Here are our five top tips for emailing well.
1. Keep it short (but informative)
Reading online strains the eyes and you risk losing the reader’s attention if they see a big block of text. If need be, you can always attach a detailed document.
2. Check your spelling
Their is know x-cuse 4 poor spellin or grammer.
Spell check programs won’t catch everything, so take a minute and review your message. Your email is a reflection of you and should show you care enough to make it readable.
3. Use the Bcc: (blind carbon copy) feature
When you send a message to multiple recipients, use the Bcc feature if your audience is not connected in some way (and just because you know everyone on the list does not make a valid connection!)
Bcc is a way of protecting others’ email addresses and their privacy. You are not entitled to share other people’s addresses without their permission. Of course, internal company communications can be an exception, as can be members of a committee or others who have agreed to communicate via email as a group.
4. Be selective when you forward
Many companies now block internal capabilities, so forwarding the latest joke or ‘dire warning’ to the masses may no longer be possible from your office computer. Whether from home or office, think twice before passing on the pictures of cute kittens or « free money from Bill Gates » messages. Something you find humorous or interesting is often not appreciated by others. Creating a bulk list so you can share with your entire universe in one easy click is impersonal and can be offensive.
Don’t assume people like getting your daily forwards. Chances are they just don’t know how to ask you politely to stop sending them. There’s also a strong possibility they don’t even open them anymore and certainly don’t “forward this to seven friends within seven minutes” to avoid a disaster or receive confirmation they are loved.
Try this test: Stop forwarding mass emails for a month. See how many friends complain they miss them.
If you really feel something is relevant and important, send an individual email to each recipient and include a personal message. Getting an occasional, appropriate and relevant email from you will be much more appreciated.
5. Don’t overdue the punctuation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Adding excessive exclamation marks to make a point(!!!), putting emoticon faces on everything you write 🙂 😛 or using the bold feature to emphasize a word within a sentence is not necessary. If your email is well written, you won’t need these over-the-top expressions and misused tools.
For more ways to make your emails more effective, check out these helpful sites: (Ready? go!!!! ;))
Michael Hyatt’s Email Etiquette 101
About.com’s Email Etiquette: 26 Rules to Follow