Email Craft

Parent: Writing and Documentation · researched 2026-05-29T19:11:01.815Z· 6 sources · 15 concepts · skill 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.

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]

1. The subject-line contract

Two-part structure: [Topic]: [Purpose]. The colon does the work. [source]
"Q3 forecast: need your number by Thu noon" [source]
"Onboarding doc: review request (10 min)" [source]
Prefixes: Action:, Decision needed:, FYI:, Question:, Reminder:, Intro:. Avoid Following up, Quick question. [source]
Length: 2-7 words wins. [source]

2. BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front

The first sentence states the conclusion, the ask, or the decision needed. [source]

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]
Test: can you summarize the ask in one sentence starting with a verb? "Please review X by Friday." [source]

4. To / Cc / Bcc: a deliberate decision

To: people who must act or reply. [source]
Cc: people who need to be informed but don't owe a reply. Use sparingly. [source]
Reply-all: default to No. Only when the answer materially changes what other recipients should do. [source]

5. The "would this fit in Slack" test

Anything you want a searchable, durable record of. [source]
External recipients. [source]
Long-form content (>3 paragraphs). [source]
Anyone whose Slack hours don't overlap yours. [source]

6. The "phone vs email" judgment

Pick up the phone when: [source]
The topic is emotional, sensitive, or carries firing/conflict/HR risk. [source]
You're on email round 3+ on the same thread without resolution. [source]
Tone-sensitive feedback, layoffs, performance, breakups. [source]

7. Follow-up cadence

Day 0: original email [source]
Day 3-4: polite nudge, reply on the same thread [source]
Day 7-10: third nudge, change channel [source]
Beyond: stop. The non-answer is the answer. [source]

9. Send-time decisions

Internal, ongoing relationship → send when drafted. [source]
External, senior, or first contact → schedule Tue-Thu 10am recipient-local. [source]
Drafted after 9pm → always schedule for 9am next workday. [source]

10. Signature hygiene

A good signature is 4 lines or fewer: [source]

The Five Cs of email — pre-send quality check

Clear. Can the reader understand the message on a single read? [source]
Concise. Is every sentence earning its place? [source]
Complete. Does the email contain everything the reader needs to act? [source]
Correct. Spelling, grammar, names, titles, numbers, dates, attachments. [source]
Courteous. Is the tone proportionate to the relationship and the stakes? [source]
The five things to never write: [source]
"Please be patient." [source]
"We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused." [source]
"Per my last email..." / "As I mentioned..." [source]
"Unfortunately..." [source]
"This is a known issue." (without immediately following it with a workaround) [source]

Anti-Patterns

The wall of text - five paragraphs, no whitespace, no BLUF. [source]
The hidden ask - buried in paragraph 4. [source]
Reply-all "thanks!" - multiplies inbox noise by N for zero value. [source]
The midnight send - signals burnout culture. Schedule for next morning. [source]
Bcc'ing the boss as surveillance - corrosive, almost always discovered. [source]

References

Harvard Business Review - 5 Tips for Writing Professional Emails (2022) [source]
The Essential Guide to Crafting a Work Email - HBR (2015) [source]

Children

Subject Line Discipline (frontier)
BLUF Opening (frontier)
One Ask Per Email (frontier)
Reply-All Etiquette (frontier)
Follow-Up Cadence (frontier)
Breakup Email (frontier)
Cold Outreach (Non-Sales) (frontier)
Intro Request and Double Opt-In (frontier)
Thank-You Notes (frontier)
Send-Time Decisions (frontier)
Phone vs Email Judgment (frontier)
Slack vs Email Test (frontier)
Signature Hygiene (frontier)
Attachment vs Link (frontier)
Email Tone and Register (frontier)

Frontier under this node: Attachment vs Link, BLUF Opening, Breakup Email, Cold Outreach (Non-Sales), Email Tone and Register, Follow-Up Cadence, Intro Request and Double Opt-In, One Ask Per Email, Phone vs Email Judgment, Reply-All Etiquette, Send-Time Decisions, Signature Hygiene, Slack vs Email Test, Subject Line Discipline, Thank-You Notes

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