How do you write a business email?
From the subject line to the signature, the version of a business email that actually gets answered. Three templates included.
updated · 2026-09-19
How do you write a business email and how should it start?
A business email covers one subject and says plainly what the reader should do. The order is: name the task in the subject line, say who you are and why you are writing in the first two sentences, make one request in the middle, and give a date at the end. Anything past six sentences gets postponed, and a postponed email is a forgotten email.
In short
- The subject line should describe the task, not tease the reader.
- Sentence one says who you are, sentence two says why you are writing to this person.
- One email, one request. Two requests split the reply and delay both.
- Close with a date: "by Friday" gets answered faster than "at your earliest convenience".
What makes an email a business email?
A business email is written on behalf of an organisation to move a task forward. What separates it from a personal email is not tone but structure: the reader should understand what is being asked without reading to the end.
That means the information runs in an inverted pyramid. The most important sentence goes first and the explanation follows. Burying the request in the last paragraph is the single most common reason replies arrive late.
How should a business email start?
Greet the person by name. If you do not know their title, first and last name is fine; an email that opens with "To whom it may concern" is the one most likely to be closed unread.
The opening sentence does two jobs at once: it says who you are and why this person specifically. An email that has not answered "why me" within three lines is indistinguishable from a mass send.
- Hello Sarah, I'm Mert from Pocufy.
- I saw the export role you posted last week, which is why I'm writing.
- We've done the same work with three companies your size.
- Do you have fifteen minutes this week?
- Best regards, Mert Yilmaz, Pocufy, +90 212 000 00 00
What goes in the subject line?
The subject line is a summary, not a headline. In the inbox it is all the reader sees, and the decision to open happens there. The best ones are short and concrete: "About your export listing", "Quote: 200 units", "Three questions before Thursday".
Capital letters, exclamation marks and the word "urgent" do not raise open rates. They raise the odds of landing in the promotions folder.
Pocufy
Three agents run the part of these steps that repeats every week: defining the audience, building the list, writing each email for the person, and following up on the reply.
Three templates you can copy
These three cover most business emails anyone writes. Replace the brackets, and never send the template untouched: at least one sentence has to belong to that company.
- Introduction: "Hello [name], I'm [name] from [company]. I'm writing because [concrete observation]. [One sentence on what you do.] Could you spare fifteen minutes this week?"
- Request: "Hello [name], two questions about [topic]: [question 1], [question 2]. If you can reply by Friday I'll plan around it."
- Follow-up: "Hello [name], following up on my email from [date] about [topic]. Is this still on your list, or should I close it out?"
Six mistakes that cost replies
These six explain most of the silence people blame on bad luck.
- Asking two separate things in one email.
- Saving the request for the last paragraph.
- Attaching a file without explaining it.
- Signing off without saying who you are.
- Leaving out the date you need an answer by.
- Copying several people who do not need to be there.
Common questions
Four to six sentences covers most tasks. If you need more, split it: a short email with a detailed document attached. Long emails go unread; attachments get opened.
With what you need and when you need it. Replacing "as soon as possible" with "by Friday" measurably shortens the time it takes to get an answer.
Three to five working days later, once. The follow-up does not repeat the first email; it adds something new or makes the request smaller. After a third follow-up you are the problem.
Pocufy
Rather than doing all of this by hand, try it: paste your website link and get your first customer list in ten minutes.
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