How to write a meaningful apology email

First, determine whether a mea culpa is truly necessary, and then set about crafting it in a concise yet sincere way to your designated recipients.

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So, you’ve made a mistake.

Maybe your website went down or you sent an email with an error. Maybe a PR situation has arisen. It happens to the best of us.

Now you want to make amends, and you’re thinking of sending an apology email. Before you do:

For example, in January 2013, Amazon accidentally sent an email promoting championship gear to Notre Dame and Alabama football fans before the game was even played. It was obviously an error, but Amazon’s apology email only fanned the flames, drawing more attention to the mistake and causing it to become overblown.

If you decide that an apology email is, indeed, warranted:

Having decided that an apology email is needed and who that email should go to, now ask yourself these four questions when crafting the apology email:

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