Beyond the Basics: Proper Email Format Tips For Professional Communication
A proper email format holds several key components that ensure professionalism in email communication.
Have you ever felt anxious as you press the ‘send’ button on an email, worrying if it might come across as unprofessional or confusing?
Proper email format will help alleviate these concerns and increase the chances of email responses. We’ll discuss the essential tricks to formatting your emails, starting with the sender’s email address — the identity of your email marketing.
What is a Proper Email Address Format?
A proper email address format contains the standard conventions for email addresses, including:
- Username: The username is the part that comes before the ‘@’ symbol, and helps recipients identify your brand messages.
- The ‘@’ symbol: This symbol separates the username from the domain name, increasing clarity for the receivers.
- Domain name: This part comes after the ‘@’ symbol, and shows the email provider name (Gmail, Yahoo, etc.) or the company name.
- Top-level domain: This is the last part of the address, such as “.com” or “.org” or country-specific formats such as “.uk.”
A proper email address format will look like this:
- Janedoe@gmail.com,
- Alex@CampaignRefinery.com.
For business emails, it’s recommended you use your first and last names to make it easier for recipients to identify and categorize their emails.
What is the Proper Format For an Email?
An email format typically includes the email header, subject line, body copy, and signature.
The email structure can vary based on your needs, but the key components are:
- Sender name: This is your name that appears in the ‘From’ field in the emails you send out. It lets your recipients decide whether your emails are trustworthy enough to open and interact.
- Subject line: It briefly summarizes the email’s purpose and encourages recipient interaction.
- Greeting: Helps you build personal connections with recipients and ensure they feel valued.
- Email body: Contains the main content of the email, which is usually organized into small paragraphs for readability.
- Email closing: A polite closing phrase to end the email, such as “Kind regards” or “Best wishes.”
- Email signature: Contains the professional information, including your full name, organization, and contact information.
- Attachments: The attachments are an extended version of the body content containing essential data.
Using a proper email format can enhance your professional image and email communication. Plus, it helps reduce errors, creating a seamless experience for your recipients.
The Importance of Using a Proper Email Format
Whether you’re sending a marketing email, a professional communication, or a business quotation, email formatting greatly affects how people perceive your brand.
A proper email format helps recipients read and respond to your emails quickly, and addresses these key uses:
- Enhances professionalism: A well-formatted email increases credibility and paves the way for a positive brand impression.
- Increases clarity: A concise subject line, well-structured paragraphs, and a proper closing make it easier for recipients to understand the context of your emails.
- Magnifies attention to detail: Formatting emails demonstrates your attention to quality and credibility.
- Enhances brand representation: Creating a suitable email format helps showcase a cohesive brand representation.
- Ensures mobile compatibility: Proper email format ensures your messages are in the correct order, increasing clarity.
- Follows legal compliance: Following the correct email format helps you adhere to legal formalities, including disclosures and opt-out options.
Most importantly, a proper email format helps prevent misinterpretation of messages, improving the overall efficiency of your emails.
Understanding how to format emails is important to build stronger relationships with recipients, whether it’s an engaging email newsletter or a professional discussion with your team.
Understanding the Different Email Structures
While the core elements of your emails remain the same, there could be variations in structure depending on the purpose and audience.
Breaking down the different email structures will help you analyze the most effective ones to use.
| Aspect | Informal Email | Business Email | Marketing/Sales Email |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject line | Clear and friendly | Direct and informative | Engaging and attention-grabbing |
| Salutation | Casual | Formal or semi-formal | Professional and friendly |
| Introduction | Friendly and concise | Professional and concise | Compelling hook or introduction |
| Email body | Conversational tone | Clear and concise content | Persuasive content with features |
| Closing | Casual closing | Professional closing | Friendly closing emphasizing urgency |
| Signature | First name or nickname | Full name, job, title, company | N/A |
| Attachments | N/A | Relevant and descriptive attachments | N/A |
| Footer | N/A | Legal disclaimer and contact information. | Legal disclaimer, contact information, and unsubscribe option |
Since business and sales emails are widely used, let’s understand their similarities and then nit-pick their structure in detail.
Similarities Between Business and Sales Emails
Both business and sales emails follow core email formatting for professional communication.
| Aspect | What You Must Know |
|---|---|
| Professional tone | Maintain courteous, respectful, and formal language throughout the email |
| Conciseness | Aim for brief and clear communication, including benefits and features |
| Structure | Use bullets, numbers, and short paragraphs for better readability |
| Signature | Include your full name, title, company details, and other relevant information |
| Closing | End with a formal greeting such as “Sincerely”, “Respectfully,” or “Best Regards.” |
Proper Business Email Format Example
Business emails usually follow the format below:
- Briefly summarize the purpose of the email in the subject line. Include action-oriented words such as “Requesting information on [topic].”
- Use a formal greeting such as “Dear first name” or a similar salutation.
- Briefly introduce your company and the context, if applicable.
- Clearly state your request or offer and include a CTA.
- Use a formal closing such as “Sincerely” to maintain professionalism unless you know the recipient well or have an established work relationship with them, in which case you can be a little less formal.
Sales Email Format
Most sales emails are customized but follow a similar format:
- An intriguing subject line that sparks interest and highlights the potential benefits of the product.
- Use personalized greetings, addressing the recipients by their names or company names.
- Briefly introduce the brand and provide additional information.
- Touch upon a challenge the recipient might be facing.
- Explain how your product or service can solve this challenge.
- Include testimonials, case studies, and reviews of happy users.
- Tell the subscribers what you want them to do next. For example, “Download the guide.”
- Use a formal closing similar to business emails.
Regardless of the email type, personalize the conversation, provide value, and respond promptly to customer queries.
Different emails require varied formats, and understanding the key differences is vital to crafting the right emails for the right people. Let’s review their formats and examples to help you identify the correct email structure.
5 Types of Emails and Their Formats with Examples
While business and sales emails are common, you may have to send promotional, transactional, or welcome emails based on user behavior.
We’ll examine the different email types and their structures below.
1. Welcome Email Format
Welcome emails help you set the tone and build relationships with new subscribers. A well-formatted welcome email can introduce your brand and create a positive first impression with your recipients.
The tips below will help you formulate a proper welcome email:
- Use a warm subject line such as “Welcome to [company family]!” or “Get started with [company name].”
- Welcome subscribers with personalized greetings such as “Dear [recipient name].”
- Express gratitude to subscribers for signing up to your email list and briefly introduce your brand.
- Guide users towards the next steps with a clear CTA.
The welcome email below is a good example — it starts with the definition of the brand newsletter and provides a warm welcome to the readers. The email is rightly structured and sets expectations for subscribers with an ‘Issues and features’ column.
2. Promotional Email Format
Promotional emails are a type of marketing email that promotes a product, service, or event. A proper promotional email can help you engage audiences correctly and drive conversions.
An effective promotional email can be formatted like this:
- Include your company logo or branding elements in the email header.
- Aim to keep the subject line below 50 characters for higher engagement.
- Personalize email greetings with the subscriber’s name.
- Start the email with a compelling statement or question.
- End the email with a compelling promotional offer, encouraging recipients to learn more about your brand offers.
The email from Sauna House mentions the offer on the email header for higher conversions. The email body is crisp with a clear CTA. In addition, they showcase other relevant products and skincare rituals to maximize choices for customers.
3. Transactional Email Format
Transactional emails update users about recent purchases, shipping confirmation, or account verification. They are automated messages triggered by specific user actions, typically providing confirmations regarding the action taken.
Transactional emails demand immediacy and relevancy, emphasizing the importance of email format.
A proper transactional message will contain the following:
- Greet recipients by their names, thanking them for their actions.
- Briefly mention the nature of the transaction — password reset, account verification, or purchase confirmation.
- Use bullets and numbered lists for better readability.
- Include relevant links to additional resources in the footer.
The transactional email below begins by congratulating the user for completing the funding. The email body explains the deposit details and timeline. The email ends by encouraging the recipient to contact the support team in case of queries or concerns.
4. Newsletter Email Format
Email newsletters contain various information such as updates, promotions, or curated content. Since the data is vast, newsletters follow a specific brand format to avoid confusion for the subscribers.
Newsletters generally contain appealing visuals and the following elements:
- An engaging subject line showcasing the purpose of the newsletter.
- Follow brand guidelines and include eye-catching visuals in the header.
- Highlight featured content, articles, and stories in the body section.
- Include sections for upcoming events and other updates, if applicable.
- Thank recipients for subscribing and invite them to submit feedback.
Ticket Tailor’s newsletter feels more personal with examples and stories. The brand builds anticipation by sharing event updates and brand changes. Finally, the brand offers help and closes with a personal signature.
5. Follow-up Email Format
Follow-up emails continue the previous email communication. For example, if someone added products to their carts, you can send them an abandoned cart email as a reminder. You can also use follow-up emails regarding job applications, team updates, or other professional emails.
It’s best to use a similar format as below, but feel free to adjust it based on your needs:
- Reference to the previous interaction in the subject line.
- Introduce the email by mentioning the purpose and previous interaction.
- Provide a concise and polite inquiry or reminder.
- Additional details may be included based on the type of follow-up.
- Appreciate the recipient’s time and close with a polite phrase.
- Provide your full name and contact information in the signature.
This follow-up email from Reallygoodemails is considerate and helps recipients continue their previous actions. The subject line states the purpose of the email and explains it in the email body copy.
It also benefits to focus on the overall email formatting such as fonts and alignment, and avoid common mistakes.
Formatting Guidelines For Professional Emails
Avoiding the mistakes below will help you send clear and engaging emails.
| Aspect | What to Avoid |
|---|---|
| Subject line | ‣ Filler words and phrases, ‣ All Caps and excessive punctuation, ‣ Spam filter words and phrases. |
| Salutation | ‣ Informal words such as “What’s up.” ‣ Typos in recipient names. |
| Body | ‣ Long paragraphs, ‣ Inconsistent formatting, ‣ Over-explaining the purpose of the email, ‣ Graphics and unusual fonts. |
| CTA | ‣ Too many CTAs, ‣ Over-highlighting CTA with bright colors, ‣ Inconsistent font styles. |
Additionally, avoid overusing special characters and unnecessary attachments. Dense content can make it hard for recipients to read your email — use lots of white space, breaking texts into readable information.
Ensure you follow these guidelines to get the desired outcome from your email campaigns.
8 Email Format Best Practices
While you decide on an email format, it’s critical to focus on the best practices to increase the likelihood of email responses.
1. Analyze the Purpose of the Email
Whether it’s a professional email follow-up or a sales opportunity, ensure you understand the email’s purpose before sending one. Often, you may have access to additional information and sending another email might be unprofessional. For example, the previous work email might contain attachments with relevant data, and sending a follow-up email might make you look inexperienced.
Think about whether your emails are relevant to your recipients and achieve the specific brand objective — whether to educate, persuade, or take action. Analyzing the email helps you optimize resources and maintain professionalism.
2. Personalize Your Emails
Personalizing emails builds stronger connections and enhances engagement. Use the recipient’s name in the subject line and greetings, if possible. You can divide your audiences into segments to tailor your email communication and use dynamic content to customize different email sections.
3. Use Responsive Design
Responsive design ensures your emails are displayed correctly across devices. Since most customers access emails on mobiles, ensure you use a mobile-friendly layout and scannable design.
Use readable font sizes — use 20-24 pixels for headings and 14-16 pixels for body content. Additionally, employ touch-friendly buttons and optimize images for faster loading times.
4. Avoid Email Clutter
As you bring all the email elements together, ensure they are properly spaced to avoid cluttering emails. For example, you can break texts into paragraphs and use white space and images in moderation to balance the style. Further, avoiding chain emails in this context is best to keep your email communication clean and presentable.
5. Use Consistent Branding
Consistent branding helps reinforce brand recognition and increase trust with recipients. Include your company logo in the header and footer of all email campaigns. To maintain consistency, use the same brand colors, typeface, visual elements, and footer information across emails.
6. Ensure Accessibility
Making your emails accessible ensures people with disabilities can access and understand your email content. Use descriptive Alt text for images, high contrast colors, descriptive links, and structured HTML.
7. Follow Email Marketing Regulations
Adhering to email marketing regulations helps you maintain sender reputation and trust with subscribers. Always obtain consent from subscribers and maintain clean email lists. Honor opt-out requests by adding an unsubscribe link in the footer of all your emails.
Campaign Refinery automatically includes the unsubscribe option in all emails clients send out.
8. Consider A/B Testing
A/B testing is a powerful tool for optimizing email format and content. You can split-test two or more email formats to understand which resonates with your audience. Start by identifying the variables, creating variations, and testing your emails.
If you still struggle to create a proper email format and get your emails to your intended recipients, we have good news for you!
Get Your Formatted Emails In Recipient Inboxes
Formatting emails ensures your messages are clear and easily understandable by your recipients. At Campaign Refinery, all emails are automatically formatted, which means you only need to focus on crafting your messages.
You can choose from a range of professional and customizable email templates to match your brand and messaging needs. You can also add custom fields to hyper-personalize emails, automate email sequences based on triggers, and use advanced tools to optimize email deliverability.
At Campaign Refinery, we are laser-focused on getting your emails delivered to your recipients —
clients notice a significant increase of up to 600% in email deliverability after using the platform.
You can achieve the same results by following our tried-and-tested strategies in the Inbox Formula for higher opens and clicks on your email marketing campaigns. You will also learn about the technical features of emails and ways to maintain sender reputation.
Craft inbox-ready and high-performing emails with confidence — join Campaign Refinery as a client today!
