Communication between people is natural and vital important process. Once upon a time the epistolary genre was the only in an accessible way communication between people located at a distance from each other.

Postal service has existed since the days ancient Rome, if not sooner. People corresponded. In literature, even novels and stories in letters are known.

Modern advances in technology offer new and better ways to communicate.

At the same time, mail correspondence is saved. This is an old but reliable way of communication that has its own unique qualities. The modern format of postal correspondence is electronic mail, otherwise E-mail.

E-mail, unlike regular mail, allows recipients to communicate almost instantly. I pressed the “Send” button (letter), and after a few seconds the recipient sees this letter in his mail, in the “Inbox” folder.

Becoming accessible and widespread among users, email inherent certain rules conducting correspondence. Such rules allow you to organize and conduct correspondence within the framework of accepted cultural and business norms. The set of systematized rules for “e-mail” correspondence is called the unspoken “E-mail Etiquette”.

Etiquette of electronic correspondence includes features of design, composition of letters, as well as principles of communication between recipients. First, let's announce the entire list of rules:

Rule 5. Fill in the recipient's mailing address last.

Rule 7. The text of the letter must meet certain requirements.

And now more about each of the ten rules.

Rule 1. Fill out all fields in the email.

For clarity, we use (Fig. 1), which shows what a new letter looks like in Yandex mail (after clicking on the “Write” button):

Rice. 1 Email Etiquette Basics

In almost all postal services(Yandex mail, Mail ru, Google, Rambler, etc.) the email contains the following information:

1. Postal address (e-mail) and sender's name (possibly also a surname) - number 1 in Fig. 1.
2. The mailing address (e-mail) of the recipient of the letter is number 2 in Fig. 1.
3. The subject (title, title) of the letter is number 3 in Fig. 1.
4. Contents of the letter (number 4 in Fig. 1), which includes:
   • greetings,
   • main text,
   • conclusion,
   • signature.
5. Attachment to the letter (attached files or attached files) – number 5 in Fig. 1.

All listed items are required to be completed, except for the last one (number 5 in Fig. 1) – attachments to the letter. If you do not need to attach any files to the letter that explain the text of the letter, then you can forget about this point.

Rule 2: The mailing address and name of the sender must be clear.

Correspondence involves two parties, so attention should be paid to personal data. Personal data must be understandable and, as complete as possible, so as not to cause misunderstanding, wariness and mystery among the addressee.

The most trustworthy postal address is one that contains your first and last name, for example, [email protected].

If the sender has a blog, then it will be useful to indicate an address with the website domain, for example, info@site. The fact is that by going to the site (site) indicated after the @ sign, you can learn a lot about the author of the site from the materials presented on it.

If the postal address is of the form [email protected], then not every recipient of a letter from such an addressee will decide to open this letter. What if there is a virus that blocks the computer, or spam that, after opening such a letter, will flow in an endless stream?

Rule 3. The subject (title, title) of the letter must always be indicated.

The header of the letter is the only thing that the recipient of the letter sees when it arrives to him. Very often, the title of the letter determines its future fate:

• the recipient will open it
• or delete it without looking.

Therefore, letter headings should be treated with special reverence (that is, with reverence).

Options for the fate of the received letter depending on its title:

• the letter will not be noticed among a heap of other letters,
• they will consider it useless and therefore will not even open it,
• without hesitation, they will immediately send it to the “ ” or “Deleted Items” folder,
• read partially or completely,
• perhaps they will even answer.

The title of the letter is the key to getting the recipient interested in opening the letter, or rather, “hooking” it, attracting attention. This is especially important if you are writing a letter to someone for the first time. To paraphrase the words from the book “The Adventures of Captain Vrungel” (“whatever you name the ship, so it will sail”), we can say that “whatever you name the letter, that’s how it will reach” the recipient.

Thus, the title of the letter should be short (no more than 50 characters), interesting and to the point (express the essence of the letter).

Moreover, during the correspondence, if the recipient of the letter responds to the author, the header of the letter should not change. It also should not change during repeated correspondence, when the letter is sent many times in one direction or the other.

If during the correspondence the topic of discussion changes, then it makes sense to change the subject of the letter or, perhaps, create a new letter with a new topic for further correspondence.

Rule 4. When replying to any letter, think about whether you need to change the subject of the letter.

In the vast majority of cases, there is NO need to change the subject of the letter; I will explain the reasons below. But, as you know, there are some exceptions to the rules. However, first things first.

How to write a letter response

Many novice users answer the letter incorrectly, namely, having received the letter, they read it and click on the “Write” button to respond. This is fundamentally wrong.

When replying to a letter, you should click on the “Reply” button in order to understand where you started the correspondence and where you came to. To do this:

• You need to open the letter. In this case, the “Reply” button will appear above or below the open letter (number 1 in Fig. 2).
• Click on “Reply”.
• “Re: …” will automatically appear in the subject (header) of the letter (number 2 in Fig. 2). The letters “Re” are a sign that this is a response to a letter.
• Write your answer at the beginning of the letter so that the answer comes first, and below is the text of the previous letter.

Rice. 2 How to write a response letter

In many services technical support When emailing about any problem, they ask you to click on the “Reply” button. And at the same time, do not change anything in the correspondence in previous letters. More precisely, any technical support asks to “save the citation when answering.” Because it’s easier to understand where we started to solve the problem and what we came to.

Many novice users cannot find the previous letter, or for some other reason they often DO NOT respond (that is, they do not use the “Reply” button), but write a new letter (click on the “Write” or “Create” button). Receiving a new letter every time, it can be difficult for the recipient of a new letter to remember “from scratch” all the details of the previous letter, which makes correspondence very difficult.

And professional technical support may not respond to incorrectly formatted letters at all.

Note that “Re:” is an abbreviation for the English “Reply:” or “Response:”, which translates as “My response to:”. If the subject of the letter has changed, you should delete this “Re:” and write new topic letters reflecting the essence of the new turn of events.

Rule 5. Fill in the recipient's mailing address (To) last.

The “To” field is best filled in last, after the letter has been written and checked. This will allow you to avoid frequently recurring mistakes when the sender of a letter sends it to the recipient unfinished, accidentally clicking on the “Reply” button.

And if you click on the “Reply” button, then before clicking, check first of all whether you are sending the letter to the right addressee. It can be very frustrating when a letter, especially if it contains personal or confidential information, is sent to the wrong place where you intended to send it.

Rule 6. Save the text of the letter in a separate file before sending the letter.

Unfortunately, this rule is remembered only when

• There was an unexpected failure when sending a letter,
• or when a letter is asked to be sent again because it was not received for some reason.

When sending important emails with a "wall of text" typed by hand rather than copied from somewhere, this is very good rule. It makes life a lot easier.

Rule 7. The text of the letter must meet the following requirements:

1) The text of the letter must contain a greeting.

At a minimum, “Hello.” or “Good day.” If you know the name, then “Dear Name (possibly Patronymic).” The greeting “Good day” is often used when communicating on the Internet instead of “ Good morning", "Good afternoon" or "Good evening". This is due to the fact that the sender of an email can never know exactly when his email will be opened by the recipient. The sender and recipient may be located in different parts of the Earth, in different time zones. And the sender never knows exactly when the recipient will open and read his letter.

2) The text of the letter must be correct and free of errors.

For some reason it’s not given of great importance literacy Errors can be found on the official websites of serious companies, not to mention letters, which are sometimes difficult to understand not only individual words, but also entire phrases, they can be formulated so illiterately and with errors. It's important to remember that poor writing is bad culture and has no place on the Internet.

3) The text of the letter must be clear in content.

The sender always knows what he is writing about, but the recipient can only understand this from the text of the letter. The sender does not always write about his problem in a way that is understandable to the recipient. Letters that are unclear in content can only cause irritation and frustration in the recipient, since he spent time reading the letter, but did not understand what the sender wanted to tell him.

4) The text of the letter should cover the scope of one topic.

If the sender has something to say to the recipient different topics, then it is better to send one letter on each topic. This will make it easier for the recipient to perceive the information and allow him to give you an accurate and comprehensive answer.

5) The text of the letter must be structured in terms of content and external perception.

Structured text is easy to read. And it is perceived as intended by the author of the letter. An unstructured text with leaps of thought, with a predominance of emotions rather than facts, with incomprehensible connections, etc. may be perceived by the recipient of the letter in a completely different way than the sender intended. As a result, communication by email will not work. It will not take place at all, or you will need a telephone, Skype and other means of communication.

6) The text of the letter must have optimal size.

Very short letters of 5-7 words are, of course, pleasant to read, but you need to be understood by a very talented writer in order to put the main idea into these words. It is better for an inexperienced letter writer to write more in order to convey the information or information sent to the addressee as accurately as possible.

At the same time, an excessively long letter, replete with repetitions, additional explanations, unnecessary off-topic information, etc., is perceived by the recipient as a “wall of text,” tires him and causes a negative reaction. Everything needs moderation;

7) The font of the letter text must be a common type that will be displayed in all mail services.

Fans of exotic fonts, for example, those resembling handwritten text with a quill pen, should remember that the recipient may end up with unreadable gobbledygook instead of the text of the letter. Exotic lovers should ensure that the exotic font they use is sent in the letter along with the text.

8) The font size in the text of the letter should be uniform.

You can write any minor notes in small font; everything else should be done in the same font size. Some email services generally use a single universal font. This should always be remembered, since all the sender’s efforts to decorate the text with fonts different sizes Ultimately, the recipient will see the text as monotonous. So is it necessary to try so hard?

9) In the text of the letter, you should not abuse the use of capital letters.

It is difficult to read letters where all the letters are small, even at the beginning of a sentence, or vice versa, where all the letters are CAPITAL. Remember that a LETTER WRITTEN WITH Caps Lock ON AND CONSISTING OF CAPITAL LETTERS IS PERCEIVED ON THE INTERNET as A SCREAM and means only a scream and nothing else.

10) The tone of the letter should in no case be aggressive or irritable.

The text of the letter should not contain curses or insults. It is best to write a letter when you are in a balanced and reasonable state. Light playfulness and appropriate humor are welcome if the recipient supports a similar tone of communication and is able to appreciate it.

11) At the end you should always leave a signature (first name, last name, nickname, position for business letters) with possible wishes to the interlocutor.

Wishes include: With respect, With gratitude, etc.

Rule 8: Emails must be answered.

It is always customary to respond to a letter, so you need to find the time and opportunity to pay mutual attention and respect to the senders.

Email does not tolerate stagnation. Working with email largely depends on the discipline and organization of the recipient. This involves regularly monitoring your mailbox, familiarization with incoming correspondence, its study, systematization and preparation of responses.

One of important points is a timely sent response, which in itself speaks about the recipient with positive side and characterizes his degree of responsibility and interest.

Email is not the usual paper mail with postmen, cars, planes, trains. Emails are delivered in seconds, and senders expect a quick response. In electronic communication, a completely different pace is adopted; one might say that it is “here and now.” Lateness in time may lead to the loss of relevance of the topic under discussion.

Rule 9: Do not send confidential information by email.

Unfortunately, email can be hacked and intercepted. And then the passwords and numbers written down in the emails bank cards, PIN codes, etc. may become accessible to unauthorized persons who can use them for personal gain. Therefore, such information should not be trusted by email.

Rule 10. Do not publish information from personal letters without the consent of their senders.

By respecting other people's confidential information, you respect both yourself and your right to privacy.

Communication via email without mutual visual and auditory contact requires adherence to the rules of etiquette, which in turn contribute to the establishment of competent and cultural dialogue between people.

In one of his letters, Antoine Saint-Exupery noted:

“Look for me in what I write.”

This is very apt expression, including the above-mentioned principles of email etiquette.

In principle, questions about how and by what means can be created and sent should not arise. However, not everyone is ready to immediately begin this task when it comes to official letters, especially when the author of the letter expects to receive a response. I'll open it for you little secret business correspondence, the stricter the nature and style of the letter, the greater the chance of a response from the recipient. In this lesson, I will provide several sample emails that should help users decide on their own style and subsequently compose messages in the most competent way.

First, we need to decide what nature the letter we are creating will be. I divide all outgoing emails into three main types:

• Business proposal
• Business inquiry
• Friendly address

Accordingly, for all three types I have templates, both in the form of simple text files and in the form of templates tailored for specific email programs. Let's move on to each of them in order.

Business proposal

Hello (Good afternoon), [name of the person being addressed]!

It is advisable to indicate the name in any letter when communicating, because a personal address puts a person in a friendly mood. However, if you still can’t find out the name, a template greeting will suffice.

Let me present to your attention new service(new product) from our company [company name].

Let me offer cooperation in the field of [name of field of activity].

Next, briefly describe the advantages of your proposal in terms of price or some quality characteristics. The main thing is not to overdo it. Megabytes of text, and even supplemented with bright, meaningless pictures, only scare people away. If the recipient of the letter is interested in your offer from the first lines, he will definitely contact you for additional information.

If you are seriously interested in the right people contacted you the first time you contacted us, it makes sense to think about accessibility not only by email. It would be a good idea to create accounts in services such as ICQ andSkype. Sometimes it is much easier for a person to contact you by regular phone, if, of course, you thoughtfully left the number in your signature.

Why do you need to duplicate your own e-mail address in the signature, you ask, if it is automatically forwarded by the mail server. The rule here is that excessive information in business correspondence is never unnecessary. Let’s imagine a situation where your letter is received by a person who is potentially not interested in the offer, or who is simply not competent to respond to it correctly. It forwards the received message to another user, but for some reason, information about the true sender is lost from the automatically added data, which makes it difficult to contact you. However, it will always be enough to look at the signature to determine the author of the letter and his necessary contacts.

Business inquiry

Hello (Good afternoon)!

Or, if the addressee's name is known, then (Dear, [Name, Patronymic])!

Please provide information about the product (service) [name of product/service] with a description full specifications and competitive qualities.

Based on Federal Law RF [document number and date], please provide information [describe the data necessary to obtain].

You can also contact the management of a particular service on the Internet if your rights are violated.

In connection with the violation of clause [clause number in the user agreement] of the user agreement, namely: “[quote full text named point]”, I ask you to conduct an investigation and take appropriate sanctions against the culprit [responsible (if we're talking about about service employees)] persons [site (name of site)]. Please report the results of the inspection and the sanctions imposed to [your own email address].

Friendly address

Greetings (Good day) (Hello), [person's name]!

When you first contact us in a friendly manner, a good indicator will be the completeness of your text message. A correctly written, voluminous text will indicate your high interest in contacting the right person and will arouse a desire for a response. Don't forget to open up the conversation with a few initial questions.

Example email

Conducting correspondence by email is an integral part of the daily business practice of a modern secretary. The ability to persuade while remaining polite and correct are skills that need to be developed and honed. A poorly written and illiterate letter can put an end to your career and irrevocably damage your business reputation. In this article you will find a set of simple and effective rules conducting business correspondence by email, which will help you prove your professionalism and successfully achieve your goals.

From the article you will learn:

Business correspondence by email: rules and examples

Rule 1:

work email is used only for official correspondence

This remark applies not so much to business letter etiquette, how much to business ethics and maintaining your reputation. Always remember that all letters that you send from your work computer are saved on the server, and your manager can review them if desired.

Rule 2:

The rule is to determine the circle of recipients of your message

If you are writing a letter to a manager, then there should be one addressee - the manager; if you are writing to colleagues or subordinates, then there may be several addressees. They are entered separated by commas in the “To” field, all interested parties - in the “Copy” field. These may be third parties mentioned in the text of the message. Try not to send unnecessary copies, especially to management. Subservience and the desire to please will not decorate you. Having “hidden copies” of the letter will do you even worse. You will be known as an intriguer.

Rule 3:

the purpose of the letter should be transparent to both you and the addressee

Clearly formulate the purpose of your message: what actions do you expect the reader of the message to take? What reaction should follow? This goal should be transparent not only to you, but also to the recipient.

The purpose of the message will determine the form and grammar of the narrative:

• expressing your opinion and your assessment of the situation involves the use of 1 person (“I” and “we”);
• a request, an instruction, a call to action involves the use of 2 persons (“you” and “you”);
• reporting events from the point of view of an outside observer involves the use of the third person (“he” or “they”).

Rule 4:

do not leave the “subject” field empty

Most users begin their acquaintance with by email from studying the “topic” field. Sometimes this is where it ends. To prevent your message from being deleted before being read, strive to keep the topic as specific, informative and brief as possible. Vague topics like “Request for information”, “from Moscow”, “revised version” are not acceptable. Examples of successful topics:

“List of team members for the Mathematics Olympiad in Moscow”

“List of faulty equipment of the eighth workshop dated 06/01/17”

"Projection Equipment Market Research 2017"

If you are replying to a message, the “Re” symbol will appear in the “subject” field; it is recommended to delete it.

Rule 5:

stick to traditional message structure

The structure of the letter is simple and clear, but each element in it is required:

1. Greetings and address;
2. Main unit;
3. Summary block;
4. Signature
5. Contact information.

Rule 6:

greeting and address are the key to mutual understanding

Never use the expression “Good day” as a greeting. This is bad form. Use universal “Hello!” or “Good afternoon!” An official letter can begin immediately with the address “Dear (first and patronymic)” or “Dear Mr. (last name).” Which option is preferable - first name, patronymic or last name? The rule here is this: if you are just establishing contact and writing a message to the addressee for the first time, then it is appropriate to address him by his last name; when contact has been established and you are writing a message for the second time, address him by his first name and patronymic.

If the message has several addressees, then a suitable option would be “Dear Sirs” or “Dear Colleagues” if you are addressing representatives of a profession close to you. At the end of the address, you can put an exclamation mark or a comma, and start the text itself from a new paragraph, with a lowercase letter. Which option should I choose? In an official letter or message to which you attach great importance, put an exclamation point, and in a simple work message, put a comma.

Rule 7:

brevity is the main advantage of electronic correspondence

“Maximum meaning – minimum words” is the golden motto of business correspondence.

The statement of thoughts should be:

• specific;
• consistent;
• concise;
• understandable.

Write in short sentences– it’s easier for you and it’s clearer for the recipient. Break your text into paragraphs so it's easier to skim and find the information you need.

Another tip: one topic - one message. If you want to consider several unrelated issues, cover several different ideas, then devote a separate text to each topic. Of course, the “Topic” field should contain this idea or question in a short form.

In case of long-term correspondence, you can limit yourself to the words “With respect” and your first and last name.

Rule 14:

try not to use postscript

The use of a postscript is permissible in one case - if at the time of writing the letter something happened important event that is directly related to the addressee.

Example: P.S. The plane tickets were delivered an hour ago.

Rule 15:

use read receipts as intended

The purpose of this notification is that the recipient is expected to perform some action. It is used only for external recipients.

Rule 16:

Don't overuse the "high importance" flag

Remember Leo Tolstoy's parable about a boy who loved to shout “Wolves!” as a joke? Everyone was so accustomed to his jokes that when the wolves actually attacked him, no one reacted to his screams.
When you need to really indicate the importance of the letter, all the necessary flags will already be used.

Rule 17:

double-check all data, numbers and names

Make it a rule - be sure to re-read it again before sending it. letter, check all the numbers, clarify last names and initials. One small mistake could cost you your place.

Rule 18:

reply to the letter immediately

If for some reason you cannot answer immediately - for example, you do not have all the information or are simply not ready, simply write that the letter has been received and you will respond later. Otherwise, the recipient will not be sure that the letter was received or was not deleted by mistake.

(electronic correspondence)

Letter of offer of cooperation

Subject: Proposal for cooperation.
Data: 05.20.0216
From: [email protected]
To: [email protected]

Chairman of the Board
Union of Manufacturers alcoholic products
Dobrov D.E.

Dear Dmitry Evgenievich!

The Union of Alcohol Producers (UPAP) is the leading association of industry leaders in the domestic alcohol industry. The active work carried out by your organization in relation to the creation of a civilized market for alcoholic and liquor products in the Russian Federation commands respect.

Of course, concern for the quality and safety of manufactured products is one of the priorities of SPAP, and its participants are conscientious manufacturers who pay great attention to these aspects.

AIG is one of the world's largest insurance institutions. International company has been in the insurance market for 90 years and has offices in 160 countries. Russian division The company has been operating for more than 15 years.

Cooperation with food and beverage manufacturers is a priority for our company. Guided by many years international experience AIG in Russia has developed a unique insurance program for alcohol industry enterprises (product liability insurance and product recalls from the market).

We believe that this program is of potential interest for SPAP participants, because A product such as alcohol requires a special approach to the quality of raw materials, packaging and safety for the consumer.

Based on the above, we approach you with an invitation to discuss the potential for cooperation in this area.

We will be grateful for your professional assessment of such cooperation and ask you to establish a procedure for further interaction between our companies. We are ready to consider any of your proposals on the format of joint work.

Sincerely,

Andreev Pavel

Vice President of AIG
Tel.: 8-495-xxx-xx-xx
8-915-xxx-xx-xx
[email protected]

Letter of invitation

Subject: Invitation to the seminar
Data: 06/25/2016
From: Anna Simonova
To: xxx-xxx-xxx

Dear Partners,

March 17, 2016 We invite you to join the seminar on building international insurance programs, which will be held especially for AIG partners Mark Goldenberg- Regional Advisor for AIG International Insurance Programs.

Mark comes to Russia specifically to conduct a series of training events, as he has the most extensive experience in insuring multinational companies.

Considering the current experience in offering international programs for Russian clients with an international presence, I am sure that this seminar will be very interesting and will answer many questions in this area.

I am enclosing the invitation and the seminar program.

I ask you to forward this invitation to colleagues who would be interested in this topic.

Registration is carried out by replying to this letter. Participation is free, the number of places is limited.

Address of the seminar: Russia, 125315, Moscow, Leningradsky Prospekt, 72, building 2, floor 3

We will be glad to see you!

Sincerely,

Anna Simonova

Head of training programs
AIG
Tel.: 495-777-11-11
8-916-777-45-56
[email protected]

Letter of request to organize a meeting

Subject: Organizing a meeting with Elena Firsova
Data: 06/25/2016
From: Cherkesov Ilya
To: Ivanova Galina

Dear Galina Nikolaevna!

If your offer is valid, next week (from June 6 to June 10) I could come at any time convenient for Elena Petrovna.

I will be very grateful if you inform me of Ms. Firsova’s decision.

Sincerely,

Vadim Tatarenko

AIG company manager

[email protected]

Letter requesting contact

Subject: Elena Firsova's phone number
Data: 06/25/2016
From: Cherkesov Ilya
To: Ivanova Galina

Dear Galina Nikolaevna!

Thank you again for the meeting and constructive conversation.

I would be very grateful if you send it to specified address or notify us by phone.

Thanks in advance!

Sincerely,

Vadim Tatarenko

AIG Company Manager
Tel.: 495-777-11-11; 8-916-777-45-56
[email protected]

Letter of response to an aggressive letter from a client

Aggressive letter from the client:

Subject: You were absolutely crazy!
Data: 02/20/2016
From: Petrov Andrey
To: [email protected]

How can I get back the money I paid for your damn service. I'd rather spend it on something else than your pornographic system. Use your damn servis.tutu.net yourself.

Andrey Petrov

Reply to an aggressive client letter

Subject: About a refund and resolution of the issue! Data: 02/20/2016 From: [email protected] To: Petrov Andrey	OPERATING ALGORITHM WITH A LETTER OF REFUSAL
Hello, Andrey!
If I understand you correctly, you are dissatisfied with the work of our service and you would like to get your money back.	2. Clarifying with the addressee our understanding of the request/claim/question. This is especially necessary if the addressee’s letter is chaotic and makes it difficult to understand the essence of the problem.
I'll let you know how this can be done. According to clause 2.4. Agreement, if you do not plan to use our service in the future, we can return it to you cash. To do this, please send me an official application (form attached). Once we receive it, we will initiate the return procedure. In general, it will last no more than three days. If anything from my answer requires additional clarification, please write or call - I will definitely answer you.	3. Provide the addressee with very clear and complete information on the issue that interests him.
Andrey, just like you, I am uncomfortable with the situation, as a result of which you are ready to stop interacting with us. I think both we and you are the losers in this case: we lose the client, and you lose the opportunity to use our service (I assure you, the service is quite convenient and effective!). If you are ready to take the time to sort out the situation, write to me what happened that you require a refund. We will understand the reasons and help you make using our services as comfortable and effective as possible for you.	4. Comments and emotional aspect.
P.S. The only request: let's communicate within the framework of normative vocabulary.	5. Using a postscript, express your attitude towards the addressee’s use of incorrect writing style.
Sincerely, Elena Ivashchenko Customer Service Manager CJSC "Service-standard" Tel.: 8-999-111-22-33

A cliché for expressing a request not to use profanity in correspondence:
Please try not to use inappropriate language. It does not contribute to a constructive solution to the issue.
We inform you that we reserve the right not to respond to letters containing vulgar or crude language addressed to the company or its personnel.

Letter of refusal

Client letter

Good afternoon, Andrey!

I am writing to you with a formal request.

Our company supplies industrial equipment, as well as spare parts to enterprises food industry. Since 2010 we have been your regular customers.

We thank you in advance for your understanding and support!

Sincerely,

Marketing Director

CJSC "Pishcheprom"

Roman Petrenko

Tel.: 495-777-77-77
8-905- 777-89-45
[email protected]

Sample 1. Letter of refusal to a client's request

	OPERATING ALGORITHM WITH A LETTER OF REFUSAL
Dear Roman Petrovich!	1. Calling by name is a sign of attention to the interlocutor. Helps avoid facelessness.
We express our sincere gratitude to you for your long-term cooperation with our company.	2. Thank you for working with the company (or just for the letter).
Currently your company's discount is 10%. Over the past 12 months, your company has ordered services for... rubles The next discount threshold is…. rubles A 15% discount will apply from it. When you reach this threshold, your discount will increase automatically.	3. State specific reasons that prevent you from granting the request (use a story this issue, numbers, deadlines, procedures).
If you decide to use the deferred payment service, please contact Irina Mikhailova (tel.: 495-777-89-21; [email protected] ).	4. Express your understanding that the subject of the request is really important. 5. Suggest an alternative solution if possible.
	6. Express your hope for continued partnerships.
Sincerely, Andrey Ivanov

⁠ ⁠ ⁠ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample 2

Subject: About termination of cooperation
Data: 03/20/2016
From: [email protected]
To: Petrenko Ivan

Dear Ivan Nikolaevich!

We were glad to cooperate with your company for 7 years. Always satisfied us good level service and product quality. However, for last year a number of incidents occurred, such as: regular violation of delivery deadlines, unsatisfactory quality of goods, incorrect attitude of your company’s employees to these situations. As a result of all this, our interaction has reached a dead end.

In this regard, we, unfortunately, are forced to terminate cooperation with you upon expiration of the contract. Thanks for the years of service.

Sincerely,

Director
LLC "Makulatura"

Malakhov Gennady Viktorovich
Tel.: 8-945-xxx-xx-xx
[email protected]

⁠ ⁠ ⁠ _____________________________________________________________________________________________

Sample 3

Subject: Refusal to pay compensation
Data: 06/20/2015
From: aig.ru
To: Evgeniy Knysh

Dear Evgeniy!

Thank you for your long-term cooperation with our company!

To our regret, we are forced to refuse to pay you the required compensation in the amount of... rubles.

On at the moment The company has established a different procedure for making decisions on insurance compensation, which you have been notified about repeatedly.
(See attached for a copy of this alert.)

In addition, you specified in statement of claim claims No. 4-6 are not insurable, since clauses 12.1-12.2 of the Agreement were violated.

We understand your situation well and, if you want to avoid similar precedents in the future, we offer to conclude an additional agreement with our company that allows you to compensate for losses associated with business risks similar to yours. (See additional agreement in the attachment)

We hope for your understanding and continued cooperation!

Sincerely,

AIG Manager

Tuchkov Vladimir
Tel.: 8-495-xxx-xx-xx
8-903-xxx-xx-xx
[email protected]

Letter of response to a justified complaint

Subject: Response to the complaint.
Data: 05/12/2016
From: [email protected]
To: Anna Kolesnikova

Dear Anna!

On behalf of the entire team of our factory, I would like to express my sincere regrets and apologize for the current situation.

Our factory has been working stably and efficiently in the clothing sewing and repair market for many years.

Your situation relates to rare cases, which are to blame for the so-called human factor.

We conducted an investigation, and those responsible for violating deadlines and rudeness were punished. According to the order of the factory dated April 13, 2016 No. 78/2, shift foreman V.V. Volkova was reprimanded, cutter A.P. Gusev was transferred as a tailor to the team for sewing men's outerwear.

The administration has taken urgent measures to fulfill your order. He'll be ready 15.05.2016. At any time convenient for you, the courier will deliver it to the address you specified.

Believe me, we are just as unhappy with the current situation as you are!

There is nowhere in business without business correspondence, regardless of whether you write on behalf of a company, or on behalf of yourself as a private entrepreneur. Or rather, how you follow its rules. Your potential business partners or clients will largely judge you by how you communicate with them. Business letter– this, one might say, is the “face” of a businessman. And in order not to lose it, it is important to know about the golden rules of communication in this format.

Rules for business correspondence by email

Since e-mail is now used much more often than regular mail, we decided to pay attention to how to properly conduct business correspondence online. Here are a few recommendations that, if followed, will prevent you from losing face in front of your interlocutor.

Mailbox name

The first thing that catches our eye when we open a new message is the address from which it was sent. Many people underestimate the importance of this point and send business letters from personal email accounts. There's nothing wrong with this as long as the email address only contains your name in a human-readable format. But if there are various nicknames like “kissa1988” or “pupsik-26”, then sending a message from such a mailbox is simply unacceptable. Imagine what emotions a person will have when he receives a business proposal from a “babe” or “sweetie”.

Also, postal addresses that begin with info@, inbox@ and the like are not welcome in business correspondence. They simply aren't taken seriously, and there's a good chance the email won't even be opened. Most best option– is to conduct business correspondence from a mailbox [email protected], where name is your first and last name, company is the name of the company.

Recipients

In email correspondence, it is possible to send a letter to a direct addressee and copy other recipients. Recipients in the copy of the message are not expected to respond to it. They are like invited observers. Therefore, before sending, determine in advance who exactly you want to receive an answer from and arrange the recipients correctly. However, if possible, do not list multiple people as direct recipients of your email. A situation may happen that none of them will answer you if everyone mentally decides to “shift” this responsibility to another addressee.

If you yourself find yourself in a copy of a business letter, then, as you already understand, the sender is not waiting for your response. But if there is a need to respond specifically to you, then you can do this, but it would be polite to apologize at the beginning of the message for “interfering.”

Formatting a letter

Official business style. In business correspondence, naturally, it is used official style. It lacks adjectives, unnecessary qualifications and details. Only specifics, clarity and logic. After writing a business message, it is useful to read it again and remove all phrases that do not carry any special meaning and do not change the essence of what is being stated. Only when you are sure that all such words and phrases have been removed, then you can say that this rule of writing a business letter has been followed.

Literacy. Saying that it is important to write a message correctly and without errors is the same as saying “a snowman must be made of snow.” However, this rule cannot be ignored. Literacy is the basis of any correspondence. A person writing a business letter with spelling errors is unlikely to be taken seriously by anyone.

Subject of the letter. It is a must to write it. Try to make it short but succinct, so that the recipient can immediately understand at one glance what the letter will be about. The topic should not consist of one word. “Information”, “Question”, etc. – incorrect business letter topics. " Trade offer from company X" - correct topic. If the information in your letter is especially important, then you can mark it with a special “importance” flag, which is available in almost all e-mail services.

Font. The text of the message must, first of all, be readable. Therefore, use the font Arial or Times New Roman, select a medium size (for example, in mail.ru the optimal font size is 3). Don't experiment with fonts or colors. This is inappropriate in business correspondence. Don't use Caps Lock exclamation marks and various special characters (including emoticons). The only thing that is allowed is highlighting some phrases in italics or bold. But try to use this only when absolutely necessary.

For ease of reading and better communication of ideas, you can use subheadings throughout the text of the letter. But there should not be too many of them - no more than 3-4.

One paragraph should not be longer than 4 lines. When we read very long paragraphs, the text blurs together and the main idea can be lost.

Any enumeration and lists should be drawn up using special markers.

Corporate template. It would be great if you developed a branded email template in your corporate style. And you will send all business messages only with this template. This will allow you to stand out from the rest and maintain the formality required by a business message. However, you should not overdo it with “branding” - excessive creativity will only do harm. Still, we are talking about business communication, not entertainment. Don't forget also that recipients can read your messages not only on a computer, but also on mobile devices. Therefore, the template must be optimized for different screen resolutions.

One letter should contain only one news item. And accordingly, only one target action should be expected from the recipient. It is considered incorrect to place several questions, suggestions or requests to the recipient in one message at once.

It should be broken down into the following parts:
- introduction;
- main part;
- conclusion.

In the introduction, briefly state the purpose of the message and the reasons for writing it. The main part is the very essence of the letter. In conclusion, you need to summarize the above - these can be conclusions, requests, instructions, suggestions, and so on. It is highly undesirable to use any “postscripts” in business correspondence. Also avoid aphorisms, metaphors, proverbs, and so on.

If you need to submit a graphic image in a letter, do not insert it into the text of the message itself, but attach it as a separate file. Images may not display correctly on different devices or be completely disabled in the interface mail program recipient. In the text, where necessary, simply indicate “information is in the attached file.” If there are several such files, be sure to write their names.

If you use abbreviations and abbreviations of words, you must be 100% sure that the recipient will understand what is meant by them. In general, it is better to play it safe and not use such things.

Lack of emotions. Business letters should not contain any emotional overtones. At all. Even if you are writing a complaint and you really want to show the fullness of your indignation, or, on the contrary, you sincerely thank your partner for a successful transaction. The message should be restrained and even somewhat cold-blooded. Each person values ​​his individuality, but business correspondence does not best way manifest it. An official letter from a cheerful or sad person, a cleaner or general director should be the same.

Use of vocabulary. To link sentences in business correspondence, the following stable expressions are used:

1. for that reason;
3. based on what;
4. by virtue of (something);
5. in accordance with;
6. based on;
7. taking into account;
8. considering;
9. what served.

And so on. Also in business letters it is allowed to use abbreviations and abbreviations that are generally accepted in the industry within which the message is written. If you doubt whether the addressee will understand a specific abbreviation, it is better to write the phrase in full.

Greetings. Please never use the cliche "Good afternoon." This, one might say, is bad form not only for business correspondence, but also for emails in general. The optimal greeting is “Hello, First Name/Middle Name.” By the way, it’s good to address the recipient of the message by name not only in the greeting, but also further along the text. If you are writing to a person you do not know personally, you must indicate at the very beginning where you got the recipient’s address from.

Letter size. This is not a work of fiction and not your personal thoughts “on the topic.” The message should be as short as possible to convey all the information in it. It is optimal if the text of the letter fits into one “screen”. Reading long letters is tiring, and many people find it annoying.

Replies to letters. When you reply to a message you receive, always click the Reply button, not the Write button. With the first option, your entire correspondence history will be automatically included in your response. This is correct, because a person may not immediately remember who you are and what you want from him if he does not see the background story. Especially if more than five days have passed since the last correspondence. Feel free to quote your interlocutor while responding to his message. This will give him a chance to remember what you talked about before.

Always thank the other person where appropriate. For example, you can write “Vladimir, thank you for your letter” or “Irina Alekseevna, thank you for such a quick response.” Such nuances will show your respect for the interlocutor and soften the mood of electronic communication.

If the interlocutor sent you a message in which he expressed his dissatisfaction or even was openly rude to you, try not to answer him in the same way, no matter how much you would like it. Situations vary, but always respond politely and with restraint.

Of course, the sooner you respond, the better. It's great if you can respond within a few hours. This period is optimal. But let's say we get a response within a few days. Psychologists say that a comfortable time for a person to wait for a response to an email is 48 hours, that is, two days. If you have to wait longer, this may already be perceived as disrespect or ignorance. If the question raised in the message requires more time from you to respond, then be sure to write that you received the letter, accepted it for consideration and will respond as soon as you can. This way, at least the sender won't feel ignored.

Conclusion of the letter. You should not write phrases that could be perceived as an attempt at manipulation: “I really hope for a profitable cooperation,” “Thank you in advance for your answer,” and so on. Saying goodbye via email better in phrases“With respect,” “My sincere wishes,” and the like. Yes, such phrases are cliched, but they are perfectly suited for business communication. In the signature, write your first name, last name, position and company name. Also leave contact details where you can be contacted, other than email.

Dispatch time. Of course, emails do not mean that they should be read immediately upon receipt. But in business email ethics it is considered inappropriate to send emails on weekends. holidays, late in the evening or at night. Try to stick to standard working hours.

And of course, before clicking the “send” button, carefully check the spelling of the recipient’s name and email address. Re-read the entire text of the message and check it for typos or incorrect phrases.