Many of our business e-mails ask for attention to a matter or for some response. We typically close these with “Thank you. I look forward to hearing from you.”

Most of our business e-mails begin simply with the recipient’s name, followed by a colon, as in “Mr. Thomas:” Using “Dear” seems a bit too familiar for business communications and for the impartial tone of formal e-mails.

After we have established a relationship with a client, we may begin with some version of “I’m pleased to hear from you, and I hope that you are doing well.”

We also carry a set of stock phrases for many occasions, such as “Thank you for inquiring about Precise Edit’s services” and “In response to your request, I have attached the following items to this message:” Using a consistent set of stock phrases helps us to communicate clearly, professionally, and consistently, especially when initiating services with a new client, sending billing information, or returning completed work.

These are all quite formal. However, once we have established a relationship with a client, we take shortcuts and adopt a more familiar tone. With every e-mail we send, we ask ourselves, “What is the image we wish to convey?” Our word and phrase choices should reflect the answer to that question.