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.
Core Concepts
1. The subject-line contract
Two-part structure: [Topic]: [Purpose]. The colon does the work.
- “Q3 forecast: need your number by Thu noon”
- “Onboarding doc: review request (10 min)”
Prefixes: Action:, Decision needed:, FYI:, Question:, Reminder:, Intro:. Avoid Following up, Quick question.
Length: 2-7 words wins.
2. BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front
The first sentence states the conclusion, the ask, or the decision needed.
Bad: "Hey, hope you're well. I've been thinking about the Q3 forecast..."
Good: "I need your Q3 forecast number by Thursday noon. Context below."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.
Test: can you summarize the ask in one sentence starting with a verb? “Please review X by Friday.”
4. To / Cc / Bcc: a deliberate decision
- To: people who must act or reply.
- Cc: people who need to be informed but don’t owe a reply. Use sparingly.
- Reply-all: default to No. Only when the answer materially changes what other recipients should do.
5. The “would this fit in Slack” test
Email is for:
- Anything you want a searchable, durable record of.
- External recipients.
- Long-form content (>3 paragraphs).
- Anyone whose Slack hours don’t overlap yours.
6. The “phone vs email” judgment
Pick up the phone when:
- The topic is emotional, sensitive, or carries firing/conflict/HR risk.
- You’re on email round 3+ on the same thread without resolution.
- Tone-sensitive feedback, layoffs, performance, breakups.
7. Follow-up cadence
- Day 0: original email
- Day 3-4: polite nudge, reply on the same thread
- Day 7-10: third nudge, change channel
- Beyond: stop. The non-answer is the answer.
8. The breakup email
Subject: Closing the loop on [topic]
Hi [name] — I haven't heard back on this, so I'll assume it's not a
priority right now and stop following up. If that changes, drop me a
line and I'll pick it back up. Thanks for considering it.9. Send-time decisions
- Internal, ongoing relationship → send when drafted.
- External, senior, or first contact → schedule Tue-Thu 10am recipient-local.
- Drafted after 9pm → always schedule for 9am next workday.
10. Signature hygiene
A good signature is 4 lines or fewer:
First Last
Title, Team
Company | Phone (if relevant)The Five Cs of email — pre-send quality check
- Clear. Can the reader understand the message on a single read?
- Concise. Is every sentence earning its place?
- Complete. Does the email contain everything the reader needs to act?
- Correct. Spelling, grammar, names, titles, numbers, dates, attachments.
- Courteous. Is the tone proportionate to the relationship and the stakes?
The five things to never write:
- “Please be patient.”
- “We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.”
- “Per my last email…” / “As I mentioned…”
- “Unfortunately…”
- “This is a known issue.” (without immediately following it with a workaround)
Templates
Template: action-required ask
Subject: [Topic]: [verb] needed by [date]
Hi [name],
I need [the specific thing] by [date/time]. Here's the context: [1-3
sentences max]. Reply with [the shape of the answer you need].
Thanks,
[name]Template: breakup / close-the-loop
Subject: Closing the loop on [topic]
Hi [name] — I haven't heard back, so I'll assume [topic] isn't a fit
right now and stop following up. If that changes, just drop me a
line. Appreciate you considering it.Anti-Patterns
- The wall of text — five paragraphs, no whitespace, no BLUF.
- The hidden ask — buried in paragraph 4.
- Reply-all “thanks!” — multiplies inbox noise by N for zero value.
- The midnight send — signals burnout culture. Schedule for next morning.
- Bcc’ing the boss as surveillance — corrosive, almost always discovered.