Email Structure

The Anatomy of Effective Email

Every effective email has the same basic parts, arranged in a specific order. Get this structure right, and people will read your emails even when they’re busy.

The BLUF Principle

BLUF stands for “Bottom Line Up Front.” It’s a military communication technique, and it works beautifully for email.

Traditional structure (ineffective):

1. Greeting
2. Background
3. Context
4. More context
5. Finally, what you want

BLUF structure (effective):

1. Greeting
2. What you want (the ask)
3. Why it matters (brief context)
4. Details if needed
5. Close

The reader knows immediately what you need. Everything else supports that.

The Five-Part Structure

1. Opening (1 sentence)

Skip “I hope this email finds you well.” Get to the point.

Options:

• Cold opener: “I’m reaching out because…”
• Reference opener: “Following up on our conversation about…”
• Situation opener: “We have a decision to make on…”
• Direct opener: “Quick question about…”

2. The Ask (1-2 sentences)

State exactly what you need. Be specific.

Vague: “I wanted to get your thoughts on the project.” Clear: “Can you approve the Q2 budget by Friday?”

Vague: “Let me know if you want to discuss.” Clear: “Are you available Tuesday at 2pm for a 30-minute call?”

3. Context (2-4 sentences)

Just enough background to understand the ask. No more.

Too much:

“As you may recall, we discussed this at the board meeting last month, and there were several concerns raised about the approach, particularly around budget and timeline. The team has since conducted additional research and we’ve revised some of our initial assumptions based on the feedback from stakeholders…”

Just right:

“The revised proposal addresses the board’s concerns about timeline—we’ve cut scope to hit the Q3 deadline.”

4. Details (optional)

If more information is needed, make it scannable:

• Bullet points for lists
• Bold for key terms
• Short paragraphs
• Tables for comparisons

5. Close (1-2 sentences)

End with:

• A clear next step, OR
• A deadline, OR
• A question to answer

Options:

• “Let me know by Thursday if this works.”
• “Any concerns before I proceed?”
• “Click here to schedule: [link]”

Formatting for Scannability

White Space

People don’t read emails. They scan. Help them.

Hard to scan:

I wanted to reach out about the upcoming product launch. As you know, we’ve been working on this for several months and we’re getting close to the finish line. There are a few items that still need your input before we can proceed. First, we need approval on the final pricing. Second, we need your sign-off on the marketing materials. Third, we need confirmation on the launch date. Please let me know your thoughts on each of these items when you get a chance.

Easy to scan:

Quick update on the product launch—we need your input on three items:

1. Pricing approval – Recommended: $99/month (see attached analysis)
2. Marketing sign-off – Final designs attached, need approval by Friday
3. Launch date confirmation – Targeting March 15, does this work?

Can you reply with a quick yes/no on each?

Bold Key Information

Guide the eye to what matters:

Meeting rescheduled to Thursday 3pm in Conference Room B.

Use Bullets for Lists

Any time you have 3+ related items:

Quick check: Before moving on, can you recall the key concept we just covered? Try to explain it in your own words before continuing.

Please bring to the meeting:

• Q1 reports
• Budget projections
• Team availability calendar

One Idea Per Paragraph

Short paragraphs. One thought each.

Not: “I wanted to update you on the project and also ask about the budget and let you know that Sarah will be out next week so we might need to adjust the timeline accordingly.”

Instead: Three separate paragraphs.

Templates for Common Structures

The Simple Request

[Opening]: Quick question about [topic].

[Ask]: Can you [specific action] by [deadline]?

[Context]: This is for [reason/project].

[Close]: Let me know if you have any questions.

The Update + Request

[Opening]: Update on [project].

[Status]: We've completed X and Y. Next step is Z.

[Ask]: I need your [input/approval/decision] on [specific item].

[Details]: Here are the options:
- Option A: [brief description]
- Option B: [brief description]

[Close]: Which direction works best? I can move forward as soon as I hear from you.

The Introduction

[Opening]: [Name] suggested I reach out.

[Context]: I'm [who you are] working on [what you do].

[Relevance]: [Why you're relevant to them].

[Ask]: Could we schedule a 15-minute call to discuss [specific topic]?

[Close]: I'm free [specific times]. Would any of those work?

Length Guidelines

Rule of thumb: If it takes more than 2 minutes to read, it’s too long for email. Write a shorter email and attach a document.

Exercise

Take this unstructured email and rewrite it using BLUF structure:

Hey team, I wanted to update everyone on where we are with the website redesign. As you know, we’ve been working with the design agency for about 6 weeks now and we’ve made good progress on the initial concepts. They sent over three different directions last week and the leadership team has been reviewing them. We think Option B is the strongest but we wanted to get everyone’s input before we make a final decision. Also, we need to decide on the launch timeline—originally we were thinking April but that might be aggressive given some of the technical constraints. Marketing has concerns about pushing too close to the trade show. Can everyone review the options and let me know your thoughts by end of week?

Key Takeaways

• Use BLUF: put your main point and ask first
• Follow the five-part structure: Opening, Ask, Context, Details, Close
• Format for scanning: white space, bullets, bold keywords
• Keep emails short—details go in attachments
• One clear ask per email

Next: subject lines that get your emails opened.

Up next: In the next lesson, we’ll dive into Subject Lines That Get Opened.