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Archive for April, 2008
The Top Twelve E-Mail Mistakes
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Your e-mail is as much a part of your professional image as the clothes you wear, the greeting on your voice mail and the handshake you offer…
You return to your office from an afternoon meeting and decide to check e-mail. You wonder where your day went after spending hours downloading messages, reading some, deleting others, crafting replies and filing those that you want to work on later. Your e-mail box was full when you arrived at work this morning and tomorrow promises to be no different.
As the e-mail explosion shows no signs of abating, your e-mail has become as much a part of your professional image as the clothes you wear, the postal letters you write (assuming you still do), the greeting on your voice mail and the handshake you offer. If you want to impress on every front and build positive business relationships, pay attention to your e-mail and steer clear of these top twelve e-mail mistakes:
1. OMITTING THE SUBJECT LINE. We are way past the time when we didn’t realize the significance of the subject line. It makes no sense to send a message that reads “no subject” and seems to be about nothing. Given the huge volume of e-mail that each person receives, the subject header is essential if you want your message read any time soon. The subject line has become the hook.
2. NOT MAKING YOUR SUBJECT LINE MEANINGFUL. Your header should be pertinent to your message, not just “Hi” or “Hello.” The recipient is going to decide the order in which he reads e-mail based on who sent it and what it is about. Your e-mail will have lots of competition.
3. FAILING TO CHANGE THE HEADER TO CORRESPOND WITH THE SUBJECT. For example, if you are writing your web publisher, your first header may be “Web site content.” However, as your site develops and you send more information, label each message for what it is, “contact info,” “graphics,” or “home page.” Don’t just hit “reply” every time. Adding more details to the header will allow the recipient to find a specific document in the message folder without having to search every one you sent. Start a new message if you change the subject all together.
4. NOT PERSONALIZING YOUR MESSAGE TO THE RECIPIENT. E-mail is informal but it still needs a greeting. Begin with “Dear Mr. Broome,” “Dear Jim,” “Hello Jim,” or just “Jim.” Failure to put in the person’s name can make you and your e-mail seem cold.
5. NOT ACCOUNTING FOR TONE. When you communicate with another person face to face, 93% of the message is non-verbal. E-mail has no body language. The reader cannot see your face or hear your tone of voice so chose your words carefully and thoughtfully. Put yourself in the other person’s place and think how your words may come across in Cyberspace.
6. FORGETTING TO CHECK FOR SPELLING AND GRAMMAR. In the early days of e-mail, someone created the notion that this form of communication did not have to be letter perfect. Wrong. It does. It is a representation of you. If you don’t check to be sure e-mail is correct, people will question the caliber of other work you do. Use proper capitalization and punctuation, and always check your spelling. Remember that your spellchecker will catch misspelled words, but not misused ones. It cannot tell whether you meant to say “from” or “form,” “for” or “fro”, “he” or “the.”
7. WRITING THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL. E-mail is meant to be brief. Keep your message short. Use only a few paragraphs and a few sentences per paragraph. People skim their e-mail so a long missive is wasted. If you find yourself writing an overly long message, pick up the phone or call a meeting.
8. FORWARDING E-MAIL WITHOUT PERMISSION. Most everyone is guilty of this one, but think about it. If the message was sent to you and only you, why would you take responsibility for passing it on? Too often confidential information has gone global because of someone’s lack of judgment. Unless you are asked or request permission, do not forward anything that was sent just to you.
9. THINKING THAT NO ONE ELSE WILL EVER SEE YOUR E-MAIL. Once it has left your mailbox, you have no idea where your e-mail will end up. Don’t use the Internet to send anything that you couldn’t stand to see on a billboard on your way to work the next day. Use other means to communicate personal or sensitive information.
10. LEAVING OFF YOUR SIGNATURE. Always close with your name, even though it is included at the top of the e-mail, and add contact information such as your phone, fax and street address. The recipient may want to call to talk further or send you documents that cannot be e-mailed. Creating a formal signature block with all that data is the most professional approach.
11. EXPECTING AN INSTANT RESPONSE. Not everyone is sitting in front of the computer with e-mail turned on. The beauty of Internet communication is that it is convenient. It is not an interruption. People can check their messages when it suits them, not you. If your communication is so important that you need to hear back right away, use the phone.
12. COMPLETING THE “TO” LINE FIRST. The name or address of the person to whom you are writing is actually the last piece of information you should enter. Check everything else over carefully first. Proof for grammar, punctuation, spelling and clarity. Did you say what needed to be said? How was your “tone of voice?” If you were the least bit emotional when you wrote the e-mail, did you let it sit for a period of time? Did you include the attachment you wanted to send? If you enter the recipient’s name first, a mere slip of the finger can send a message before its’ time. You can never take it back.
E-mail makes everything easier and faster including making a powerful business impression and establishing positive professional relationships. The businessperson who uses the technology effectively and appropriately will see the results of that effort reflected in the bottom line.
(c) 2004, Lydia Ramsey. All rights in all media reserved.
About the Author…
Lydia Ramsey http://www.mannersthatsell.com
Key Factors For Online Marketing
Today, I want to share a message that I received in my email this afternoon.
It’s one of the most enlightening and important messages that I can share with
you (if you’re serious about making an online income).
It’s by far one of the most important concepts that you will need to understand
if you plan to make money online. Do yourself a favor and follow the link below
to download a single report that focuses on the “myths” and the “facts” about
“must do” for creating online income.
Here’s the fact.
If you want to make money online you’re going to have to separate the theories
from the facts. One of the most important facts about creating an online income
is this:
YOU MUST BUILD A LIST!
The report below is going to separate the myths from the facts. Undoubtedly,
the most important fact revealed in this report is the fact that list building is
essential to your online success.
I hope you enjoy this report as much as I did…
Download this report and read it carefully.
Here’s your link:
http://www.CyberIncomeSolutions.com/extinction.pdf
The Magic Of “Hybrid” Article Development
What is article marketing?
Most people think of magazines when they think of the word “articles”. Just to be clear, when I speak of articles in this text, I will be referring of articles that are published electronically. This has become a mainstay of online marketing.
I would like to bring your attention to one of the most important aspects of the definition listed above is this:
Once written, the business makes these articles freely available for distribution and publication in the marketplace. Each article contains a ‘bio box’ and ‘by-line’ that includes references and contact information for the author’s business. Well written content articles released for free distribution have the potential of gaining the author business credibility within his or her market, as well as new clients.
This is the very essence of article marketing as it relates to online marketing activity. There is also one other VERY important factor as it relates to article marketing. A good article always allows the reader to click away from the article having learned something significant about the subject matter of the article.
The goal of a good article marketer should include both of these highlighted statements. If both of these elements are present in your article marketing you can have a tremendous impact on your business through the use of article marketing.
One of the things that you want to avoid when using article marketing as a means to expose your web site is the tendency to create articles that become a full-page advertisement. Providing readers with quality, informative content will create generate more interest in your specific niche than writing extensive full-page advertisements disguised as articles.
High quality content is the “lifeblood” of any good web site. Articles can serves as major source for the development of this content. The question for most web site owners is this: Where do I get quality articles that I can use that will stimulate my readers and establish my web site as a quality source of current and useful information?
There are several ways to accomplish this. One way is to engage in the research necessary to write the article yourself. This is by far the best way to create high quality content for articles. Not only are you guaranteed high content quality, you also add to your own personal knowledge on the subject matter in question.
Another alternative is to have a “ghostwriter” create content for you. There are many excellent writers that you can use for this. They can easily be found at web sites that allow you to describe your subject matter in detail and have writers “bid” on your projects. Though effective, this can become costly if you need a constant stream of good quality content. In addition, it may take some time for you to find a ghostwriter that writes great content, at a reasonable price. In addition, when you outsource this type of activity you will want to make sure that the ghostwriter can meet your scheduled deadlines, This introduces a variety of “variables: that you have to consider when using this approach.
An additional option for obtaining good quality articles is to use what I call a “hybrid” approach to content development. This involves using what is termed “Private Label Article” content as well as your own research and combining the two methods to create fresh and original content that you write even though you’ve used the private label articles as a foundation for your writing.
Let me be very clear here. This by no means is suggesting that you simply buy “private label articles” and integrate them “as is” directly into your web site. When using private label articles for web site content, I recommend using a hybrid approach that blends your own writing style with that of the private label article.
If used in this manner you can avoid the inevitable “writer’s block” that occurs when most people sit down to write article after article after article, yet it will save you substantial money and headaches compared to relaying solely on “ghostwriters”. Grab a bundle of good solid private label rights articles on the subject matter that you wish to write about and use these articles as springboards to your own article development process.
Research your topic as you normally would but when you sit down to write your article occasionally glance at one or two select private label rights articles to get your “juices flowing”. This will speed up the process of creating high quality content that your readers will appreciate. Mostly it will save you money and help you avoid a few of the disadvantages of using independent article writers that will charge you for ongoing content development.
Occasionally you may want to a hire a ghost writer for occasional special projects however for day to day fresh quality content this approach can be a viable alternative.
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