How to Answer Emails Professionally (With Examples)

PEM 101 (Part 5): Examples of Responding to Emails Professionally

Emails are the major means for professional business communication. If written poorly, you can lose a major prospect. If written excellently, you will easily turn prospects to clients. Personally, I have noticed that the quality of my responses usually determine whether a client will hire my services or not and how much the client is willing to spend.

Basically, your answers to professional emails should be well thought-out and carefully crafted. In many instances, it is not advisable to reply emails instantly.

After reading a professional email, allow time for your mind to completely digest the email and come up with good responses.

In answering business emails, pay careful attention to the tone in your emails. This is normally reflected in the words you use to express yourself.

For example instead of saying,

Please send all the shipping documents for the next batch of drugs.

… it is more amiable to say,

Kindly send the shipping documents for the next batch of drugs

In addition, always make sure your emails are straight forward and clear. From the beginning of the email, state the most important information. Written information tends to generate more meaning than spoken words. So, avoid using unnecessary big words. Instead, focus on the information you want to pass in your replies and ensure the information is complete.

Different Ways to Answer Emails Professionally

There are different ways to respond to emails professionally, depending on your intention in the email. Email for acknowledging the receipt of an email is usually straight forward and direct, but most other replies require carefully crafted responses.

Basically, email replies usually follow the normal pattern of writing professional emails. You may have to begin with an acknowledgement of the last email before replying the questions in the email. Each question should be answered on a separate paragraph. This will help you cover all questions and also help your recipient easily grasp your answers. Very importantly, learn to always acknowledge the emails you receive if you cannot reply within 24 hours of receiving them. You can store templates for acknowledging emails professionally in your “canned responses” if you are using Gmail.

Writing Professional Email Responses – Examples

A simple letter of acknowledgement could read:

Dear Mr. Williams,

Thank you for inquiring about our new email marketing enterprise application. A team member will contact you tomorrow with a detailed explanation of the product that fits your business need.

Thanks again for your inquiry.

Sincerely,

James Burton

Here’s a more detailed letter of acknowledgement:

Dear Mr. Gate,

Thank you for your order of 25 DVDs. We will send them within the next 3 days.

Before we send them however, we need to know the type of package you prefer. Kindly visit your order page and select your preference. If you have any question, call us at +2348035290896. You will be promptly attended to by the customer service team.

Thanks again for your order. We look forward to your final instructions.

Sincerely,

James Noah

Here’s a professional response to email inquiries for Information

Dear Ms. Abike,

Thank you for inquiring about the email software advertised on my blog. Each of the listed software functions uniquely on different platforms. Before I recommend a particular one, I would like to know a bit more about you and your needs:

1. What kind of business do you handle? Are you self-employed , manager or a business owner?

2. Will you be using the software on a mobile device or computer? Is your computer a Mac or PC?

3. What kind of emails do you send most often? Are they replies to customer questions, business-to-business information or just emails for team members?

Once again, thank you for your interest in purchasing some of the email software advertised on my site. I hope you will find them suitable for your business needs.

Cordially,

Ayo

Here’s a professional email response to Request for Materials

Dear Mr. Kinkar,

Find attached the email marketing course you requested. As I said on my website, I’ll keep sending updated versions of the course from time to time. Ensure you carefully study the first chapter of the course. It will provide a solid base on which every other information in the course anchors.

I hope your email campaigns are already bringing good results. Let me know if I can be of assistance in any way possible.

Yours truly,

James Blunt

Recommended Text

If English is not your first language, this is an excellent resource for writing good business letters. For over a decade, How to Say It has retained its reputation for helping people write better letters. It offers guidelines for writing personal and business letters; and it will ultimately make you a better letter writer. With the clear instructions and several examples in this 3rd edition of How to Say It, you won’t ever write a bad letter again.

Find out more >>> How to Say It, Third Edition: Choice Words, Phrases, Sentences, and Paragraphs for Every Situation

Conclusion

Always maintain a cordial tone in your emails if you want favourable responses. Like I said earlier, allow some time to pass before replying professional email; that’s the best way to minimize mistakes.

Further Reading

• 9 Tips You Need to Write and Respond to Emails Professionally
• How to Contact Your Clients Effectively Using Business Emails
• 12 Rules of Writing Emails Professionally and Effectively
• 7 Critical Ingredients of Writing and Responding To Professional Emails
• How To Master Selling On The Internet: The 6 Irrefutable Principles Of Persuasion

Ayo Oyedotun is a professional blogger and freelance writer. He reads, writes and talks about business. You can follow him on Twitter
@Ayo_Oyedotun[http://twitter.com/#!/Ayo_Oyedotun]
or read Business Owners’ Bible[http://woculus.com/].