# Email Craft > General-purpose professional email writing. Optimized for the 90% of work email that isn't sales, isn't customer support, and isn't an exec announcement. Parent: [Writing and Documentation](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/writing-and-documentation/) · 17 facets · 59 facts · page: https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/ ## Email Craft - General-purpose professional email writing. Optimized for the 90% of work email that isn't sales, isn't customer support, and isn't an exec announcement. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#email-craft` ## 1. The subject-line contract - Two-part structure: [Topic]: [Purpose]. The colon does the work. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#1-the-subject-line-contract` - "Q3 forecast: need your number by Thu noon" — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#1-the-subject-line-contract` - "Onboarding doc: review request (10 min)" — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#1-the-subject-line-contract` - Prefixes: Action:, Decision needed:, FYI:, Question:, Reminder:, Intro:. Avoid Following up, Quick question. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#1-the-subject-line-contract` - Length: 2-7 words wins. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#1-the-subject-line-contract` ## 2. BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front - The first sentence states the conclusion, the ask, or the decision needed. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#2-bluf-bottom-line-up-front` ## 3. One ask per email - If the email has two asks, it has zero asks. Split into two emails, each with its own subject line. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#3-one-ask-per-email` - Test: can you summarize the ask in one sentence starting with a verb? "Please review X by Friday." — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#3-one-ask-per-email` ## 4. To / Cc / Bcc: a deliberate decision - To: people who must act or reply. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#4-to-cc-bcc-a-deliberate-decision` - Cc: people who need to be informed but don't owe a reply. Use sparingly. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#4-to-cc-bcc-a-deliberate-decision` - Reply-all: default to No. Only when the answer materially changes what other recipients should do. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#4-to-cc-bcc-a-deliberate-decision` ## 5. The "would this fit in Slack" test - Anything you want a searchable, durable record of. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#5-the-would-this-fit-in-slack-test` - Long-form content (>3 paragraphs). — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#5-the-would-this-fit-in-slack-test` - Anyone whose Slack hours don't overlap yours. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#5-the-would-this-fit-in-slack-test` ## 6. The "phone vs email" judgment - Pick up the phone when: — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#6-the-phone-vs-email-judgment` - The topic is emotional, sensitive, or carries firing/conflict/HR risk. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#6-the-phone-vs-email-judgment` - You're on email round 3+ on the same thread without resolution. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#6-the-phone-vs-email-judgment` - Tone-sensitive feedback, layoffs, performance, breakups. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#6-the-phone-vs-email-judgment` ## 7. Follow-up cadence - Day 0: original email — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#7-follow-up-cadence` - Day 3-4: polite nudge, reply on the same thread — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#7-follow-up-cadence` - Day 7-10: third nudge, change channel — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#7-follow-up-cadence` - Beyond: stop. The non-answer is the answer. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#7-follow-up-cadence` ## 9. Send-time decisions - Internal, ongoing relationship → send when drafted. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#9-send-time-decisions` - External, senior, or first contact → schedule Tue-Thu 10am recipient-local. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#9-send-time-decisions` - Drafted after 9pm → always schedule for 9am next workday. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#9-send-time-decisions` ## 10. Signature hygiene - A good signature is 4 lines or fewer: — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#10-signature-hygiene` ## The Five Cs of email — pre-send quality check - Clear. Can the reader understand the message on a single read? — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` - Concise. Is every sentence earning its place? — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` - Complete. Does the email contain everything the reader needs to act? — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` - Correct. Spelling, grammar, names, titles, numbers, dates, attachments. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` - Courteous. Is the tone proportionate to the relationship and the stakes? — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` - The five things to never write: — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` - "We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` - "Per my last email..." / "As I mentioned..." — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` - "This is a known issue." (without immediately following it with a workaround) — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#the-five-cs-of-email-pre-send-quality-check` ## Anti-Patterns - The wall of text - five paragraphs, no whitespace, no BLUF. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#anti-patterns` - The hidden ask - buried in paragraph 4. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#anti-patterns` - Reply-all "thanks!" - multiplies inbox noise by N for zero value. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#anti-patterns` - The midnight send - signals burnout culture. Schedule for next morning. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#anti-patterns` - Bcc'ing the boss as surveillance - corrosive, almost always discovered. — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#anti-patterns` ## References - Harvard Business Review - 5 Tips for Writing Professional Emails (2022) — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#references` - The Essential Guide to Crafting a Work Email - HBR (2015) — source: `https://llms-explorer.com/sources/mdb-context-hub/email-craft/#references` ## Where this helps - Writing routine work email that needs to be read and acted on quickly — status updates, requests, scheduling — the 90% of email that isn't sales, support, or an exec announcement. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Deciding whether a message belongs in email at all versus Slack or a phone call, using the 'would this fit in Slack' and 'phone vs email' judgment calls. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - An email keeps accumulating asks and Cc'd people because nobody applied the one-ask-per-email and deliberate-Cc discipline before sending. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - A recipient needs to be able to triage the message from the subject line alone before opening it — the subject-line contract exists for exactly this. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## How to apply this - Write the subject line as [Topic]: [Purpose] so the recipient can triage from the inbox list without opening the message. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Open with BLUF — state the conclusion, the ask, or the decision needed in the first sentence, then support it below. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Run the one-ask-per-email test before sending: can the ask be summarized in one sentence starting with a verb? If there are two asks, split into two emails. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Run the Five Cs pre-send quality check as a final pass before hitting send, rather than relying on a single read-through. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## Common mistakes - Burying the ask in the third paragraph instead of leading with it — this is the single most common failure the BLUF principle exists to prevent. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Defaulting to reply-all when the answer doesn't materially change what other recipients should do, which trains people to skim or ignore future threads. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Stacking multiple unrelated asks into one email, which reliably produces zero completed asks instead of one. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Sending as email content that would resolve faster as a two-line Slack message or a two-minute call — the channel choice itself is often the actual mistake. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* ## Known issues - The guidance targets the 90% case of routine work email; it explicitly does not cover sales email, customer support replies, or exec-wide announcements, which have their own conventions. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - The 'would this fit in Slack' test depends on team culture — some orgs treat Slack as the durable record and email as ephemeral, which inverts the test's assumptions. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Subject-line discipline only helps if the sender maintains it consistently; a single vague subject line in an otherwise well-run thread still breaks triageability. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)* - Follow-up cadence guidance assumes a responsive recipient in a similar working rhythm; it needs adjustment across time zones or asynchronous-first teams. — [source](https://llms-explorer.com/tree/email-craft/) *(AI-suggested, synthesized from this pack's existing facts — not extracted from a source document.)*