E-mail is a prized tool for the
small entrepreneur. It allows you to communicate quickly and
frequently with your customer. It doesn't matter that your
competitor can afford a fancy logo and expensive stationery.
E-mail puts you on an even footing.
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Without graphics or engraving to
enhance your message, what you say and how you say it matters
even more than in print communication. But because e-mail is so
easy to send, and because as a harried owner of a small business
you feel pressured to respond immediately, you often dash off a
response on the fly. How many times have you clicked on
"send" and then remembered a couple of points you
forgot to mention? Or did you send a rambling message, giving
your client the task of sorting it out? Did you think your
spelling didn't matter? After all, "it's only e-mail!"
It matters a lot. Your
well-heeled competitor has the stature of his organization to
back him up. His misspellings will be chalked up to "too
busy to spell check." Your misspellings and unorganized
messages will call your competence into question. Does your
inattention to spelling reflect a similar disregard for customer
service? If your message is ill-conceived, can your product be
any better?
When you write e-mail messages,
remember your client will judge you by what you say and how you
say it. Don't let your writing give your customers a reason to
turn to your competitor. Here are some guidelines to enable you
to write e-mail like the Fortune 500 pros.
Think
before you write: Before
writing, jot down your main points or purpose. Decide what's
most important and lead with that, in the first paragraph if
possible. Don't leave important information for the second
screen. Readers hate to scroll and may not get past the first
screen.
Make your
subject line informative: Forecast your main message by writing a subject
line that announces what you are writing (request, announcement,
etc.) and what about it (to purchase new desk chairs, of vacancy
in the finance department). Readers use the subject line to
perform e-mail triage. A good subject line announces that it's
relevant or urgent. A vague subject line invites the reader to
ignore or delete the message.
Tell them what
action to take:
Don't leave the reader wondering why you sent the e-mail and
what you want. Convey the desired action clearly, boldly and
early in the message.
Format for
easy reading: Make
your paragraphs short, use vertical bulleted lists to condense
information, and add white space for visual relief.
Narrowcast,
don't broadcast:
Resist the temptation to send copies to everyone. Define and
narrow your audience to those who need the information. After
receiving a few irrelevant e-mails, your client may not bother
to read your important ones.
Check your
tone: You may be
tempted to tell your pesky client exactly how you feel. And it
may make you feel better to write it. Just don't send your
flaming message. Keep your tone cordial, business-like,
unbiased. Don't bad-mouth the competition. He's only a click
away!
Proof before
you click:
Before
sending, spell check and make sure you've punctuated properly.
Have you remembered to include the attachment you promised?
About the Authors:
Leslie O'Flahavan and Marilynne Rudick are partners in
E-WRITE. Both are experienced print and online writers and
teachers. E-WRITE teaches the new rules for writing well in the
electronic age. We develop and teach writing courses,
write the content for web sites, and translate print to online
writing. At the E-WRITE web site -- http://www.ewriteonline.com
- you can enroll in web and e-mail writing courses, subscribe to
a free newsletter, the E-Writing Bulletin, take an EQ
(E-mail Quotient) Test, review web writing winners in the Web
Writing Showcase, and learn about many online writing resources.
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