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E-mail tips
E-mail is the most widely used Internet application. Used wisely, it can greatly enhance communication with people near and far. Used unwisely, and it can create more problems than opportunities. The following tips will likely make any user's experience with e-mail much more productive.
- Keep the length of the message short
Shorter e-mail messages are more likely to be completely read than long messages. If a longer message is necessary, consider attaching a file with that longer message.
- Make sure that attachments can be read by the recipient
Attachments that are too large may not be accepted by the recipient's system. Also, the format of the attachment should be one that the recipient can read.
- Keep unsolicited mail to a minimum
Think twice before you send a personal e-mail to someone who does not expect it. If you do, try to send a message that the recipient would find useful.
- Use a clear and descriptive subject line
Typically, most e-mail users see only the address of the sender and the Subject line of incoming e-mail. That Subject line may be the difference between an e-mail that is read and one that is discarded.
- Use appropriate spelling and grammar
The alternative is to create e-mail that creates a negative impression of the writer or the writer's organization.
- Keep the number of recipients as low as practical
E-mails with a long list of recipients in the To: or Cc: fields may not be seen as urgent as e-mails directly addressed to an individual. This is especially important when using e-mail in the workplace.
- Respect the privacy of e-mail addresses
When sending e-mails to multiple recipients, do not put in an e-mail address in the To: or Cc: field if one or more recipients have no need to know that address. If you are sending an e-mail to multiple recipients and you don't want the recipients to see any other address, then put the list of addresses in the Bcc: field.
- Assume that your e-mail will be forwarded on to someone you do not know
Anyone who receives an e-mail from you may forward that e-mail to others, usually without your knowledge. If the contents of an e-mail would cause you embarrassment if it fell into the wrong hands, consider not sending the e-mail in the first place.
- Make sure the recipient can identify you
When you are sending e-mail to someone you don't know or don't know well, make sure that the recipient can figure our who you are, how you found out about the recipient, what your want from the recipient, and why that recipient should respond to your e-mail. You should compose the Subject line and the first sentence of the e-mail so that these questions are answered. Otherwise, your e-mail may be quickly deleted.
- Use plain text for the body of an e-mail While some e-mail software allows recipients to view e-mail formatted with HTML or other formatting codes, not every program has that option available, and if it is available it may not be activated by the recipient. On the other hand, a plain text e-mail can be read by even the simplest of e-mail programs.
