Formal emails that deliver

The tone ought to be neutral and formal. If, for instance, you're writing a business to resolve a problem with its products the email shouldn't sound as if you're asking a buddy for a favor. Nor should it, as some e-mails do, start with an insult or a threat. It's fine to be sure of yourself, it's no problem if you need to be firm, but you can do that without screaming insults.

The next mistake comes from the fact that all of us write a lot of chatty emails. And we've gotten into the habit of typing quickly, ignoring misspelled words and grammar, using sentence fragments and generally writing notes that get so confusing a person may have to read through them a couple of times to figure out what's being said.

But those bad habits can carry over to times when you are writing a formal email. In many cases a formal email is being sent to someone who doesn't know you, has no idea if you're a nut case or an idiot. A poorly constructed email is the only way they have of judging you. So -- even if you need editing help from a spouse of a friend -- make sure that your email would make your eighth grade English teacher proud.

When it isn't possible to get editing help, there's a handy little trick used by most folks who write for a living. It may let you do a decent job as your own editor. Do your best to write a clear and letter perfect email to start. Then, instead of sending it, save it as a draft. In most email programs, if you try to close an email without sending it you'll be asked if you want to save it as a draft. Do that.

Let the email sit for a while -- if you can spare the time, leave it alone and unread for a day or so. If you don't have that much time, let a few hours pass. Then read it cold. Mistakes that you may have missed earlier will jump out at you. This is also a good time to check the tone of the email. It should sound as formal and correct -- and polite -- as an old-fashioned letter.

Once you've done your best with the email then run it through spell check. Some email programs have that ability and almost all major word processing programs do. One of the best I've seen comes as part of Microsoft Word. If you have that program just copy and paste the email you are writing into a blank Word document. That same program will also flag sentence fragments and some grammar problems. In fact, if you have Word, just use it when you compose the e-mail and, once done, paste the text into your email program.

Once you’ve followed these steps you should have a relatively error-free email. But that isn't enough to turn it into an effective email.

It's important to follow a formula when writing formal emails. This formula will help you create a formal email that gives you the best chance of a good result.

Here's how the formula goes in most basic form. You tell them what you want, you explain why you should get it and then you tell them what you want again. And you do all that in a direct and brief way. Let's walk through the process with a sample email. As an example, we'll assume your email is an application for a job. The same structure works fine for letters of complaint or for when you're trying to get a company to fix a problem you have.

OK. Let's create our sample email.

Start by saying -- in just a sentence -- the reason you are writing. In our example we can say this: "My 20 years of high-level and high-performing experience at major dealerships make me an excellent candidate for your job opening as advertising manager at your car dealership."

Now that you've said what you want, explain who you are and quickly offer any information that supports your case. For instance: "I directed advertising campaigns for three separate dealerships. In every case, those campaigns resulted in sales increases of between 30 and 40 percent, well above the industry average."

Then say what you would like to happen.

Advertising copywriters call this step the call to action. In the case of our job application letter, the formula produces something like this: "I would appreciate the chance to sit down with you for a job interview. I'm available any day and time that fits your schedule. I'll telephone you in a few days to see if we can arrange a day and a time."

You'll notice that the tone of the email is straightforward. Just as it is true that you don't want to sound like a jerk, you also fail if you try to sound like a buddy or overly chatty. The notion is to explain your case in a professional way, not to find a new fishing buddy.

Nowadays the world works by email. That's why it's important that your e-mails work.