Millions of electronic mail messages are exchanged on the Internet each day, with e-mail quickly taking the place of regular, or, "snail mail", and increasingly fax and voice mail too.

Interpretation

Immediacy and cost efficiency mean that e-mail can be like having an ongoing, interactive conversation. However, recipients cannot see your facial expressions, gestures, or hear your tone of voice. So, what you write, and what you receive in response, are open to wide interpretation. Your business emails will convey an impression of your business, so you should make sure that they are professional and clear.

Permanency

E-mail is a permanent record. Once sent, it cannot be retrieved. Even when you delete it, it still exists in network files.

International

The Internet is global. Messages you send may end up being read all over the world, from Antarctica to Zimbabwe.

Work out where your e-mails may be going wrong, and how you can make them right:

Things NOT TO DO when using e-mail.

• Don’t “SHOUT”. CAPITALS are the e-mail equivalent of SHOUTING, conveying anger as well as making your email difficult to read.
• Don't use texting abbreviations eg “u” instead of “you” or “tks” instead of “thank you” in e-mail. What looks fine as an SMS looks like you don't care enough to spend the time to compose a real message in an e-mail.
• Don’t use e-mail for urgent communication, such as cancelling bookings at short notice. Sometimes using the telephone is best.
• Don’t expect others to respond immediately to your mail. They may not have easy access to their e- mail account even though they are sure to expect that you do.
• Don’t assume people know who you are from your e-mail address. Use an e-mail signature which lists your name, business and contact details at the very least.

Things TO DO when using e-mail.

• Use the subject heading to indicate what your mail is about, this makes it easier for receivers to keep track of their mail. Each e-mail should be limited to one subject.
• Use a greeting in your email. This starts the communication on a polite and friendly note. If you don't know the receiver's name, a simple “Hi” will do.
• Include your own name, business and contact details for easy reference by the recipient.
• Check your spelling and grammar before you hit "send". Keep your spelling checker permanently on.
• Check whom you are sending e-mail to, as electronic address books make it easy to misdirect mail.
• Read your mail regularly, and reply promptly. If you use your email for business you should check it a couple of times a day. If you cannot check it this often you might be better off sticking to phone, fax or regular mail.
• Reply to original messages, or quote relevant parts of the message, so that the context is kept intact.
• Shut off your CAPS LOCK and use dark type with at least 9-point size. This will make your e-mail easy to read.
• Do spend the time to check your email includes all the information that the receiver needs to know. It will take more time if they have to email back with a “what do you mean?”.
• Keep sentences short and use bullet points where possible, this breaks up the page so that people do not have to read wall to wall text
• When sending e-mail to a large number of people, protect your recipients by hiding their addresses in the bcc (blind carbon copy), instead of cc (carbon copy) list.
• Do check your “spam” folder regularly, it is easy for an important email to be accidentally marked as spam.
• Use e-mail for leaving detailed messages and for keeping in touch. E-mail is non-intrusive, so people can read and attend to it at their leisure.
• Make hard copies of important mail. Store these along with your other printed files.
• Use a signature file so that receivers can identify who you are, if you have a link to your web site, type the http:// so people can access it with just one click.
• Use the abbreviations or emoticons listed below, as appropriate, for informal mail messages.
• Use virus protection software when sending or opening attachments. Viruses can easily be inadvertently spread to family, friends, and customers.
• Let the sender know if you receive e-mail not intended for you, so they can redirect it to the correct address.

E-mail abbreviations, for those on the go.
BTW – By The Way
FYI – For Your Information
IMHO – In My Humble Opinion
IMO – In My Opinion
LOL – Laughing Out Loud
TIA – Thanks In Advance

Emoticons help people interpret what you have written.
:-( or L Sad
:-) or J Happy
;-) winking
:-o shocked
:-x speechless

The 7 Golden Rules

1. Treat others how you would like to be treated yourself. You are dealing with people, not machines. If you would like to be thanked for your response, then thank the sender for their e-mail in the first place.
2. Don’t write anything in an e-mail that you would not say face to face. Words can come back to haunt you.
3. Think twice. About what you have written, and whom you are sending it to.
4. Always use spelling and grammar checkers.
5. Swearing is *never* acceptable.
6. Privacy should always be respected.
7. Do not send unrequested e-mail or SPAM.

 Copyright © 2004 Penny Young, Take A Break Away Pty Ltd

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