The body of the email, or the central part of it, is the heart of the message. This is where you will express your intentions to the reader.

In the structure of a message, everything that refers to the body of the email must be clear, with the aim of ensuring that the recipient understands exactly what you want to communicate.

For example: if the email is from an e-commerce company, with the aim of making sales, the products will be displayed there.

If the email is personal, this is where you will detail what you want to communicate to the recipient.

Keep reading to understand how the body of the email influences the readers’ interpretation.

What is the email body within the message layout?

An email follows the following hierarchy of information:

• First is the subject line. When you open your email screen, several messages appear for you to open. And you choose one of them and open it. Isn’t that right?

The subject line, or message title, is what will make you curious to see what’s inside the email.

• Right after the subject line, a small text appears, usually in a lighter color than the title. This is the beginning of the email, meaning that you can see part of the content inside the message. This text is called the preheader.

Both the subject line and the preheader are on the outside of the email, and have the function of grabbing the reader’s attention to open the message.

• And when you click to open it, you’re faced with the body of the email, i.e. the central part of the message.

This is where the sender will express the purpose of the message. For example, companies can insert videos, images and text into the body of the email to capture readers’ attention.

Most personal messages, on the other hand, only use text so that the sender can express what they want.

• And finally, there’s the footer, where the sender’s signature can be found. If it’s an email sent by a company, the organization’s logo, the employee’s name, position and social networks should be present here.

Best practices for writing email content

The way you structure and write the body of the email can influence how the message is interpreted by the recipient.

An intelligible and clear text ensures that the communication in the body of the email achieves its intended purpose. To this end, using direct language facilitates comprehension and avoids misunderstandings.

See the tips below.

Tips on how to compose an email body

• Pay attention to the cohesion of the text: the communication in the body of the email must have a beginning, middle and end. Pay attention to the content’s line of reasoning.
• Check that the language of your email matches the language of the recipient. A formal tone may be necessary in communications aimed at companies, while a more casual tone may be appropriate for personal emails.
• Be clear and specific: get straight to the point and avoid vague information or information that leaves room for double interpretation.
• Amount of information: this tip is related to the previous one: beware of excess. Don’t be long-winded!
• Use short paragraphs: long, blocky paragraphs with lots of lines can make reading tiring. Divide them into a maximum of 4 lines.
• Use lists to highlight important points or list steps with bullets or numbers. This makes it easier to interpret.
• Proofread your email before sending it to correct grammar and spelling mistakes. A correctly worded email makes a good impression.
• Pay attention to cc (with copy) and cco (with hidden copy): if you intend to send emails with copies to other people, check that the addresses are correct and that there are addresses that should not be present in the copies.

In copy emails, all recipients can see each other’s addresses. In hidden copy emails, you can send emails to several recipients without them knowing that the message has been sent to other people.

Example: email body in a personal message

Hi, Johny.
How’s it going?
I’ve discovered a new restaurant that I think you’ll love. How about the idea of having lunch together tomorrow?
I’m looking forward to hearing from you!
Love,
Maria.

Example: email body in a corporate message

Dear Mr. Reeve, good morning.
I hope this message finds you well.
I would like to discuss in more detail the quotation sent by your company.
I believe we can discuss some points and payment terms that will benefit both sides.
Could you please get in touch so we can talk about this?
Thank you very much in advance.
Sincerely,
John Spacey.

Important reminder

The example you’ve just seen refers to sending your email to a company, i.e. when you’re the sender.

But when you’re the recipient, things change. When you receive an email from a company, pay attention to everything to avoid scams!

Unfortunately, online fraud is just as common as other crimes committed against individuals. You need to protect yourself!

Here’s how to recognize the characteristics of a fake email.

Watch out for fake emails and avoid scams

Fake emails are used by criminals who try to convince recipients to click on malicious links that will lead to suspicious pages or download material that will contaminate their computers or smartphones.

These types of emails are widely used to apply phishing scams, with the aim of stealing email, bank and credit card passwords. The criminals then make financial transactions on behalf of the victim.

To avoid falling for these scams, be wary of every detail: look at the sender’s address. Criminals try to imitate the address of the original website, but there is always one letter more or less, so that it looks very similar and it is almost impossible to detect the difference.

In addition to these addresses that look like the originals, there are emails sent from senders you don’t know.

Take note of the following points

For both known senders (who can use the forgery technique by changing one letter of the original address) and unknown senders, look out for details such as:

• A “too good to pass up” promotion, with prices well below the market.
• An email asking you to fill in a survey. In return, you receive a free product (a coffee maker, for example). This type of scam is also very common with ads on social networks such as YouTube, Instagram and Tik Tok.
• The insistence on clicking quickly because the offer is “running out”.
• Emails telling you that you are entitled to an income tax refund (in these cases, the criminals use a link that leads to a fake page from the IRS).
• Receiving an invoice for a product you didn’t buy. If this happens, simply don’t open the email.
• Pay attention to other communication channels besides email, such as WhatsApp, Telegram and social media ads in general.

Above all, don’t click on anything; don’t click on links and don’t download any unknown content. Ideally, don’t open any communication that you consider suspicious.

Be vigilant and protect yourself! You can also install a good antivirus and scan your computer and smartphone regularly.

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