after the purpose, not before it.

How long should a professional email be?

Most should be 50 to 150 words: a purpose line, a short body and one ask. If you need more than three or four paragraphs, move the detail into an attachment or a list, or ask for a call.

What is a good professional email sign-off?

“Best regards,” “Thanks,” and “Best,” work for nearly everything. Use “Sincerely,” for formal letters. Follow it with your name, title, company and one way to reach you.

Is “I hope this email finds you well” unprofessional?

It isn’t rude, but it is filler that delays the point, and readers skip it. Start with why you are writing. If you want warmth, add one specific line after the purpose, such as thanks for a recent meeting.

How do I write a professional email asking for something?

Name the request in the subject line, state it in the first sentence, give the reader the detail they need to say yes, and put the ask with a date in its own paragraph near the end: “Could you send the signed form by Thursday, October 16?”

How do I make sure a professional email doesn’t go to spam?

For one-to-one email, a real subject line, plain text and a text signature are enough. For email to a list, set up SPF, DKIM and DMARC on your domain, send only to people who asked to hear from you, and check the message in a spam checker before sending. Our deliverability guide covers the setup.