These days we are being inundated with emails. To help you formulate well written emails we have created a list of ‘Email Do’s’ for you to use.

• Write a concise and relevant subject line – this lets the recipient know what the focus is and later, if they need to search for an email, it can be found easily using the right keywords.
• Keep the list of recipients to a minimum – only send an email to relevant people. To others it will be an annoying waste of their time.
• Use the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) field only if you don’t want the recipient to know that the message will be sent to multiple recipients – the down side to this is that only information in the Sender field will be visible to the recipient.
• Try to limit emails to one subject per message or format the email with headings to clearly indicate different subjects – creating one long email without headings can make thing confusing.
• If you’re out of the office for a period of time and cannot answer client emails swiftly, create an automatic reply – this allows you to manage people’s expectations and reduces the follow up emails.
• Answer all questions and pre-empt any further questions – if you neglect to answer all questions it will simply generate more email and frustration. Try and pre-empt any further questions that your response may generate and answer those as well.
• Only include relevant information and files – there is nothing more annoying than wasting time downloading an attachment then finding that it is irrelevant. This only caused frustration.
• Use proper structure and layout – this makes the document easier to read. Use short paragraphs and leave a blank line between them.
• Leave reading emails to an appropriate time – first thing in the morning, you probably have more important tasks to perform. Scan your inbox for senders or subjects that indicate that the message may need to be read urgently.
• Reply to emails using the “Reply with History” button – this attaches a copy of the original email for the recipient to refer to. This may be more important if the subject has been “discussed” during a series of emails sent back and forward.
• Read your email before you send it and check spelling, grammar etc. This has a two-fold effect. It gives you a chance to correct any spelling or grammatical errors and it gives you a chance to read it from the recipient’s point of view. Ask yourself can the message I am trying to communicate be taken out of context.
• Include an email signature with a telephone – this is not only normal business etiquette, it also allows the recipient to easily contact you without having to search or look up your phone number.

There are many ways we can assist you with your business administration or marketing needs. Feel free to schedule a call with Nicole and explore how we can support you.