To repeat -
Meeting in person is best.
Voice contact with telephone and its modern variations comes in at second.
Next up is email.
Email has been with us for nearly a generation and continues to be the most popular application of Internet technology.
Email applications -
First up, use what everyone else uses. For business, it is MS Outlook. Period. Nothing else is used as widely.
- Outlook can be customized and personalized with hundreds of add-on applications you should already be using, like Plaxo and LinkedIn.
- Outlook integrates with popular email devices like Treo and Blackberry.
Next, get a web based email client. For years, everyone had a Hotmail account. Spam and lack of memorable user names have driven Hotmail out and replaced it with alternatives. The best out there is GMail or Yahoo.
Web based email is useful when your office VPN is down or you only have web access on the road. I also use my gmail or yahoo account for personal emails which may conflict with my job, such as interviews (hint hint).
Next, collect the email addresses of contacts. Use Plaxo for offsite storage and management of addresses. What happens if you are locked out of your address book at work such as in the case of a layoff or bankruptcy? Make sure you have a backup or two.
[Another suggestion is to invest in a portable digital assistant. I swear by my old Palm Tungsten W (see top of page) - you may have another in mind. But keep your contacts and addresses organized and available on a separate storage device. Just in case].
Build a mailing list, better yet, build several. Ask your recipients if they mind joining your mail list before sending them email! This is called an opt in list and is required. Use a mailing list hosting company like AWeber to maintain your mailouts and addresses.
Rules for email -
1) Keep your emails brief and on subject.
2) Use spelling and grammar check - your email program has it built in; use it.
3) Proof before sending. Reread and verify your email is factual and will not offend the recipient (happens more than you think).
4) Match the subject to the body of the email. For instance, if your email subject is Great News! and the body is a dissertation on the reproduction of the African river toad, you have misled your reader.
5) Avoid attachments unless they are absolutely necessary. Many read their email with portable devices using slower wireless networks. Instead direct readers to obtain the file from a website.
6) Avoid large graphics and text and distracting stationary from your email. HTML is now more acceptable for sending email though.
7) Make sure you have a signature file which includes your full name, phone and fax number, organization and email address. Web site URL's are acceptable, however anything else is not necessary and is often bad form. Keep signature files to four lines or less.
8) Never cc another recipient on an email without alerting the original or intended reader. It is rude and can lead to greater problems for you.
9) Verify your recipient's email address before sending. Many horror story abounds about emails reaching an unintended recipient.
10) Never include private, sensitive or personal information (like passwords, financial information, or personal data) in an email.
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