Electronic mail or email is one of the most powerful tools
that you will use in the online world. In order to use electronic mail most effectively,
do the following.Write meaningful and interesting subject headers. Subject headers tell
readers what your mail is about. That helps them decide whether to open it. Good subject
headers are short and specific.
Put the most important message information early in the message, and use good writing
techniques including subheads and short paragraphs. That's because most email readers
won't scroll down to see more of a message unless they perceive a compelling reason to do
so. Give them the reason in the early part of the message.
Be succinct and conversational. Email is more like conversation than it is like formal
mail Short and sweet works best.
When replying to messages quote portions of the message you're replying to as part of
your reply. If you've chosen good email software, this should be automatic.
Use filters on incoming email to make your mail handling easier and more effective. Set
up multiple mailboxes for different types of messages. Then use filters to automatically
sort messages into the appropriate mailbox.
Filters can also delete messages you know you won't read anyway.
On many email systems your filtering system can also add labels, color or other
features that help you manage your mail more effectively.
Use address grouping and nicknames to make your outgoing mailing more effective.
In your emails, you also need to tell folks who you are and what you do. In the
physical world you have stationery and business cards. In the digital world you need a
signature file.
Your signature (or signature file) functions as your stationery and business card in
cyberspace. Like your stationery and business card in the physical world, your signature
should include basic information about you.
Your signature should include your name, your affiliation if that’s appropriate
for your communication, ways to contact you, and, perhaps, a brief slogan or message about
what you do.
Name and affiliation are pretty self explanatory, what about addresses?
Your signature should tell people how to contact you. I’d suggest that it include
at least the following: your email address; a phone number.
Now, you might be asking, "why do I need my email address when all they need to do
is hit return?" The answer has to do with the way we know that people use email.
According to some studies, more than half of email which is read is also printed out.
That’s so people can pass it around to their friends. Their friends, reading the
printed version, may want to contact you. They can do that by email if they have your
email address.
That’s also why your phone number should be in there. In addition, you phone
number functions even for people who could hit reply as an alternative way to reach you.
There are also some older corporate systems that do not allow people to simply hit
reply. For those systems, an email address and alternative method of contact are also
good. I’d also suggest adding your Web URL to your signature if appropriate for you.
I’d also suggest that adding a brief message about what you do. The operative word
here is "brief." Keep your signature relatively short – most experts
recommend five lines or less.
Here's what one of my signature files looks like
Wally Bock
Publisher of Monday Memo and a popular speaker.
Selected by Inc.
Magazine as author of a "Book Every CEO Should Own."
Let Wally help you make your next meeting a success.
wally@wallybock.com http://www.wallybock.com/ 910-343-8661
There’s an alternative strategy you might consider, also.
Some folks like to have a novel signature that people will remember. They follow a
strategy of including the basic information, but adding a different quote frequently.
OK, how do you get this signature file thing done?
If you’ve got good email software, such as Eudora, there should be a way to set up
a signature file, which is automatically to each message. Eudora, and some other packages,
allow you to set up multiple signature files so you can pick among them for different
occasions and types of messages.
Other systems, such as Netscape, have you prepare a single text file, which is appended
as a signature to each message. Microsoft Outlook does something similar, except that it
creates the file right in the email program.
If you don’t have any of that software, or if you’re on a system like America
Online, which doesn’t offer signature files, it’s still pretty easy to have one,
or several. Just prepare a simple text file with your signature in it. Then keep that in
an open window when you’re doing email, and cut and paste as needed.
Email is a simple and powerful tool. Take the time to learn to use it effectively and
you'll reap benefits for years.
Reviewed: 2/15/03
This one was published originally in 1996 and then revised in 1998. Some of the technical details have changed, but I think the basic points are still valid.
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