Guide to Email basics, just some real basic tips

A lot of our customers are SOHO and a lot are just starting out in business.

A few things to remember can make a great difference in your email.

One major thing is do NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS. You wouldn't tattoo "loser" on your forehead so DON'T TYPE IN ALL CAPS.

Another important issue is that when you are replying to someone, always quote a bit of what they wrote so they will have a clue what you are replying to. I really have gotten email replies from important business people that simply consisted of the word "yes". How am I supposed to guess which of my emails they are responding to? (but they did take time to removed the subject....).
So I have to call them and take extra of their time and fight the urge to give them a clue that might not be appreciated.

Many email programs will insert a character in front of quoted text so the person reading will see their own words.

>quoted text with the little ">" in front is kind of the standard.
>just that one little character and a few lines can provide the >reminder of what we were talking about.

Another side of that is to refrain from quoting too much. If they wrote three pages and all you are saying is "Great I'll do it", then you don't need to quote all three pages. There are only so many electrons out there in the ethernet and no one really knows for sure when they will run out.

There is also the practice of simply hitting reply and putting your text above the email they wrote to you. That is sometimes, but not always appropriate.

Also, don't assume that the person you are emailing is using HTML. Some don't.

If you use email in your business, then you need to try to check your email several times a day.

Oh, that I would always remember to use spell checker.....

Steve Winter CEO 800SELLCOM www.sellcom.com