SHARE

E-mail Dos and Donts

Written By

Oct 11, 2007

2 minute read

eWeek content and product recommendations are editorially independent. We may make money when you click on links to our partners. Learn More

E-mail Dos and Donts
E-mail Dos and Donts – 1.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 2.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 3.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 4.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 5.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 6.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 7.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 8.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 9.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 10.
E-mail Dos and Donts – 11.
E-mail Dos and Donts – E-mail the Author
E-mail Dos and Donts – See More Slideshows Like This One

E-mail Dos and Donts

My job involves pretty much living in e-mail. And, based on the amount of e-mail I get and then need to deal with, so does everyone elses. (I currently have more than 13,000 e-mails in my in-box. And I need every one. Really.) The trick is to see and be

E-mail Dos and Donts – 1.

Do keep it simple. Most people dont have time to read more than 1/2 a screen of text, if that. In most cases, if you need to write more, you need to pick up the phone.

E-mail Dos and Donts – 2.

Dont expect that readers will be able to interpret tone. Maybe you were just kidding, but you cant be sure how your sparkling wit will translate in black and white.

E-mail Dos and Donts – 3.

Dont clog up peoples e-mail in-boxes any more than you need to. This means sending multiple messages when one will do, including unnecessary attachments and using a graphical signature.

E-mail Dos and Donts – 4.

Dont ask people a laundry list of questions in an e-mail and expect that they will be answered. Try to make it as easy as possible for people to respond.

E-mail Dos and Donts – 5.

Dont reply to all unless its absolutely necessary. Its nice to congratulate someone, but you dont need the entire company to see that youve done so.

E-mail Dos and Donts – 6.

Do use your subject line wisely, Part 1: When searching through tons of e-mail, its helpful if a subject line summarizes—or at least is relevant to—the body of the message.

E-mail Dos and Donts – 7.

Do use your subject line wisely, Part 2: When totally switching gears, start a new thread with a new, relevant subject line.

E-mail Dos and Donts – 8.

Do think carefully about whos in the To list and whos in the cc list. Ive seen people take issue with being ccd instead of being included in the main list, upset at not being included in the first place but th

E-mail Dos and Donts – 9.

Dont send messages to your corporate colleagues from your personal e-mail address and expect to keep in touch effectively. Of course, sometimes mail has to be sent from an alternate e-mail account, but doing so consistently will mess people up as it will