If you're in business and use email, you've likely learned to KISS (keep it short & simple). However many people still think that writing an email should be like writing a letter to Aunt Sally. Letters are traditionally long and detailed. With email, however, you need to be laser-like, or risk losing your reader half-way through the first paragraph.
If you spend a lot of time with email like I do, you really appreciate emails that are short, to the point, and stick to one topic (this makes it easier to find the information later). Use plenty of white space to make the email easy to read. Do this by using short 2 to 3 sentence paragraphs, and keeping the length of the email to 4 or 5 short paragraphs. If you go much longer than that, it might be set aside for reading later.
It's also important to put some thought into your Subject line so that the recipient has a clue as to what the email is about. For example, rather than saying, 'I have a question for you', you could say, 'Question about our meeting tomorrow'.
Something else that can be very helpful when replying back and forth to emails is to change the Subject line if the subject changes from the original email. I've had a hard time finding an email by subject line when the person sending me the email replies to me and the topic we're talking about doesn't have anything to do with the Subject line any more.
And here is the most useful tip I can give about lasering your email messages. When having an email discussion, cut out parts of the email that no longer apply, and place your reply underneath the paragraph or sentence you're replying to. Here's an example of an email dialogue:
==========
At 10:36 AM 10-28-04 -07:00, you wrote:
>> Wow, I can't believe the leaves are almost completely off
>> the trees already! We're going to spend our weekend
>> raking...how about you?
The leaves have barely started turning colors here so I don't
think we'll be raking for a while.
>> In fact I'd like to go out to a movie this weekend but have
>> no idea what's playing. Any suggestions?
Do you like animated movies? I hear Shark Tales is pretty
good!
>> I'm looking for some quick and easy recipes that I can whip
>> up in a half-hour or so. If you have any web sites or
>> cookbooks you can recommend I'd appreciate it.
Check out Minute Meals (http://www.allfood.com/mmeal.cfm).
They have a quick and healthy section you might like.
==========
Pretty easy to read, isn't it? It's just like a conversation. You'll notice that each reply is listed directly under the original statement (which had been reduced down to only the message that needed to be responded to). Most email programs will automatically put the >> in front of the original email, so you can easily see who wrote what.
If you're a business user of email, I encourage you to sharpen your skills for sending and replying to email. It will save you time and energy so that you'll have more time for bigger and better things!
About The Author
Jean Hanson is a Certified Professional Virtual Assistant. Discover how partnering with a virtual assistant will give you more time to do the things you love to do! Visit her at http://www.vaofficesolution.com. Jean is also the author of the eBook, Virtualize Your Business - http://www.virtualizeyourbiz.com.
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
|
![]() |
Firstly, back-end sales is eMail Marketing at its best, so... Read More
Offer a newsletter in a time frame that will be... Read More
Did you know one of the most important tools in... Read More
Why you need new website content.Finding or creating good content... Read More
Years ago, I listened to Internet marketing "gurus" share that... Read More
An autoresponder is an automatic or software-mailing program. Why... Read More
Ensuring requested opt-in email is delivered to subscriber inboxes... Read More
Lack of trust is the biggest problem marketers have on... Read More
When using an email marketing tool such as Adestra's Message... Read More
A few months into the job and Sabrina's cold calling... Read More
Every day, I receive at least 300 emails. I will... Read More
Does it seem to you that when you view "openings"... Read More
Just because you can communicate with hundreds of people virtually... Read More
For the sake of your long term survival and your... Read More
If you do business as an affiliate, then you're constantly... Read More
Most people now know the official definition of spam- Unsolicited... Read More
Marketing your business with email is an art.It's very easy... Read More
One of the biggest concerns for Realtors who publish their... Read More
This little parody, and the comments that follow, were... Read More
If you are not using a follow up autoresponder until... Read More
Targeted, cheap, fast, trackable and with more reporting than traditional... Read More
If you run (or plan to run) an online business,... Read More
I have always been an avid reader of Stephen King's... Read More
One of the best and newest tools out there for... Read More
In a fast moving global economy, e-mail offers you the... Read More
In Fall 2003, America Online (AOL) released its brand new... Read More
5 unorthodox email subject tricks -500% more responses! (c) Copyright... Read More
Many companies begin their online sales ventures with the wrong... Read More
How much time did you spend on deciding on the... Read More
A responsive opt in list is an unbelievably powerful money-maker... Read More
The consumer of today is increasingly bombarded by marketing messages... Read More
Email is a vital part of doing business online, but... Read More
If you've been getting caught up in all this talk... Read More
1. E-mail courses are generally quick and easy to create.... Read More
Whenever we talk to a new or a "we hope... Read More
You're probably familiar with e-mail signature (or "sig") files --... Read More
Top 10 Ways to Quickly Build Your List Have you... Read More
Autoresponders, or responders, are simply programs that allow you to... Read More
If you want an email campaign to succeed, you don`t... Read More
Website owners are always on the lookout for new ways... Read More
If you are active on the web promoting your products,... Read More
Marketers the world over use follow up autoresponders toincrease sales.... Read More
Computer viruses are usually a bad thing. They can compromise... Read More
Have you ever wondered how some websites get so many... Read More
In the business world, "You've Got Mail" has turned into... Read More
I love the Internet! Information about any topic that piques... Read More
Now that we've explored the importance of sending permission-based email,... Read More
Email is THE medium of communication for business transactions. Unfortunately,... Read More
Over 40% of all emails within your marketing campaign are... Read More
One major asset that every internet or affiliate marketer needs... Read More
In an article based on research done by emaillabs, MarketingSherpa... Read More
Are you running ads and marketing with tag lines that... Read More
An opt-in e-newsletter is one of the most effective marketing... Read More
Is your email getting to your list members? If so,... Read More
Did you know one of the most important tools in... Read More
Every business needs a low cost way to reach targeted... Read More
In this article I'm going to talk strictly from a... Read More
Whether you've got 100 or 100,000 people on your email... Read More
It's not a website.It's a smart autoresponder and mailing list... Read More
Consider if you will the resources, the time and the... Read More
Even though many people have been writing e-mails for a... Read More
Don't be insulted. Don't take it as a personal rejection.... Read More
When I was first introduced to an autoresponder I thought... Read More
An autoresponder gives you the ability to send messages effortlessly... Read More
Things just got a lot hotter in the hyper-competitive world... Read More
There are more than 100 million e-mail users in the... Read More
Email Marketing |