Secretarial Services - Email etiquette

E-mail Etiquette
by Nancy Gillespie

• With e-mail being used so much in business, the written letter is going the way of the horse and buggy. E-mail is quick and inexpensive (no paper, no envelope, no postage). It is less intrusive than the telephone, and it can be sent and received at your convenience. However, good manners still apply, and there are additional rules of etiquette for e-mail. Here's a quick rundown:
  
• Pick an appropriate e-mail address for business e-mail. An e-mail address that includes your name or company name is appropriate and conveys your professionalism. Humor is fine, but, please, no names like "huggybear" or "studmuffin" – save the cutesy or sexy names for your separate personal e-mail. Most service providers allow you to have several e-mail addresses at no extra charge. When picking your business e-mail address, use what I call the "Mom test" -- if your mom blanches at the name you have chosen, it might not be appropriate.
  
• Print your e-mail address on your business cards, letterhead, and brochures. And remember to inform people when you change your e-mail address.
  
• Read your e-mail daily. E-mail is less intrusive than the telephone, so it is also easier to ignore -- no jangling ringing of the phone, no blinking answering machine to remind you to check your messages. So it is up to you to set up a schedule to check your e-mail on a regular basis.
  
• Acknowledge receipt of e-mail. Just hit the "Reply" button and type in a quick "Thanks, noted," or "Thanks, will call you about this," or whatever is appropriate. Nothing more frustrating to an e-mail sender than to wonder if their e-mail got lost in cyberspace.
  
• Keep private information private. When sending the same e-mail to a group of recipients, put your e-mail address in the To line and add the recipients' addresses to the BCC (blind carbon copy) line so you do not divulge their e-mail address. When forwarding messages you have received, delete the sender's e-mail address.
  
• Be stingy with explanation points!!!! Too many explanation points may communicate that you are scolding. Because e-mail is read and not heard or seen, the reader cannot observe your body language or hear the tone of your voice to interpret your message.
  
• Add an automatic Signature to your outgoing e-mail to identify yourself and make it easier for the reader to contact you. (Click Tools / Options / Signatures / New / Select "Add signatures to all outgoing messages.") You might include your name, company name, address, phone number, fax number, e-mail address, web address, description of your business (Ex: "Service, Repair, Installation"), and shameless plug (Ex: "Winner of the B. K. Taylor Award").
  
• Smile when you say that. If you are not sure if your message will sound terse or rude, add a smiley face emoticon. :-) Yeah, it's cutesy, but at least it communicates to the recipient that you did not mean to be rude. But be careful not to use too many computer abbreviations (like "LOL," Laughing Out Loud, or "FYI," For Your Information) or emoticons, or the reader won't understand what you're trying to say. (For instance, how many people know what (_x_) means? If you do, you're LOL right now!)
  
• Count to 10. Think before hitting the Send button. Writing a letter takes much longer than sending an e-mail, and therefore the sender has the opportunity to cool down before sending an angry message. But e-mail is instantaneous and gives the sender a feeling of anonymity, so it is much easier to flame (blast someone by e-mail) others and perhaps regret it later. Remember, you are hitting only inanimate keys on the keyboard, but a real live person will read your words.

Following these few guidelines will make surfing the Net more enjoyable to your recipients and more profitable for you!

Nancy has operated A+ Secretarial and Business Services In Vista California for 9 years. She the author of "14 Surefire Tips to Get the Job of Your Dreams," a concise book to assist job hunters. For more information about her secretarial services or her book, call 760-945-666, email nancyjg5@cox.net, or visit www.aplusnancy.com.