E-Mail Messages

Electronic mail (email or e-mail) is a method of exchanging messages ("mail")

between people using electronic devices.

Invented by Ray Tomlinson, email first entered limited use in the 1960s and by the mid-
1970s had taken the form now recognized as email.

Email operates across computer networks, which today is primarily the Internet. Some
early email systems required the author and the recipient to both be online at the same
time, in common with instant messaging.

Today's email systems are based on a store-and-forward model. Email servers accept,
forward, deliver, and store messages. Neither the users nor their computers are
required to be online simultaneously; they need to connect only briefly, typically to a mail
server or a webmail interface, for as long as it takes to send or receive messages.

Technology continues to change the way we work and the way we write. Not too long
ago, a pen, typewriter, and telephone were the primary equipment for business
communicators; then came word processors, fax machines, and e-mail. Today, we can
choose from a host of tools that includes cell phones, Web pages, videoconferencing,
and instant messaging, each one ever increasing its features and benefits. Because
technology changes so rapidly, so do expectations for how and when to use it. A 21st
century communicator understands that adaptation is the key to staying current, and
being open to learning new technologies is a must.

E-mails are commonly used for these purposes:

1. To accomplish routine, noncontroversial business activities (setting up

meetings/appointments, reminders, notices, quick updates, information sharing).
2. To save time: many people can look through 60–100 e-mails an hour.
3. To save money: one e-mail can go to many people, including global teams.
4. To allow readers to deal with messages at their convenience, when timing is not
crucial.
5. To communicate accurately.
6. To provide readers with details for reference (meetings).
7. To create a paper trail.

As you write e-mail messages, keep these guidelines in mind:

1. Although e-mail feels informal, it is not private, as a conversation might be.

Your employer may legally check your messages. And a message sent to one
person can be printed out or forwarded to others without your knowledge or
 consent. Don't be indiscreet in e-mail. Remember — your message is not the
only one in your recipient’s mailbox. A clear subject line will help a busy
professional to decide that your email is worthwhile.

Bad Practice Subject: [Blank] A blank subject line suggests that your name in
the “From” line is all your recipient should need in order to make you message a
top priority. That could come across as arrogant, or at the very least, thoughtless.
A well-chosen subject line is an important opportunity to inform and persuade
your reader.
Bad Practice Subject: “Important! Read Immediately!!“ Rather than brashly
announcing that the secret contents of your mystery message are inexplicably
important…
Bad Practice Subject: “Quick question.“ If the question is quick, why not just
ask it in the subject line? This subject line is hardly useful.

2. Keep the message focused. Why are you writing? Are you responding to a
request? Apologizing for an error on your part? Asking for the recipient to take
some action for you?

 Purpose: examples of complaint and adjustment letters, proposal

letters, progress reports, application letters, and so forth.
 Directness: You probably don’t need to open with “Dear Ms. Jones,” engage in
personal chit-chat, and close with “Yours Truly.” (If you really want to be that
formal, send a letter on paper instead.)
 Organization: Readers will often get partway through a complex message, hit
“reply” as soon as they have something to contribute, and forget to read the rest.
That’s human nature.

Number your points in more complex message. (Start with a clear statement
of how many parts there are to your message.)

Split unrelated points into separate, purposeful emails.

 If you send all your employees a message that only relates to some of
them, a lot of people will waste time reading the whole thing, in order to
determine whether any part of it applies to them.
 Other people will give up as soon as they find any detail that does not
apply to them. (Again, this is human nature.)

 Politeness: Please and thank-you are still important, but wordiness wastes your
reader’s time (which is rude).
 Example:

X Indirect and wasteful: “Dearest Arnold: I would be very much obliged if, at
your earliest convenience, you could send me the current password for the
website. I look forward to your response. Have a nice day! Yours Truly,
Philomena.”

X Blunt to the point of rudeness: “Need the password for the website.”
If you get a message like this, you might assume the sender trusts you and really
needs your help; however, if you send a message like this, you might appear
needy and panicky. Is that how you want to come across? Think about it.

Good Practice: Urgent, yet polite: “Site is down, but I can’t troubleshoot
without the new password. Do you know it?”

To help your reader focus on your message: keep your text readable.

 Proofread, especially when your message asks your recipient to do work for
you. All-caps comes across as shouting, and no-caps makes you look like a lazy
teenager.

Regardless of your intention, people will respond accordingly.

 If you are in middle school, a gushing statement “thx 4 ur help 2day ur gr8!″
may make a busy professional smile — or shudder.
 Often, the sweetness of the gesture won’t be enough. u want ur prof r ur boss
2 think u can’t spl? LOL ;-)
 Write short paragraphs, separated by blank lines. Most people find unbroken
blocks of text boring, or even intimidating. Take the time to format your message
for the ease of your reader.
 Avoid fancy typefaces. Don’t depend upon bold font or large size to add
nuances. Your recipient’s email reader may not have all the features that yours
does. In a pinch, use asterisks to show *emphasis*.
3. Avoid attachments.
Rather than forcing you reader to download an attachment and open it in a separate
program, you will probably get faster results if you just copy-paste the most important
part of the document into the body of your message.
Example:

To: All 1000 Employees

From: Eager Edgar
Subject: A helpful book everyone should read

Hello, everyone. I’ve attached a PDF that I think you’ll all find very useful. This is
the third time I sent it the file — the version I sent yesterday had a typo on page
207, so I’ve sent the whole thing again. Since some of you noted that the large
file size makes it a bit awkward, I’ve also attached each chapter as a separate
document. Let me know what you think! Attachments:
Big Honking File.pdf (356MB)
BHF Cover.pdf (25MB)
BHF Chapter 1.pdf (35MB)

Good Practice

To: Bessie Professional

From: Emelyn
Subject: Email tips — a subject for an office workshop?
—-
Bessie, I came across some tips on streamlining professional communications. Has
anyone volunteered to present at the office workshop next month? Let me know if you’d
like me to run a little seminar (20 minutes?) on using email effectively. Below, I’ll paste
the table of contents. I’ll send you the whole thing as a PDF if you want it. Table of
Contents

1. Write a meaningful subject line.

2. Keep the message focused and readable.
3. Avoid attachments.
4. […]

Recognize that attachments

 Consume bandwidth (do you want your recipient to ignore your request so as to
avoid paying for a mobile download?)
 Can carry viruses
 Don’t always translate correctly for people who read their email on portable
devices.
 May require your recipient to have certain software installed (such as Microsoft
Publisher or Apple’s Pages)

4. Identify yourself clearly.

If you telephoned someone outside your closest circle, someone who probably wouldn’t
recognize your voice, you would probably say something like “Hello, Ms. Wordsworth,
this is Sally Griffin.” A formal “Dear Ms. Wordsworth” salutation is not necessary for
routine workplace communication.

When we send text messages to our friends, we expect a lot of back-and-forth. But
professionals who use email don’t enjoy getting a cryptic message from an email
address they don’t recognize.

While a routine email does not require a formal salutation such as “Dear Ms.
Wordsworth,” ask yourself whether the person you are writing knows you well
enough to recognize your email address.

If you are asking the other person to do you a favor, providing the right
information will give him or her a good reason to decide in your favor.

When contacting someone cold, be polite and brief. If you are asking for a stranger to do
something for you for free, be prepared to hear nothing in response.

If you are following up on a face-to-face contact, you might appear too timid if you
assume your recipient doesn’t remember you; but you can drop casual hints to jog their
memory: “I enjoyed talking with you about usability testing in the elevator the other day.”

While formal phrases such as “Dear Professor Rodrigo” and “Sincerely Yours,” are
unnecessary in email, when contacting someone outside your own organization, you
should write a signature line that includes your full name and at least a link to a
blog or online profile page (something that does not require your recipient to log in
first).

5. Be kind. Don’t flame.

Think before you click “Send.”

If you find yourself writing in anger, save a draft, go get a cup of coffee, and imagine that
tomorrow morning someone has taped your email outside your door. Would your
associates and friends be shocked by your language or attitude?

Or would they be impressed by how you kept your cool, how you ignored the bait when
your correspondent stooped to personal attacks and how you carefully explained your
position (or admitted your error, or asked for a reconsideration, etc.)

Just don’t hit “Send” while you’re still angry.

If your recipient has just lambasted you with an angry message, rather than reply with a
point-by-point rebuttal, you can always respond with a brief note like this, which
 1. casually invokes the name of someone the angry correspondent is likely to
respect (in order to diffuse any personal antagonism that may otherwise have
developed) and
2. refocuses the conversation on solutions (in this conversation, Ann has already
dug herself into a hole, and Clair has nothing to gain by joining her there)
6. Proofread.
If you are asking someone else to do work for you, take the time to make your
message look professional. While your spell checker won’t catch every mistake, at the
very least it will catch a few typos. If you are sending a message that will be read by
someone higher up on the chain of command (a superior or professor, for instance), or if
you’re about to mass-mail dozens or thousands of people, take an extra minute or two
before you hit “send”. Show a draft to a close associate, in order to see whether it
actually makes sense.

7. Don’t assume privacy.

A good motto: praise in public, and criticize in private. Don’t send anything over email
that you wouldn’t want posted — with your name attached — in the break room.
Email is not secure. Just as random pedestrians could reach into a physical mailbox
and intercept envelopes, a curious hacker, a malicious criminal, and your IT department
can probably read any and all email messages in your work account.
If you stretch the truth in an email (downplaying a problem, leaving out an important
detail, etc.), you’re creating a written record that your recipient can (and will) use to
determine whether

 you are uninformed about the truth

 you are informed but deliberately misrepresenting the truth
 your confused and conflicting emails mean you aren’t a reliable source for
determining the truth
8. Distinguish between formal and informal situations.
When you are writing to a friend or a close colleague, it is OK to use “smilies” :-) ,
abbreviations (IIRC for “if I recall correctly”, LOL for “laughing out loud,” etc.) and
nonstandard punctuation and spelling (like that found in instant messaging or chat
rooms).

These linguistic shortcuts are generally signs of friendly intimacy, like sharing cold pizza
with a family friend. If you tried to share that same cold pizza with a first date, or a
visiting dignitary, you would give off the impression that you did not really care about the
meeting. By the same token, don’t use informal language when your reader expects a
more formal approach.

Always know the situation, and write accordingly.

9. Respond Promptly.
If you want to appear professional and courteous, make yourself available to your online
correspondents. Even if your reply is, “Sorry, I’m too busy to help you now,” at least your
correspondent won’t be waiting in vain for your reply.

10. Show Respect and Restraint

Many a flame war has been started by someone who hit “reply all” instead of “reply.”

While most people know that email is not private, it is good form to ask the sender
before forwarding a personal message. If someone emails you a request, it is perfectly
acceptable to forward the request to a person who can help — but forwarding a
message in order to ridicule the sender is tacky.

Use BCC instead of CC when sending sensitive information to large groups. (For
example, a professor sending a bulk message to students who are in danger of failing,
or an employer telling unsuccessful applicants that a position is no longer open.) The
name of everyone in the CC list goes out with the message, but the names of people on
the BCC list (“blind carbon copy”) are hidden. Put your own name in the “To” box if your
mail editor doesn’t like the blank space.

Be tolerant of other people’s etiquette blunders. If you think you’ve been insulted, quote
the line back to your sender and add a neutral comment such as, “I’m not sure how to
interpret this… could you elaborate?”

Sometimes Email is Too Fast!

A colleague once asked me for help, and then almost immediately sent a follow-up
informing me she had solved the problem on her own.

But before reading her second message, I replied at length to the first. Once I learned
that there was no need for any reply, I worried that my response would seem pompous,
so I followed up with a quick apology:

“Should have paid closer attention to my email.”

What I meant to say was “[I] should have looked more carefully at my[list of incoming]
email [before replying],” but I could tell from my colleague’s terse reply that she had
interpreted it as if I was criticizing her.
If I hadn’t responded so quickly to the first message, I would have saved myself the time
I spent writing a long answer to an obsolete question. If I hadn’t responded so quickly to
the second message, I might not have alienated the person I had been so eager to help.
 How should I set up e-mail messages?

Formats are still evolving.

Most e-mail programs prompt you to supply the various parts of the format. For example,
a blank Eudora screen prompts you to supply the name of the person the message
goes to and the subject line. Cc denotes computer copies; the recipient will see that
these people are getting the message. Bcc denotes blind computer copies; the
recipient does not see the names of these people. Most e-mail programs also allow
you to attach documents from other programs. Thus you can send someone a document
with formatting, drafts of PowerPoint slides, or the design for a brochure cover. The
computer program supplies the date and time automatically.

Some programs allow you to write a message now and program the future time at which
you want it to be sent.

Send an email message based on a template

Some aspects of e-mail format are still evolving. In particular, some writers treat e-mail
messages as if they were informal letters; some treat them as memos. Even though the
e-mail screen has a "To" line (as do memos), some writers still use an informal
salutation, ends the message with a signature block. You can store a signature block in
the e-mail program and set the program to insert the signature block automatically.

Create and add a signature to messages

1. Open a new email message.

2. Select Signature > Signatures from the Message menu.

Depending on the size of your Outlook window and whether you're composing a new
email message or a reply or forward, the Message menu and the Signature button
might be in two different locations.
3. Under Select signature to edit, choose New, and in the New Signature dialog box,
type a name for the signature.
4. Under Edit signature, compose your signature. You can change fonts, font colors, and
sizes, as well as text alignment. If you want to create a more robust signature with
bullets, tables, or borders, use Word to format your text, then copy and paste the
signature into the Edit signature box.

Notes:

You can add links and images to your email signature, change fonts and colors,
and justify the text using the mini formatting bar under Edit signature.
You can also add social media icons and links in your signature. For more
information, see Insert hyperlinks to Facebook and Twitter in your email
signature.
To add images to your signature, see Add a logo or image to your signature.

5. Under Choose default signature, set the following options for your signature:

In the E-mail account drop-down box, choose an email account to associate with the
signature. You can have different signatures for each email account.
 If you want your signature added to all new messages by default, in the New
messages drop-down box, select one of your signatures. If you don't want to
automatically add a signature to new messages, choose (none). This doesn't add a
signature to any messages you reply to or forward.

If you want your signature to appear in the messages you reply to and forward, in
the Replies/ forwards drop-down, select one of your signatures. Otherwise, accept the
default option of (none).

6. Choose OK to save your new signature and return to your message. Outlook doesn't
add your new signature to the message you opened in Step 1, even if you chose to
apply the signature to all new messages. You'll have to add the signature manually to
this one message. All future messages will have the signature added automatically. To
add the signature manually, select Signature from the Message menu and then pick the
signature you just created.

Add a logo or image to your signature

If you have a company logo or an image to add to your signature, use the following
steps.
 Insert a signature manually

If you don't choose to insert a signature for all new messages or replies and forwards,
you can still insert a signature manually.

1. In your email message, on the Message tab, select Signature.

2. Choose your signature from the fly-out menu that appears. If you have more than one
signature, you can select any of the signatures you've created.

When you hit "reply," the e-mail program automatically uses "Re:" (Latin for about) and
the previous subject. The original message is set off. You may want to change the
subject line to make it more appropriate for your message. If you prepare your
document in a word processor, use two-inch side margins to create short line lengths. If
the line lengths are too long, they'll produce awkward line breaks.

How to write an excellent email subject line

It's important to know how to write an excellent email subject line.

Your email subject line will often determine whether or not anyone will
actually read your message.

In order to make the email stand out, keep your subject line short, specific,
and personalized.

How can you write the perfect email subject line?

It's an important question to ask yourself whenever you're preparing to send out an
important email. We send billions of emails every day. You need to make sure your
message stands out.

Here are some tips on how to write an excellent email subject line:

1. Always write a subject line- The experts said that not including a subject line is one
of the biggest mistakes you can make.

The subject line often determines whether an email is opened and how the recipient
responds.

An email with a blank subject line will likely get deleted, lost, or immediately irritate the
recipient, who is forced to open the email to figure out what it's about.
2. Write the subject line first

For many professionals, the subject line is an afterthought that you add just before you
hit send it can be the most important part of the email. Write the subject line first, so that
it sets the tone and you don't forget.

3. Keep it short A typical inbox reveals about 60 characters of an email's subject line,
while a mobile phone shows just 25 to 30 characters, said Augustine. Get right to the
point in about six to eight words.

4. Place the most important words at the beginning Statistics says a whopping 50% of
emails are read on mobile phones. Since you don't know how much of the subject line
will be viewable from a smartphone, it's important to put the most important information
at the beginning. Otherwise, compelling details could get cut off.

5. Eliminate filler words With such precious space, don't waste it with unnecessary
words like "hello," "nice to meet you," and "thanks," which can easily be included in the
email's body, the experts said.

6. Be clear and specific about the topic of the email The subject line should
communicate exactly what the email is about so that the recipient can prioritize the
email's importance without having to open it, the experts said.

For example, writing "Do you have a sec?" is vague, said Augustine, since the reader
will have to open the email or reply to figure out what you want.

If it's a job application , she suggests including your name and the position, and if it's to
another coworker , you should identify the project that the email refers to.

7. Keep it simple and focused Especially if you're sending a marketing email. It should
be focused on one action, which should be communicated in the subject line.

Offer one takeaway, indicate how the reader can make use of it, and specify how you
will deliver it.

8. Use logical keywords for search and filtering Most professionals have filters and
folders set up to manage their email and probably won't focus on your message when
they first see it.

That's why it's important to include keywords related to the topic of the email that will
make it searchable later.
9. Indicate if you need a response "People want to know whether they really need to
read this now and if they have to respond," If you need a response, make it clear in the
subject line by saying "please reply" or "thoughts needed on X topic." If not, simply start
the line with "Please read," or tack on "no response needed" or "FYI" to the end.

10. Set a deadline in the subject line Especially if you have a lot of information to
convey in the email itself, the experts said that including a deadline right in the subject
line exponentially increases the odds that readers will respond.

For example, after the email's topic, you could say: "Please reply by EOD Friday."

11. If someone referred you, be sure to use their name If you've been referred by a
mutual acquaintance, do not save that for the body of the email, said Augustine. Put it in
the subject line to grab the reader's attention right away. Moreover, expert suggests
beginning the subject line with the full name of the person who referred you.

12. Highlight the value you have to offer If sending a cold email to someone you don't
know, "you need a subject line that indicates value and communicates what they're
going to get," The reader's interest by offering them something that's helpful.

Whether you're providing a speaking opportunity, a discount, or a service, make it clear

in the subject line what's in it for them.

13. Personalize it with the recipient's name or company name You have to know who
you're sending the email to, and they have to recognize that it's about them or a subject
interesting to them. Using their name or company name is one of the best ways to do
that, and makes the recipient much more likely to open the email.

For example, you might write, "Increase Company's sales by 25%," or "John, see how
you compare to competitors."

14. Create urgency by limiting the timeframe To grab someone's attention and
persuade them to reply, the experts suggested creating a deadline for your proposition.
Common ways of creating urgency include "respond now," "register today," and "limited
space available — reply soon."

15. Don't start a sentence that you finish in the email's body If you begin a thought or
question that ends in the email, then the reader is forced to open the email. It's
annoying, and since clarity and being respectful of the recipient's time is the goal, it's not
very helpful.

Consider whether instant message, a call, or an in-person chat might be a better

medium for your question.
16. Make sure you reread the subject line Be warned against copy-and-paste errors.
Sometimes when people are sending a similar email to multiple people, they forget to tailor
it to each reader and end up with the wrong name or title in the subject line. The easiest
way to avoid this is to reread the subject line before you hit send.

17. Don't put words in ALL CAPS Using all caps may get someone's attention, but in the
wrong way.

"This is email 101, but people still break this cardinal rule. "Putting any phrase in all caps is
the equivalent of shouting."

Your job is to make the email as easy as possible for the recipient to read rather than giving
them anxiety.

Instead, use dashes or colons to separate thoughts, and avoid special characters like
exclamation points.

18. Don't just type a string of punctuation A line of punctuation does not an email
subject line make.
"'?????' and its cousin '!!!!!' are unnecessarily aggressive, and — perhaps worse —
don't actually communicate the problem (or anything)."

How to Organize Informative and Positive Messages

1. Start with good news or the most important information. Summarize the main
points. If the reader has already raised the issue, make it clear that you’re responding.

2. Give details, clarification, background. Answer all the questions your reader is
likely to have; provide all the information necessary to achieve your purposes. If you are
asking or answering multiple questions, number them. Enumeration increases your
chances of giving or receiving all the necessary information. Present details in the order
of importance to the reader or in some other logical order.

3. Present any negative elements—as positively as possible. A policy may have limits;
information may be incomplete; the reader may have to satisfy requirements to get a
discount or benefit. Make these negatives clear, but present them as positively as
possible.
4. Explain any benefits. Most informative memos need benefits. Show that the policy or
procedure helps readers, not just the company. Give enough detail to make the benefits
clear and convincing. In letters, you may want to give benefits of dealing with your
company as well as benefits of the product or policy. In a good news message, it’s often
possible to combine a short benefit with a goodwill ending in the last paragraph.

5. Use a goodwill ending: positive, personal, and forward-looking. Shifting your

emphasis away from the message to the specific reader suggests that serving the
reader is your real concern.

Making Subject Lines Appropriate for the Pattern of Organization

Since your subject line introduces your reader to your message, it must satisfy the
psychological demands of the situation; it must be appropriate to your purposes and
to the immediate response you expect from your reader. In general, do the same
thing in your subject line that you would do in the first paragraph. When you have good
news for the reader, build goodwill by highlighting it in the subject line. When your
information is neutral, summarize it concisely for the subject line.

Subject Lines for Informative and Positive Messages A subject line is the title of a
document. It aids in filing and retrieving the document, tells readers why they need to
read the document, and provides a framework in which to set what you’re about to say.
Subject lines are standard in memos and e-mails. Letters are not required to have
subject lines .

A good subject line meets three criteria: it is specific, concise, and appropriate to the
kind of message (positive, negative, persuasive).

Making Subject Lines Specific The subject line needs to be specific enough to
differentiate that message from others on the same subject, but broad enough to cover
everything in the message.

Too general: Training Sessions

Better: Dates for 2008 Training Sessions

or: Evaluation of Training Sessions on Conducting Interviews

or: Should We Schedule a Short Course on Proposal Writing?

Making Subject Lines Concise Most subject lines are relatively short. Mailer Mailer, a
Web-based e-mail management service, found that e-mails whose subject lines were 35
characters or less were significantly more likely to be opened by readers than subject
lines with more than 35 characters.

If you can’t make the subject both specific and short, be specific.
Writing Negative E-Mail Messages

Major negatives, such as firing someone, should be delivered in person, not by e-mail.
But e-mail is appropriate for many less serious negatives. Never write e-mail
messages when you're angry. If a message infuriates you, wait till you're calmer
before you reply—and even then, reply only if you must. Writers using e-mail are much
less inhibited than they would be on paper or in person, sending insults, swearing,
name-calling, and making hostile statements. 1 Flaming is the name given to this
behavior. Flaming does not make you look like a mature, level-headed candidate for
bigger things. And because employers have the right to read all e-mail, flaming—
particularly if directed at co-workers, regulators, suppliers, or customers—may cause an
employee to be fired. In the body of the e-mail message, give a reason only if it is
watertight and reflects well on the organization. Give an alternative, if one exists. Edit
and proofread your message carefully. An easy way for an angry reader to strike back is
to attack typos or other errors. Remember that e-mail messages, like any documents,
can become documents in lawsuits. When an e-mail negative is hard to write, you
may want to compose it offline so that you can revise and even get feedback before you
send the message.

Writing Persuasive E-Mail Messages

When you ask for something small or for something that it is part of the reader's job
duties to provide, your request can be straightforward.

In the body of the message, give people all the information they need to act.

At the end of the message, ask for the action you want. Make the action as easy
as possible, and specify when you need a response. You may want an
immediate response now ("Let me know ASAP whether you can write a story for
the newsletter so that I can save the space") and a fuller one later ("we'll need
the text by July 9").

When you ask for something big or something that is not a regular part of that person's
duties, the first paragraph must not only specify the request but also make the
reader view it positively. Use the second paragraph to provide an overview of the
evidence that the rest of the message will provide: Use audience analysis to find a
reason to do as you ask that the reader will find convincing. Everyone is busy, so you
need to make the reader want to do as you ask. Be sure to provide complete information
that the reader will need to act on your request. Ask for the action you want.
Managing the Information in Your Messages

Information control is important. You want to give your audience the information they
need, but you don’t want to overwhelm them with information. Sometimes you will have
good reasons for not providing all the information they want.

When you are the person in the know, it is easy to overestimate how much your
audience knows

Other concerns about managing information are more prosaic. If you send out regularly
scheduled messages on the same topic, such as monthly updates of training seminars,
try to develop a system that lets people know immediately what is new. Use color for
new or changed entries. Put new material at the top. If you send messages with an
attachment, put the most vital information in the e-mail too. Don’t make readers open an
attachment merely to find out the time or location of a meeting. Check your message for
accuracy and completeness. Remember all the e-mails you receive about meetings that
forget to include the time, place, or date, and don’t let your e-mails fall in that incomplete
category. Make a special effort to ensure that promised attachments really are attached.
Be particularly careful with the last messages you send for the day or the week, when
haste can cause errors.

Remember that e-mails are public documents, and may be widely forwarded. Save
lowercase and instant message abbreviations for friends, if you use them at all. Never
put anything in an e-mail that would embarrass you or harm your career if your
employer, colleague, parent, or child saw it.

Ex. Starbucks had a different e-mail problem. An e-mail coupon for a free grande iced
beverage was sent to some Atlanta employees to forward to family and friends. The
coupon made its way to the Web, where it became an Internet star. It spread so widely
that Starbucks stopped honoring the coupon.

Managing your incoming e-mail is an essential skill for every office worker.

Create folders, mailboxes, and filters.

Move items out of your inbox.
Delete messages after you act on them.
If you need to save messages, move them to folders on a specific topic or
project.
Create a "delete in 30 days" folder for items you'll need briefly.
Purge files periodically—at least once a month. (Once a week is better.)

Many workers benefit from managing all their activities (not just their e-mail) more
efficiently. To manage your time, divide projects or incoming mail into three piles (real or
imaginary). Put urgent items in the A pile, important items in the B pile, and other
items in the C pile. Do the A items first. Most people find that they never get to their C
piles. At the end of the day, make a list of the two most important things you need to do
the next day—and leave the paper where you'll see it when you start work the next
morning.