Write Effective E-Mail Messages

Start improving your e-mail effectiveness by creating and formatting easy to follow content, and by using pre-written responses.

Create Clear Content

Consider these strategies to upgrade your communications with understandable, e-mail messages:

• Help others prioritize how to act on your e-mail by including a clear, specific subject line and repeating important subject information in the body of the message.
• Define your expectations in the body of the message. Do you want your recipients to act, respond, read, or is the e-mail FYI only?
• Include only one topic per message. If that isn't possible, then describe and number multiple topics as in 5 items to add to the Wednesday meeting agenda.
• When you type the addresses for your message, check who is getting your e-mail. Many programs attempt to auto-fill an e-mail address which may not be your intended recipient.
• Be careful with your tone and language. As with any other communication, match the message to your audience. Unless the reader understands your dry sense of humor, for instance, they may be confused or offended rather than amused.
• It may be tempting to use acronyms in the world of the Blackberry and IM (instant messaging), but only use extremely common abbreviations, such as FYI or ASAP, unless you are absolutely certain that the individual receiving your e-mail knows what they mean.
• Clearly identify yourself to strangers within your message and in the message signature.

Format Readable E-Mail Messages

Simplify the e-mail messages you send with clean, easy-to-read formatting:

• Get to the point. Shorten paragraphs to no more than five or six lines to reduce reading.
• Limit e-mail text to a single printed page. If you have more text, reduce the message or consider attaching a Word document. Delete previous responses that are no longer relevant to the current exchange.
• Use fonts between 10 and 12 points in size except for headlines and choose a font style that is easy to read. Apply colors sparingly.
• Add blank lines and white space to
  How To Hire A Voice Over Talent
  It's not just commercials on television and radio that need actors to read information off-camera. There are a myriad of ways to use voice to educate, inform, guide, entertain, and, of course, sell. Places where you can use voice over talent include PowerPoint presentations, training videos, eLearning courses, flash introductions, voice mail greetings, on-hold advertisements and website audio messages.So, look at your media and if you would like to add some zip to your presentations then find a competent voice over talent. Here are vital steps that you should take to get the right voice for your job.1. Search for a Voice Over Specialist OnlineYou are looking for that perfect voice. Where can you find it? If you are a big company or an advertising agency then you w
  pre-written responses.

  Create Clear Content

  Consider these strategies to upgrade your communications with understandable, e-mail messages:

  • Help others prioritize how to act on your e-mail by including a clear, specific subject line and repeating important subject information in the body of the message.
  • Define your expectations in the body of the message. Do you want your recipients to act, respond, read, or is the e-mail FYI only?
  • Include only one topic per message. If that isn't possible, then describe and number multiple topics as in 5 items to add to the Wednesday meeting agenda.
  • When you type the addresses for your message, check who is getting your e-mail. Many programs attempt to auto-fill an e-mail address which may not be your intended recipient.
  • Be careful with your tone and language. As with any other communication, match the message to your audience. Unless the reader understands your dry sense of humor, for instance, they may be confused or offended rather than amused.
  • It may be tempting to use acronyms in the world of the Blackberry and IM (instant messaging), but only use extremely common abbreviations, such as FYI or ASAP, unless you are absolutely certain that the individual receiving your e-mail knows what they mean.
  • Clearly identify yourself to strangers within your message and in the message signature.

  Format Readable E-Mail Messages

  Simplify the e-mail messages you send with clean, easy-to-read formatting:

  • Get to the point. Shorten paragraphs to no more than five or six lines to reduce reading.
  • Limit e-mail text to a single printed page. If you have more text, reduce the message or consider attaching a Word document. Delete previous responses that are no longer relevant to the current exchange.
  • Use fonts between 10 and 12 points in size except for headlines and choose a font style that is easy to read. Apply colors sparingly.
  • Add blank lines and white space to
    Considering the Counteroffer?
    ABSOLUTELY NOT! Did you know…According to a national survey of employees who accepted a counteroffer, 75% voluntarily left their employer within six months of accepting the counteroffer because of promises not kept!The majority of the balance of employees that accept counteroffers involuntarily leave their current employers within twelve months of accepting the counteroffer (terminated, fired, laid off).What should you do???Don’t be surprised by a counteroffer. Ask yourself, why would a company wait until the eleventh hour to keep someone it claims to value so highly?Don’t be fooled. A counteroffer is not what’s best for you; it’s about what’s best for the company!Your loyalty is in question. If you were going to leave once, your manager w
    sage. If that isn't possible, then describe and number multiple topics as in 5 items to add to the Wednesday meeting agenda.
  • When you type the addresses for your message, check who is getting your e-mail. Many programs attempt to auto-fill an e-mail address which may not be your intended recipient.
  • Be careful with your tone and language. As with any other communication, match the message to your audience. Unless the reader understands your dry sense of humor, for instance, they may be confused or offended rather than amused.
  • It may be tempting to use acronyms in the world of the Blackberry and IM (instant messaging), but only use extremely common abbreviations, such as FYI or ASAP, unless you are absolutely certain that the individual receiving your e-mail knows what they mean.
  • Clearly identify yourself to strangers within your message and in the message signature.

  Format Readable E-Mail Messages

  Simplify the e-mail messages you send with clean, easy-to-read formatting:

  • Get to the point. Shorten paragraphs to no more than five or six lines to reduce reading.
  • Limit e-mail text to a single printed page. If you have more text, reduce the message or consider attaching a Word document. Delete previous responses that are no longer relevant to the current exchange.
  • Use fonts between 10 and 12 points in size except for headlines and choose a font style that is easy to read. Apply colors sparingly.
  • Add blank lines and white space to
    Medical Billing - XA0 Record Fields 9 Through 17
    When doing medical billing and electronically transmitting claims, trailer records may only be a bunch of totals to some of us. But to the insurance carrier who is being billed, these trailer records could very well mean the difference between your whole claim file being accepted or rejected. In this installment we resume our review of the XA0 claim trailer record, picking up with field number 9.XA0 field 9, positions 33 - 34, is the HXX record count. This is the number of H records, or narrative records being transmitted to the carrier. Because narrative information can be required for just about any reason, this count can be just about anything.XA0 field 10, positions 35 - 37, is the claim total record count. This is the total number of C, D, E, F, G and H records
    d rather than amused.
  • It may be tempting to use acronyms in the world of the Blackberry and IM (instant messaging), but only use extremely common abbreviations, such as FYI or ASAP, unless you are absolutely certain that the individual receiving your e-mail knows what they mean.
  • Clearly identify yourself to strangers within your message and in the message signature.

  Format Readable E-Mail Messages

  Simplify the e-mail messages you send with clean, easy-to-read formatting:

  • Get to the point. Shorten paragraphs to no more than five or six lines to reduce reading.
  • Limit e-mail text to a single printed page. If you have more text, reduce the message or consider attaching a Word document. Delete previous responses that are no longer relevant to the current exchange.
  • Use fonts between 10 and 12 points in size except for headlines and choose a font style that is easy to read. Apply colors sparingly.
  • Add blank lines and white space to
    The Data Is In The System
    The data is in the system! Yes, that's right. Whatever you want to know about your business, your customers' spending patterns, your stock level, your financial performance, your customers' profile, and many other questions you want answered.Citibank, in an article published in 6 Dec 2005 of Singapore Digital Life, reveals that they use the data in their system to identify customers who fit their assumptions of the potential customer base like age, salary and spending behaviour.Business Intelligence is not confined to BIG companies. A specialised system normally can cost tens and hundreds of thousands. But there are always alternative and the solution is right in your computer. Excel is a powerful BI tool that is commonly used in Europe and US. The question is: Do you
    asy-to-read formatting:
    • Get to the point. Shorten paragraphs to no more than five or six lines to reduce reading.
    • Limit e-mail text to a single printed page. If you have more text, reduce the message or consider attaching a Word document. Delete previous responses that are no longer relevant to the current exchange.
    • Use fonts between 10 and 12 points in size except for headlines and choose a font style that is easy to read. Apply colors sparingly.
    • Add blank lines and white space to separate paragraphs and areas of detail.
    • Run the spelling checker and re-read messages one last time for clarity and grammar before clicking Send.

    Use Prewritten Responses

    If you send a few basic messages over and over again, such as a reply to a request for product information, consider saving those responses as signatures that can be inserted into e-mail so that you do not have to retype them. For a majority of messages, create a default signature that includes your full name, position or title, phone, website, and other contact information.

    Reduce the Volume of E-Mail

    Some of the top ways to cut the amount of e-mail you receive is to manage the number of messages that you send, reduce unnecessary follow-up replies, and determine when person-to-person communication is a better choice.

    Decrease the Number of Messages You Send

    Before you write your next e-mail, seek to actively reduce how much e-mail you send:

    • Read all replies on a topic before responding to the original message. Resist getting involved with e-mail threads that do not impact your objectives.
    • Do not send, and discourage your staff from sending, "chime-in" messages that are simply unimportant responses such as "Thank you" and "You're welcome." Do not respond to junk mail.
    • Avoid Reply to All unless all recipients need to see your response. Otherwise you are contributing to their e-mail litter.
    • Use the Cc (carbon copy) line only when the topic impacts the recipient's work. Although it may seem easier to send a message to everyone in a department or your organization, first ask yourself, "Who needs to know? Why?" Most people who get a carbon copy assume there is something they are supposed to do.
    • Use Bcc (blind carbon copy) to hide large distribution lists or to disguise the names of select recipients. All recipients can respond to a message but replies will not be received by anyone in the Bcc list which reduces the amount of e-mail