How to Write an Informal Email

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Take a casual approach with informal email to friends, family and colleagues.

If you are accustomed to writing formal email messages while at work, doing academic research or when corresponding with businesses from your home computer, you might be curious about how to approach writing an informal email. Just as you wouldn't speak in formal, carefully constructed sentences when gossiping with someone at the market or when discussing a movie with your friends, you also wouldn't use formal language when typing a casual email.

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Step 1

Launch your email application on your computer and create a new message.

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Step 2

Start off with a pleasant, casual greeting, such as "Hi," "Hey," or "Howdy." Address your recipient by her first name, or a nickname. If you are writing to a family member, you could write something like "Hey, Sis," or "Hi, Dad!"

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Step 3

Type casual or slang expressions if you and your recipient already communicate that way when you speak. For example, you might write something like, "I have to go to the factory for an inspection next week" in a formal email, but in a casual email, you could type something like, "I gotta go get the muffler replaced tomorrow. Wanna meet for lunch while they work on my car?"

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Step 4

Don't capitalize the beginning of every sentence if you want to convey a very relaxed, breezy and informal tone. Disregarding formal punctuation or capitalization signals to your recipient that your email is informal. .

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Step 5

Type paragraphs as your mood or emotion dictate, rather than following an organized, logical flow as you would in a formal message. For example, you might begin with describing a recent event, and then switch topics without warning to explain about something unrelated but that you know will interest your recipient.

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Step 6

End the message with a friendly farewell, such as "Cheers," "See you later," or "Love," instead of the more formal types of sign-offs such as "Sincerely Yours," or "Yours Truly."

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