Effective Business Email.


Don’t let the informality and ease of email fool you. Treat it as professionally as any other communications medium. Sure, we expect to be raging perfectionists when it comes to producing a 100-page marketing report. But we’re typically far less exacting about how we email.

Even though you may compose it in your pajamas, email reveals your professionalism, or its lack, every time you press "send." Learn to make the most of every email opportunity to communicate professionally. Here’s how.

Use a business-like email address. john.simmons@aol.com or maryjonesWriter@yahoo.com are fine. Writerbabe@hotmail.com isn’t.
Display your full name. If your email program uses display names, make sure your full name shows, not just your first name or a nickname. People with whom you do business want to identify who the mail is from, and business email should come from Kenneth Wright, not Kenny.

Use informative subject lines. Be specific, treat subject lines like headlines: “Follow up to SWW conference” or “Mark Smith suggested I contact you” or “Querying article on straw bale home construction.” Avoid blank subject lines or overly general subjects such as, “we spoke,” “information,” “query,” etc.—they are more likely to be ignored or overlooked when an editor’s inbox has 100 new messages.

Be even more polite than usual. Email is a flat medium. The recipient can’t see the smile on your face or hear the enthusiasm in your voice. Even compared to a traditional letter—which conveys thought and time—the informal, instantaneous nature of email can easily work against you. To compensate for email’s terseness, be sensitive to anything that might sound abrupt. Work a “please” or “thank you” into every first sentence. Avoid: “I’m giving a new class every non-fiction writer needs.” Instead say: “I’m pleased to announce a new class on non-fiction writing.” In closing, avoid: “Thanks, Susan.” Instead say: “Thank you again for your interest. Regards, Susan.”

Dust off “really” and “very” for occasional use. You may be trained to excise every “really” and “very” from your prose. But in email they can be used from time to time in order to convey your interest and further compensate for the flatness of the medium. Even an occasional exclamation point can be a welcome sign of warmth.
Don’t flame. Flaming refers to sending emails that are no-holds-barred emotional and critical. While it is deliciously tempting to dash off a flaming email to an obvious idiot, don’t do it. You never know whom the idiot will forward it to. Use more private, personal media for emotionally charged communications: a phone call, a meeting, a letter.

Edit and edit again. When composing a significant email, let it sit before you send it by saving it in a file or in the drafts folder of your email system. Treat important messages as you would any other piece of writing. Get a second or third opinion if warranted, always use a spell checker, and proofread meticulously.
Double-check attached files. Do you sometimes forget to include attachments? It’s a common oversight, but why not avoid the embarrassment. Form the habit of attaching the file before you compose your cover note. Then, before you press “send,” open the attachment from your email. Make sure it’s the correct file in the latest version.

Make it easy to find you later. Create an email signature for all of your outgoing mail. The signature automatically displays at the end of every message and typically contains contact information such as your full name, web page, and phone/fax numbers. It’s like attaching a business card to every email you send. If you have a tag line for your business, the signature provides a perfect opportunity to display it.
Avoid transmitting viruses. An up-to-date anti-virus program is more than something nice to have. In today’s Internet climate it’s a necessity. See www.grisoft.com if you want a free virus checker, and regardless of which program you use, be sure to download updates regularly and to scan for viruses on your system daily.
Don’t send chain letters, urgent virus warnings or cute stuff to your business associates. Just don’t.

Vacation: no excuse to ignore email. The convenience advantages of mobile media such as email and cell phones are sometimes eclipsed by increasing expectations about your constant availability. If you plan to leave your computer for more than a few days, expect to access email while away, at least every day or two.
With national or international ISPs such as AOL and Yahoo - find a computer, get online, open a browser, and go to www.aol.com, for example, to log on.
With a local ISP - ask beforehand whether your ISP provides remote access from the web or a toll-free dialup number. If not, you can use www.mailstart.com to retrieve email from any browser.

If you have a laptop and a toll-free access number, you are set. Otherwise, from a friend’s or the hotel’s business-center computer, use a local access number to get online, open a browser and type in the remote access web site or mailstart.com.
During times when you may be inaccessible for extended periods, ask a friend or associate to check your email, or find out if your ISP can set up an auto-responder message during your absence, which lets senders know you’re away and when you will start checking your email again. You can also use the auto-responder to suggest that urgent messages be relayed to your voicemail, as long as you plan to check for phone messages. Don’t let potentially time-critical email languish in your inbox till you get home.