How to Send Someone an Email

Easily open an email account to send emails to others with this user-friendly guide

Co-authored by Luigi Oppido and Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: November 25, 2024 Fact Checked

This wikiHow teaches you how to choose an email service that's right for you and how to create a personal account. Once you have an email account, you can send an email to another person using their email address.

Part 1

Part 1 of 4:

Setting Up an Account

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1
Decide on an email provider. There are countless different email providers—most of which are free to sign up for and use—but the three most popular ones are the following:
- Gmail — Google mail. Signing up for Gmail also creates a Google account, which is useful for YouTube and other large social media sites.
- Outlook — Microsoft-created mail. An Outlook account is required for some Microsoft services such as Microsoft Word (or Office 365), Windows 10, Skype, and Xbox LIVE.
- Yahoo — Yahoo is a simple email provider with features like news in your inbox and a terabyte of online storage.
- All three of the above email providers have mobile apps for your smartphone available for free. This will allow you to send and receive email from your smartphone via your favorite provider.
2
Go to the email provider's website. The websites for each of the listed providers are as follows:
- Gmail — https://www.gmail.com/
- Outlook — https://www.outlook.com/
- Yahoo — https://www.yahoo.com/
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3
Click the "Sign Up" button. This button may say "Create an Account" or something similar and is typically in the upper-right side of the email page.
- If you are on Yahoo's main website, you may need to click the Sign in button first, and then click Sign up at the bottom of the "Sign in" page.
4
Enter your information. Though there may be additional information needed, you'll typically be required to add the following information for all email providers:
- Your name
- A phone number
- Your preferred email address
- Your preferred password
- Your date of birth
In some cases, you'll be required to verify your identity over the phone (as in the case of Yahoo), while other email providers simply ask you to prove you're human by checking a box. Once you've completed the setup process, you're ready to send your email.

Part 2

Part 2 of 4:

Sending an Email with Gmail

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1
Open Gmail. Go to https://www.gmail.com/ in any web browser on your computer. This will open your Gmail inbox if you're logged into your Gmail account.^{[1]
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Research source}
- If you aren't logged into Gmail, enter your email address and password when prompted before proceeding.
It's in the top-left corner of the inbox. Doing so will open a pop-up window on the right side of the page.^{[2]
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Click the "Recipients" text box at the top of the pop-up window, then type in the email address to which you want to send an email.^{[3]
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4
Enter a subject. Click the "Subject" text box, then type in whatever you want to use for the subject.
- The subject is typically used to give the recipient an idea of what the email will be about.
5
Write your email.^{[4]
X
Research source} Click the text box below the "Subject" text field, then type in your email's body.
- You can highlight a piece of text in your email and then click one of the formatting options (e.g., B to bold) at the bottom of the window.
- If you want to add photos or files to the email, click the paperclip icon or the "photos" icon at the bottom of the window and then select an option.
It's a blue button in the bottom-left corner of the pop-up window. Doing so sends your email to the specified recipient.
7
Send an email from the Gmail mobile app. If you download the Gmail app onto your smartphone or tablet (Androids usually have Gmail pre-installed), you can use it to send emails:
- Open the Gmail mobile app.
- Tap
  in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
- Enter your recipient's email address in the "To" text box.
- Enter your subject in the "Subject" text box.
- Enter your email body in the "Compose email" text box.
- Add pictures or files if you like by tapping the paperclip icon and then selecting an attachment.
- Tap the "Send"
  icon to send your email.

Part 3

Part 3 of 4:

Sending an Email with Outlook

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1
Open Outlook. Go to https://www.outlook.com/ in any web browser on your computer. This will open your Outlook inbox if you're logged in.
- If you aren't logged in, click Sign in if necessary, then enter your email address and password when prompted.
2
Make sure you're using the beta. Click the grey "Try the beta" switch in the top-right side of the page to do so.
- If you see a dark-blue switch that says "Beta" here instead, you're using the beta.^{[5]
  X
  Trustworthy Source
  
  Microsoft Support
  Technical support and product information from Microsoft.
  
  Go to source}
It's in the top-left corner of the page. A pop-up window will appear.
Click the "To" text box at the top of the pop-up window, then type in the email address to which you want to send an email.^{[6]
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Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}
5
Enter a subject. Click the "Add a subject" text box, then type in whatever you want to use for the subject.^{[7]
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Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}
- The subject is typically used to give the recipient an idea of what the email will be about.
6
Write your email. Click the text box below the "Subject" text field, then type in your email's body.^{[8]
X
Trustworthy Source

Microsoft Support
Technical support and product information from Microsoft.

Go to source}
- You can highlight a piece of text in your email and then click one of the formatting options (e.g., B to bold) at the bottom of the window.
- If you want to add photos or files to the email, click the paperclip icon or the "photos" icon at the bottom of the window and then select an option.
It's a blue button in the bottom-left corner of the pop-up window. Doing so sends your email to the specified recipient.
8
Send an email from the Outlook app. If you download the Outlook email app for your iPhone or Android, you can use it to send emails:
- Open the Outlook mobile app.
- Tap the "Compose"
  icon (or
  on Android).
- Enter your recipient's email address in the "To" text box.
- Enter your subject in the "Subject" text box.
- Enter your email body in the large text box.
- Tap the paperclip icon and select a file option if you want to attach a photo or file.
- Tap the "Send"
  icon in the top-right corner of the screen to send your email.

Part 4

Part 4 of 4:

Sending an Email with Yahoo

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1
Open Yahoo. Go to https://mail.yahoo.com in any web browser on your computer. This will open your Yahoo inbox if you're logged into Yahoo.
- If you aren't logged into Yahoo, enter your email address and password when prompted before proceeding.
It's in the top-left corner of the page. Doing so opens an email form.^{[9]
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Click the "To" text box at the top of the form, then type in the email address to which you want to send an email.^{[10]
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4
Enter a subject. Click the "Subject" text box, then type in whatever you want to use for the subject.^{[11]
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Research source}
- The subject is typically used to give the recipient an idea of what the email will be about.
5
Write your email. Click the text box below the "Subject" text field, then type in your email's body.^{[12]
X
Research source}
- You can highlight a piece of text in your email and then click one of the formatting options (e.g., B to bold) at the bottom of the window.
- If you want to add photos or files to the email, click the paperclip icon at the bottom of the window and then select an option.
It's a blue button in the bottom-left corner of the pop-up window. Doing so sends your email to the specified recipient.
7
Send an email from the Yahoo Mail app. If you download the Yahoo Mail app for your iPhone or Android, you can use it to send emails:
- Open the Yahoo Mail mobile app.
- Tap the pencil icon in the lower-right corner of the screen.
- Enter an email address in the "To" text box.
- Enter a subject in the "Subject" text box.
- Type your email into the main email text field.
- Add photos or files by tapping one of the icons at the bottom of the email section.
- Tap Send to send your email.

Sample Emails

Email to a Friend

Email to a Professor

Email to a Supervisor

Community Q&A

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Question

Do I need to include my email address in the message I send?

Community Answer

No, it will automatically say that it is from you. However, many professionals put their email address in the signature.

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Question

What should I write in the "subject", "to", and "compose email" boxes?

Community Answer

In the "To" box, you will enter the recipient's email address. In the "Subject" box, you will enter what the email is about (ie: Camping Trip, Birthday Party, Wedding Plans, etc). In the "Compose email" box, you will write your message. When you are done, hit "Send."

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Question

What does "compose an email" mean?

Community Answer

It means "create a new message," basically. When you're composing an email, you're writing it.

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Having two email addresses—one for work, and one for socialization—will help keep your inbox focused.

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If you have to send an email to more people, you can create a group and send group email.

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Save drafts of your email as you type if the email is important. Gmail automatically saves drafts of your message for you, but other email providers may not.

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Warnings

Don't say anything you wouldn't want to be public over email. Remember that email is a written representation of yourself or your brand.

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Sending an email that contains a lot of links or sending an email from your own private email server could cause your email to wind up in the recipient's spam folder.^{[13]
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Expert Source

Luigi Oppido
Computer & Tech Specialist

Expert Interview. 19 February 2020.}

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