How to address an email to a company — 4 examples and template

If you’re here to learn how to email a company, you’re in the right place!

We can help you draft professional, respectful emails to companies in easy-to-follow steps. You can then apply these best practices for all your professional email needs.

We’ll cover how to email a company about a job, as well as how to end an email to a company in a way that is pleasant and professional without feeling stuffy. 

With these steps, sample emails, and our template, you’ll be writing formal emails with confidence in no time. Let’s get right to it!

How to write an email to a company

The first step in writing a professional email in English is knowing who you’re writing to. This is your audience. You could be writing to a company about a job, so you would address your email to the hiring manager. If you don’t have the hiring manager’s name, then you can address the company in a more general way (we’ll get to that in a minute).

You can learn how to email a company easily by remembering these five steps:

1. Know your audience
2. Set an intention
3. Gather important details
4. Use appropriate language 
5. Sign-off professionally

It may seem daunting if you’ve never written a formal email before, but trust us; learning how to email a company becomes easy with just a little guidance and practice. 

How to address an email to a company

When you write an email to friends, you usually start off with “hey” or just their name. You might not even use any opening at all in really casual settings! However, that is never the case with professional emails. You must always address an email using an appropriate greeting. 

Greetings in English become more formal by choosing certain phrases. These standard greetings are interchangeable — you can use them in any professional situation to suit your tone and personality. 

Let’s take a look at a few.

• Dear (Name) — The most standard greeting for any professional letter in English
• To Whom It May Concern — Suitable when you do not have a specific person’s name
• Hello, (Name) — Straightforward and polite
• Good morning/good afternoon/good evening

If you are writing a company at a specific time of day, you might use this greeting to open your email. Attention: You should not start your first correspondence with a company with these phrases. For your introductory email, stick with hello, dear, or to whom it may concern.

Email format to a company

Every good professional email has 5 core elements: a subject line, salutation (greeting), body, closing, and signature. 

1. Email to a company subject line

In some cases, companies may specify how they want you to address them in a subject line. For example, if you see a job listing online, the post may tell you what to write when you email the company about the position.

Generally, it’s best to make your subject line as clear and direct as possible. Avoid capital letters. Write your reason for emailing the company, and include your name if it is relevant, such as in the case of a job application.

Here are some subject line examples:

• (Job Title) Application – (Your Name)
• Job Application: (Job Title), (Your Name)
• Referral From (Name) – (Your Name), (Job Title)
• Attn: (Department Name) – (Reason for Writing) 
• Job Inquiry, (Department Name/Title)
• Refund Request for Order Number (#####)

Some golden rules to follow for writing professional email subject lines are:

1. Be concise
2. Use direct language
3. Include important details, like your name or a job title

Keep your subject line short, and get right to the point. You’re not trying to convince anyone to open the email; you’re using the subject line to inform the recipient what is inside. 

2. How to start an email to a company

Every good company email begins with a friendly but professional salutation. You could write something like, “to whom it may concern” or “dear sir/madam” if you aren’t sure who will be reading your email.

You can also address people directly using their name, but make sure you add a title first, such as “Mr./Ms./Mrs. (Last Name)”.

Consider the company you’re writing to. How do they communicate? If their job posting was extremely casual, then you could likely start off your own email with, “Hi there,” or “Hey,” instead of “Dear so-and-so”.

However, unless the company is highly informal, you should lean more toward a professional tone. You can always drop formalities as your conversation unfolds, but to make the best first impression, it’s best to use a professional greeting. 

Attention: We don’t automatically know someone’s gender identity just by their name, so it’s best to avoid addressing them as “Mr.” or “Mrs.” unless you know their preferred pronouns. Instead of writing, “Dear Mr. Roberts,” you could write, “Dear James Roberts”. 

3. How to end an email to a company

Signing off professionally only requires a simple line or two. These phrases are some of the most common, and they add a level of kindest and friendliness to your message that others will appreciate:

• Thank you for your time and consideration.
• If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
• I would be happy to provide more information at your earliest convenience.
• I look forward to hearing from you/I hope to hear from you soon.
• I look forward to your response. 

Next, you need to place a word before your signature. A salutation is what we use to say hello, and a valediction is the term used to describe words for ending a conversation. 

Your closing should match the politeness of your opening. Generally speaking, all of these signatures are acceptable for both formal and semi-formal email closings:

• Sincerely,
• Best,
• Best wishes,
• Kind regards, 
• Thank you,

Note: “Sincerely,” “best wishes,” and “kind regards” are the most formal out of this list. If you want to adopt a polite but not overly professional tone, you can stick with “best” or “thank you.”

These are acceptable in any situation, and convey your thoughtfulness, as well as appreciation for the other person’s time.

4 email to company examples

Now that we know how to address a company in an email and how to end an email to a company let’s take a look at some examples of emails someone might send to a company. 

1. How to email a company formal sample

2. How to email a company about a job sample

3. How to write an introduction to a company email sample

4. How to write a goodbye email to a company sample

How to email a company template

Now that we’ve seen some examples, it’s time to look at a template you can use for all your emails. Keep in mind that emailing a company is highly versatile — you may use a formal tone with one organization that would feel way too stuffy or over-the-top with another.

Use your best judgment, do your research, and get an idea of what type of communication the company uses before reaching out.

That said, here’s a default template you can use when reaching out to a company for a job. Be sure to change the structure/tone to suit your needs and each situation.

Final words

If you still wonder how to write an email to a company, you should try using our Outlook AI, MailMaestro to craft professional emails in minutes, stress-free!

Our email templates cover most of the common professional email types, and our blog has over 100 different business email samples that make it easy to express your message clearly.

We hope you can use these tips next time you think about how to address a company in an email. Happy writing!