Professional Email Habits

Professional Email Habits Sending and reading email is the number one reason people go online. They spend more time in their Inbox than at any website. In addition, many of the techniques I've described in this workshop require the use of your email program. In fact, you will spend more time using email to communicate to your website prospects and customers than any other form of communication. So learning how to construct effective email is at the heart of your marketing efforts.

In this section I'll discuss:

Writing effective email messages
How to write and use signature files
Email netiquette
Using email for permission marketing

Writing effective email starts with an engaging and concise subject line. Make it short and concise. Use action words and always be positive in tone. Put the most important words first. DON'T USE ALL CAPITALS!! People will think you're shouting.

Get personal as much as you can by including real names in the To: and From: headings. And use the Blind Carbon Copy (Bcc:) function that hide that long list of names. Showing everyone's names is an invasion of privacy and doesn't feel personalized.

Keep your messages focused and to the point. Make your paragraphs short and remember people scan when they read online.

It goes without saying that you should check your spelling and grammar before sending. Really.

Include an http:// before any web addresses you provide. This makes the link clickable within the email.

Always send in Plain Text and avoid any rich text formatting like italics, graphics, or different fonts that not all email programs can display. Instead of seeing "WOW! I had a great time." people viewing in plain text will see <B>WOW!</b> I had a <I>great time</i>.

If you want to use special formatting or HTML email, try signing up for an email service like Topica Email Publisher where subscribers can tell you how they view their email...plain text, rich text, or HTML. You'll also gain access to some great statistics and reports you can use to make your efforts even more powerful.

Always include a call to action like "Visit our website now to find out more."

When replying to an email do not include the entire original message. All you need is enough to refresh the sender's memory.

Always use a signature file.

Don't use attachments unless they've been requested by the customer. I would suggest that if you have content to deliver that you send a message to your customer instructing them in how to pick up the file from your website. In today's world of viruses that often appear as attachments, you'll find that your email might never be opened.

Sometimes using emoticons can deliver a bit of fun to an otherwise drab message. Emoticons are created using special characters that when viewed together are meant to replicate an emotional response like smiling, winking, frowning, etc. Example: I heard you're not feeling well. Playing sick again huh ;-)

Email shorthand is also useful for quick phrases and is common in chat rooms, bulletin boards and newsgroups. Some popular abbreviations are:

BTW (by the way)
IOW (in other words)
LOL (laughing out loud)
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)

Now that you can write and reply to email effectively, you can start a permission-based email marketing campaign. The trick is to get your customers and potentials to opt-in and ask you to send them email. To do this, every page of your website must have a call to action such as:

Join our mailing list and receive special discounts every month
Click here to be notified when we update our What's New page
Click here to receive our Tip of the Week

When your user clicks on the button or text link, they are routed to a sign-up form or service such as Topica where information can be gathered. Then you can send email to these subscribers on a regular basis giving them what they signed up for along withother sales propositions. Always include a way to unsubscribe and a link to your privacy policy in every promotional email you send.

Other Email Marketing Tips

Develop a library of responses - Do you notice you are often asked baout your shipping and return policy? Write a typical answer to this question and save it in your drafts folder or as a Word file. Then when you need it, simply copy and paste into the body of an email. Don't forget to personalize your email by using the customer's name.
Have an brochure ready to send - You may be asked to provide information about your company and have this handy is a big time-saver. Create your document as a Adobe PDF file so you can share it across platforms with ease. You can find more information about creating PDF files at Adobe's website.
Have multiple email accounts - Use certain email accounts to field and track different customer requests and types of contacts. For instance, you may wish to set-up a specific account for gallery requests and opposed to commission requests. You can also use email accounts to track the effectiveness of advertising. Having multiple accounts is essential for using autoresponders (next topic). Don't worry about having to check all those accounts. Just set them up as aliases and have them all route mail to your main email account. You will still see the email account name in the To: field.

Signature Files

Think of a signature file as your electronic business card. It contains all basic contact information as well as a tag line or company slogan, current special or event, or other marketing bit of information. Always include your website address starting with http:// and email address beginning with mailto: before the address. Here's one of my current signature files:

-------------------------------------- Heather Gordon Meridian Design http://www.meridiandesign.net PH:828.242.1027 Building websites that work since 1997 --------------------------------------

I use this signature at the bottom of all my web design correspondence. You can develop several signature files and add them as needed. Remember to use them everywhere you post and reply messages including bulletin boards and newsgroups. Just be sure to keep you file short, concise, and less than 80 characters wide for proper display in all email programs.

Consider using a variation on some of these tag lines to drive more traffic to your site:

Announce a limited time offer
Announce an event
Announce a contest or award

To see a variety of signature file examples, visit one of the website listed below.

<< Search Engine Basics

Autoresponder Magic >>

Helpful Websites
A Beginner's Guide to Effective Email by Kaitlin Duck Sherwood
Effective Email Techniques by Russ Haynal
Recommended Emoticons by WindWeaver.com
Effective Email by PowerHomeBiz.com
Coolsig.com for signature files in a variety of areas

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