What is the 'background' of a business e-mail?

What is the 'background' of a business e-mail?

Tim Burress (E-mail Etiquette and Organization Specialist) gives expert video advice on: What are the four important elements of a business e-mail?; What is a good 'greeting' to use in business e-mail? and more...

The background of a business e-mail is really why you've requested something. For example, if you state "I need your business plan", in the background you can state why you need it, such as "Headquarters is rolling these business plans up into a final report". The background of a business e-mail is why you've either requested something, asked someone to act upon something or why you're sharing information with them. You need to tell them why you thought this was important, so the background is the "why" to the business e-mail.