Think about how many emails you get in one day. Todays generation of professionals did not have the benefit of a course in E-tiquette. Consequently, we flew by the seat of our pants for a bit. Its time to rein it in. It is essential to deliver each piece of communication in a clear, accurate and professional manner. This is particularly true in E-blasts and in sending email to someone who doesn't know you. Ensure that the emails you send stand out from the rest and are opened and read. Everything you send makes an impression on the reader. Here are some surefire ways to make sure your emails dont end up in the trash. 1. Always send your email to yourself first to ensure it looks the way you intended. Reread what you have written from an impersonal standpoint. Watch for remarks that may be misconstrued by the reader or are unclear in the content. 2. If someone requested information about a certain topic and you are responding, be concise in your reply. You might alienate them by sending extraneous information or information not relevant to the topic. 3. Keep the language professional. You never know where the email could be forwarded. You dont want anything you have written to be taken out of context. 4. Blind carbon copy yourself when you send the final version of the email to the recipient. This will ensure that it was transmitted properly. Print a copy of it and use it as a follow-up reminder and send it as snail mail. 5. Make sure everyone understands the way your email broadcast works, i.e., frequency, call to action, removal process, etc. Make sure your email has a signature SIG file too. Nothing worse to have important correspondence and the sender is unknown. 6. Don't send email broadcasts on Mondays and Fridays unless its something the recipients are expecting. Tuesday after 9:00 AM is the best time followed by Wednesday and Thursday. Steer clear of holidays too unless your email has holiday related content. 7. Don't use hype or words that might make the email resemble spam, i.e., free, winner, bonus, gift, etc. 8. Spend as much time on the subject line of your email as you do on the contents of it because it won't matter what's inside if no one opens the email. If its everyday news, it won't be opened. It is important to capture the receivers attention and compel him or her to open your email. To get people to open your emails make sure the subject is relevant to the audience. Try to limit to 26 characters or 5 or six word. 9. Track what subject words work and which ones dont. Switch the words around send half one way and half another. Then track their success rates. If the word doesn't work substitute for it with a synonym. 10. Find out your email is rejected. You could have a problem with a banned word in the subject line that wont allow transmission or a spam filter may be in place but the receiving company. It also helps to evaluate what causes people to delete your email without even opening it. 11. Make sure you set your account to so it wont disclose whom the other recipients are. People hate when their email address is exposed to a group of people. So get busy using email to market yourself. |
