Using E-mail Effectively
What once was an amazing, instantaneous form of communication has become more of a nuisance than a tool to businesspeople. Spam, viruses, and other annoyances have cast a dark light on e-mail. Most people spend more time deleting offers to make money from home, to get a great mortgage rate, or to see Tina's webcam than reading the e-mail that they actually want. However, it cannot be denied that e-mails speed, efficiency, and global connection make it a powerful tool when used appropriately. This article provides some ideas on how to make e-mail effective again for your business.
Protect Your Account
The first step in using e-mail efficiently is controlling who sends it to you. Never give out your e-mail address online unless absolutely necessary. Most website "user registrations" ask for your e-mail address, but how many of them can you trust? Many website "privacy policies" will casually mention that they may disclose your contact information to "selected partners" for various reasons. Don't be surprised when those selected partners have a webcam that is helping them pay their way through college. Set up a free e-mail account at Lycos or somewhere similar, and use that address for all of these registrations. Treat your business e-mail address like your home phone number - only give it to trusted people, and only people that you want to contact you.
Organize your Inbox
One of the most common timesavers in using e-mail is a sensibly (and regularly) organized inbox. Keeping thousands of e-mails in your default inbox folder not only is ineffective, but foolish given how easy it is to create folders. Ideally, you should only have two kinds of e-mails in your default inbox: e-mails that have not yet been read, and e-mails that still require important attention. The rest of your messages can be archived in folders where you will be able to find them easily, should the need arise. Unless e-mail is spam, resist the temptation to delete everything that you've read. Electronic messages are, after all, a written record of communication, and the trade in hard disk space is minimal. Once your inbox is organized appropriately, consider taking advantage of many common built-in features of e-mail programs that will save you time. Filters, for example, will check an e-mail's subject, body, or sender for a certain phrase, and then route it to the appropriate folder. Many e-mail services have spam protection; be certain to learn how to use this, and set it to the appropriate level.
Learn to Compose
Sending well-written e-mails is one area where many people could improve their technique. Not only will an effective e-mail message be helpful to your colleagues and clients, but it also will reflect your professionalism. Let's start at the top. When addressing an e-mail, send it only to the person who needs or wants it. Many novices make the mistake of using reply-to-all, when most of the "all" do not need to read the reply. Target your e-mails as specifically as you would target a phone call. Secondly, take advantage of the subject line. This is most likely the item that will determine how soon your e-mail is read, or if it is read at all. Give the recipient a brief idea of what will be found in the message, nothing more, and nothing less. In the business world a message subject of "hi" is about as effective as not using the subject line at all. Try not to use the same subject when replying to someone who wrote to you. In the body of the message, make your e-mail easy to read. Unless you are certain that the recipient can view Rich Text (HTML-formatted) e-mails, send them in the "plain text" format. Keep in mind that a rich-text e-mail viewed in a plain-text client is nearly impossible to read. Write the body of the e-mail as you would a company-wide memo; here are some general rules:
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Use complete sentences and correct grammar. Remember that an e-mail will, to some extent, demonstrate your writing abilities to the recipient. Use a spell-check if necessary.
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Stay away from the CAPS lock unless absolutely necessary. Remember that using all CAPS in e-mail is the equivalent of yelling.
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Organize the e-mail into paragraphs or sections if it is longer than a few sentences. One massive block of text is not only daunting; it's more difficult to read.
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Keep the e-mail direct and to the point. Because it is written, you have no excuse for babbling. If a longer e-mail is necessary, consider prefacing it with a brief table of contents that will keep the recipient reading.
Finally, always follow this simple step: sign your e-mail. It is even better to have a customized signature that provides your full name, title, e-mail addresses, and related contact information. Using these rules while writing messages will not only save time for those who read them; it will also help your image as a business professional.
3-2-1 Contacts
Most e-mail clients or services will include some kind of a contact list or address book. Use this to your maximum advantage. If you e-mail someone frequently, put them in your address book. This will save you time in finding their e-mail address; the entry can also be used to store address, telephone, and other contact information. Consider using the "group" feature of your address book if you routinely send the same e-mail to multiple recipients. Most importantly, keep your address book up-to-date and delete archaic contacts regularly.
Things to Avoid
Some of the things that annoy us most about e-mails are not even considered by the sender. Learn to avoid these, because they will annoy your recipients as much as they irritate you. For example, only select the "request read receipt" feature when absolutely necessary. It is generally safe to assume that if your e-mail is appropriately written and directed, it will be read. Only use reply-to-all if you are certain that all recipients need to read your reply. Another important issue is that of e-mail forwards of jokes, heartwarming stories, etc. It is generally a more professional business practice NOT to send these. Use personal e-mail accounts for messages of this nature. This will also keep your mailbox free for more important messages. A final suggestion: know the limits of e-mail. While lively discussions over multiple messages can be productive, there are times when a phone call or meeting is more appropriate. Don't be afraid to move a conversation out of the electronic domain.
Precautionary Measures
Like any powerful business tool, e-mail should be used with some caution. You should be aware that most of the damaging viruses and worms that plagued companies in recent years were propagated by e-mails. Never open an attachment unless you know the sender, you expect the attachment, and they mention the attachment in the body of the message. Use a virus-checking program that scans incoming e-mails and attachments for viruses. Another important consideration is confidentiality. Remember that any e-mail you send is a written record, and can be treated as such. E-mail messages may even be subpoenaed for court review; some companies have been burned by this one already. Make absolutely certain that the recipients of your message are authorized to learn what is written in it.
With some organization, thoughtful writing, and precaution, e-mail can be an effective and efficient part of your business.
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