In our last blog, we discussed the importance of having an email signature. For a number of reasons, it’s just the professional thing to do. However, there are many other aspects to a professionally-sent email. As we alluded to before, sending an email may seem like the easiest thing in the world to do. But, when you’re running a business, it’s important to be mindful of all of the ways your forms of communication represent your brand.
Here are six emailing rules that will make your brand look good:
1. Reply to all of your emails. It’s no different than a phone message. When you get an email and you ignore it, you run the risk of insulting its sender. You don’t want to give anyone the impression that you’re either not checking your emails, or that you’re not concerned about their business. Every email is important. Many of them may only require a single sentence as far as replies go. Just make sure to leave no email unreturned.
2. Don’t reply if the email isn’t addressed to you specifically. How do you get emails that aren’t addressed to you? Perhaps, you’re part of a mailing list. Maybe you were added in the CC or BCC lines. If any of the above scenarios are the case, you don’t necessarily have to reply. In many instances, you are receiving these emails for your information only. If you are addressed directly, then you know it’s worthwhile to reply.
3. Remember your attachments. How often have you received an email that indicates that there is an attachment, only for there to be no attachment at all? Annoying, right? Sure, you could follow up with an apology email that includes the forgotten attachment, but how professional would that make you look? It’s no different than proofreading – another important emailing rule. Be sure that your attachments have been included before you click “send” on your emails.
4. Be thorough with your responses. From time to time, you’re bound to receive emails that include a lot of questions. You should receive such messages as excellent opportunities to “strut your stuff”. Be sure to answer each and every question, leaving no stone left unturned. Your attention to detail will be greatly appreciated by your return email’s recipient. In many cases, the long list of questions will be a sender’s way of seeing how much attention to detail you can pay.
5. Update the subject lines when necessary. How often have you been part of an email thread that begins with one topic, but transitions into another? Eventually, the original subject heading ceases to make sense. Keep the subject headings relevant by changing them when the subject matter of the emails changes. This will keep both you and your respondent on the same page with regards to what is being discussed.
6. Master email tone. What is that, exactly? Well, we all know that emails are void of an actual voice, body language, facial expressions, emphasis and inflections. What that means is that it’s of extreme importance that you choose your words carefully in order to communicate the proper tone. Many things can be misinterpreted simply because they are being typed instead of spoken. Be sure that the tones of your emails are clear – courteous and professional, always.
At MeloTel, we offer our customers Domain, Email & Web Hosting. We don’t claim that it’s the cheapest in our industry. And that’s because it’s the best that money can buy! Our services help even the smallest of companies to establish a Fortune 500 configuration. As well, we do not share IPs and all communications are protected by encrypted SSL certificates for both incoming and outgoing mail.
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