Emojis, exclamation points, and 'hey': An ex-Amazon manager shares the dos and don'ts of writing a good email

"My last role was senior manager of learning and development programs, and one of my tasks was to teach a business writing course to thousands of Amazon employees. Overall, Amazon has a very heavy writing culture, so we write a lot of documents, emails, memos, press releases, and FAQs. The course I taught was a six-week foundations course in business writing 101, and covered how to write concisely, tell compelling stories, and structure writing - from Slack chats and emails to a six-pager."

"The subject line is incredibly important; it lets the reader know the purpose of your email, and is the first impression they get of you. When writing one, make it as specific and helpful as possible. If it's just for their information, include "FYI" in the subject. If action is required, add the deadline or the task itself so the recipient immediately understands the urgency and intention of your message. For example, a good subject line is: Marketing Proposal - Feedback Needed by 8/13."

"Second to the subject line, a greeting is one of the first impressions somebody will have of you. You don't want it to be the reason that someone has a negative perception of you. If you want to come off as professional or neutral, use "hi" or "hello." It's the most neutral greeting and is the least likely to be misunderstood by your"

Amazon maintains a heavy writing culture that requires frequent creation of documents, emails, memos, press releases, and FAQs. A six-week business writing foundations course focused on writing concisely, telling compelling stories, and structuring writing across formats from Slack chats and emails to six-pagers. Email serves as a primary communication channel, and presentation within email influences how recipients perceive the sender. Practical email techniques include choosing specific, helpful subject lines that indicate purpose and deadlines, and using neutral greetings like "hi" or "hello" to convey professionalism and avoid misinterpretation.

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