eVision Media Resources

Do's and Don'ts of Email

What does your email say about you?

Every day, we send email to our friends, associates and clients, but do you ever take a moment to think about what your messages really say about you? More specifically, what the form and format of your emails communicate unintentionally. Too often, little details left out or inadvertently included can suggest that you're lazy, incompetent, inattentive, mistrustful, or unprofessional.

Below lists some critical things to keep in mind when sending emails. Some may seem like a no-brainer, but it doesn't hurt to have them serve as a reminder, as I know that I definitely make some of these mistakes sometimes!

• Spelling. Remember that spell checkers don't know when you've used a correctly spelled but incorrect word. Also be aware of similarily spelled words such as "lose" and "loose", which I find commonly gets improperly used.
  
  
• Avoid using web jargon, such as "this 1 is 4 u", somehow this style of "English" has permiated from the Chat rooms to regular communications - yikes! 'nuff said.
  
  
• Grammar. Grammar is not just for picky English teachers. If your writing is grammatically incorrect, it has a much higher probability of being misinterpreted by the recipient. Often, miscommunicating is worse than not communicating at all.
  
  
• Signature Block. Do all of your emails contain a short, professional signature block with your contact information? Don't make people look in their address book if they want to call you. Just have your information inserted in every message. Add in a brief, catchy sentence and of course, be sure to put your website address there too!
  
  
• Subject Line. Use the subject line to communicate useful information. Let the recipient know what the email is about so they can decide what to do with it. Useless subjects, no subjects at all, or misleading ones can be really annoying.
  
  
• Format. Have you written large impenetrable blocks of text in one long stream of consciousness paragraph? Break up your ideas so that they're easier to follow. In short, make the format support the message.
  
  
• Length. Emails should generally be short. Many people find it difficult to read long novels on computer monitors.
  
  
• Urgent Indicator. Using the urgent indicator for clearly unimportant emails gives the appearance that you have no regard for the reader's time and attention. It is not a good impression to give, so only use the urgent indicated for truly urgent emails.
  
  
• Bandwidth Usage. If you're sending images, be careful of the image size - 1 MB is TOO LARGE for those people who still get email over the phone line, it wastes lots of their valuable time waiting for it to download. If there's no need for sending big files, don't. If there is, find a way to reduce the image size first or let the person know in advance that you're sending the large file so they can be prepared.
  
  
• Delivery Receipt. Unless you are sending a very important contract or time sensitive document, avoid using the read receipt feature. Most people want to read their emails in private and don't want to be made to feel you don't trust them to read your emails. The exception to this rule is if you fear your email is not being delivered to the intended person to begin with and you just want to be assured they got it.
  
  
• Proof-Read SLOWLY. Studies show that the human brain can easily "fill in the blanks" of a sentence or not register a double word like "the". However, that doesn't mean you have licence to take advantage of that! When you proof read your email, carefully read E V E R Y W O R D to make sure that your sentence makes sense and isn't missing anything.
  
  
• Understand the difference between TO: CC: and BCC: Rule of thumb, if you want a response from someone, put their email in the TO: field. If you are sending an email to more than one person, the people that you are including just as an FYI go in the CC field, this way they know they are not expected to respond. If you don't want anyone to know that you are sending an email to someone else at the same time, that email address goes in the BCC field.
  
  IMPORTANT: If you are sending an email to a bunch of people that don't know each other - ALWAYS use the BCC field for ALL email addresses. It is a privacy violation and security risk if you share email addresses with other people in your contact list that don't know each other.
  
  
• Never send an email when you're angry or upset - 9 times out of 10 you'll regret it the moment you hit the send button. Go ahead and write your emotionally charged letter and then walk away without sending it. Come back when you've cooled down and either send a re-written letter or better yet, pick up the phone and communicate that way. There are times when email is simply NOT the best form of communication and the phone is always going to be better when a disagreement has formed, misunderstandings are happening, or emotions get charged.
  
  
• Finally, remember that email does not include tone of voice or body language - so all the person reading your prose has to work with is your words. It's amazing how quickly those words can cause people to jump to the wrong conclusion, misinterpret your intentions and even worse, be offended by the attempt at humour that didn't quite translate properly.
  

Email has become a primary means for communication in this digital age. Gone is the day of writing personal notes and picking up the phone for every need. However, there are times when it would be nice if we reverted back to those old fashioned techniques and there are definitely times when we should! Bottom line when communicating via email is to always put your professional hat on, be clear on your message, think twice before sending, and be respectful and courteous of the people you are sending the email to.

Kind regards,

Susan Friesen, B.B.A.
eVision Media ~ Definitive eBusiness Solutions
www.evisionmedia.ca

About the Author: Susan is a professional website developer with over eight year's experience in the industry. With a bachelor's degree in Business Administration, concentration in Computer Information Systems, she is able to provide a unique and caring service to her clients not only as a website designer, but also an eBusiness Advisor; assisting individuals, businesses and organizations establish and brand product or service effectively on the World Wide Web. Contact Susan today for your free consultation on building your website presence to the effective marketing tool is can be. susan@evisionmedia.ca or visit www.evisionmedia.ca.