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12 hints from Heloise on effective
business e-mailing
By Laura
Shanahan • Bankrate.com
 Heloise,
famed for her household hints, wants to give a few to the small-business
owner who uses e-mail.
"It is the written word and, as such, it is
permanent," says the internationally syndicated columnist and author.
"Even when 'deleted,' there can still be a record -- or many records
-- of it out there."
What makes e-mail particularly tricky, adds
Heloise, is that we're all still coming to grips with another
relevant "e" -- etiquette.
Here she offers small-business owners her top
12 tips for first-class e-mailing:
1. Never fire off an e-mail in anger -- or
in haste. "This is probably the worst mistake of all," says
Heloise. "Unfortunately, the immediacy of the medium makes it all-too-easy
to do." Her solution? "Write right away, if you must -- but then
print out, read and set aside. Chances are you'll seriously rewrite
your final draft."
2. Be specific in the subject line. That
means, "Your contract for the ABC project," not "Hello" or "Good
news." "Pretend you're a headline writer," she says.
3. Don't forget to salute. Just because
there's a "To" line doesn't mean you can forego the amenity of a
salutation. Depending on your familiarity with your correspondent,
you can precede your message with "Dear Bob" or "Dear Mr. So-and-so."
4. Pull your punches. When firmness or
anger must be expressed, realize that stark text without modifying
gestures or voice inflection can make you sound harsher than you
intend. Compose once you're composed -- "Then have a trusted
third party review it before you click 'send'," advises Heloise.
5. Can the ee cummings imitation -- don't
use all lower-case lettering. Yes, you're busy and e-mail lends
itself to informality, but "it probably takes more time and effort
to keep remembering not to hit the shift key, when appropriate,
than to do it," she notes. "The conventional is always easier for
the reader's eye."
6. Give the benefit of a doubt. Because
there are no face-to-face modifying gestures, and because e-mail
tends to be more terse than "old-fashioned" letters, it's easy to
perceive slights and sarcasm, when none is intended. Cut the sender
some slack.
7. Can the laughter. There's a tendency
to use humor inappropriately -- and ineffectively -- when things
get tense. "Humor is tricky," says Heloise, "so I'd advise against
a jokey 'Our dog ate your invoice' apology." The two key words when
dealing with errors are simple and sincere.
8. Don't adopt an overly formal tone.
While avoiding inappropriate humor, don't erase all traces of pleasantness.
An amusing turn of phrase, a light-hearted observation and a gracious
compliment are always appropriate -- and welcome.
9. Use "emoticons" and abbreviations sparingly.
A "smiley face" can indeed be useful and effective on occasion,
but see if your correspondent replies in kind. If not, drop the
practice. Ditto with standard e-mail abbreviations. As a courtesy,
write them out in brackets on first-time use.
10. Include only relevant return text.
When responding to a message, cut out everything that doesn't pertain
-- unless a full record of the discussion is essential.
11. Send a sincere sign-off. Yes, the
recipient knows it's you -- but, no, don't just scurry off after
you have your say. A proper sign-off is not an antiquated amenity
-- it signals, "All done!"
12. Know when to switch mediums. If your
correspondent sounds seriously upset -- and you haven't had a voice-to-voice
in a while -- pick up the phone. In this day and age, "It's charming
to actually get a call," says Heloise. Like music, your voice can
be used to soothe and satisfy and stamp out any e-mail problems.
Laura Shanahan is a freelance
writer based in New York
To comment on this story, please e-mail the
Bankrate.com
editors
-- Posted: July 13, 2000
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