That is why these two pieces are so important and need special attention.

A Business e-mail - as already discussed - help your mail to stand out over free mails. An attention grabbing subject line does the rest. Secondly, wording of your Subject line can be key in your emails ability to get through spam filters. Write the wrong Subject line and spam filters will never let your e-mail travel to Inbox ! So, what should you look for in writing a good Subject line ?

Firstly, personalize it as much as you can, such as adding recipient's name in subject line (e.g. 'Kind Attn: Mr. John Hopkins, responding to your requirement for salted cookies', 'John, I think you will find this very interesting')

Such customization gives your email a personal feel and tells the spam filters that you know the person you're writing to so it's much less likely to be flagged as spam.

3. Acceptable Style

Politeness, readability and easy comprehension are cornerstone of effective business communication. Politeness demands that you first write about you and your business before requesting the same from your recipient. Avoid words which may be construed as pushy, impolite or even rude such as ASAP, prompt, at your earliest etc.

4. Readability

Readability demands that you write in short sentences in direct conversational mode. Avoid using cumbersome sentences that so many businessmen in Indian sub-continent are so fond of (perhaps colonial legacy). Examples of such sentences - 'Would you be so kind of as to..', 'please find enclosed' etc.

Instead, use direct conversation mode such as 'I have attached below copy of my last mail'. Never use abbreviations such as "pls", BTW, "u" etc as you would normally do in a telex or telegram. Such abbreviations and acronyms not only make your letter difficult to read but may even lead the recipient to think you are lazy. You may be quite conversant with cryptic abbreviations and enjoy SMS lingo - certainly not everyone!

5. Professional Style

Professional style demands that your mail is precise, to the point and free from spelling errors and grammatical mistakes. Your content should run coherently from beginning to end, neatly organized into paragraphs and ideally should not exceed 3-4 paragraphs. Instead of writing about your product or company in details - touch important points and direct the reader to concerned sections in your web-site through links

6. Persistence

Writing effective e-mail is not sufficient unless you are prepared to follow them up. There may be many reasons why the buyer has not responded and the best person to answer the question is - obviously, the buyer! So go ahead, pick up the phone and politely enquire about your offer. You will be surprised to know the reason - which may be as simple as the buyer not in town or the e-mail never reached him/her or as complex as your negotiation style, product quality, pricing, payment terms etc. In any case, you will get valuable feedback which can be used to sharpen your business process.

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