Last year, as a bride-to-be, I visited more
web sites on the subject then I could count. I also filled
out many form pages. Remembering the response emails, I felt
it might be a good time to do an article on Email Etiquette,
a.k.a. Netiquette. Sometimes, an email message will be the
first and only impression you will have to give a potential
client. Practicing good communication and professionalism
will not only make you look good, but also your business affiliates.
And we all want that, now don't we?
1. SPELL CHECK EVERYTHING,
EVERY TIME
Imagine your email as a printed brochure. You want your
best to shine through, and that includes spelling and grammar.
If you are like me, it's easy to forget... so what should
you do? First, change your email preferences to check spelling
each time. Second, read the message carefully before sending
it or have someone else read it as well (e.g. "sincerely",
not "sincearly" and "can", not "con").
So you may also want to check your use of grammar as well,
such as proper use of: "your" vs "you're",
"their" vs "there" vs "they're",
"were" vs "we're", etc.
2. PUNCTUATION
Use a period, but don't double-space between sentences (double-spacing
rule changed with the computer and the variable font). Also,
use a space between paragraphs, it will give a long email
"breathing room" since most do not use indents.
Be professional in all that you do, including sending messages
to other vendors or general emails, you never know where
it might be seen.
3. EMAIL SUBJECT LINE
Make the subject as specific as possible. Describe what
you have to offer. Consider that the bride/groom will be
getting 10+ emails from all vendors and if they each used
"RE: Form Response" or "Your wedding"
as subject lines, it doesn't help them find you among all
the other emails.
4. EMAIL CONTENT
Keep it simple, clear and concise. List important information,
such as who you are, what you offer, and why they should
choose you. Price lists or available packages are good,
as well as availability. End the email with proper contact
information, and if including a web site address, use "http://www"
in front of the domain name for those who use email programs
that allows them to directly access the links from their
browser. Also, verify the url by using the cut-and-paste
method from your browser to the email message.
5. DOMAIN NAME VS EMAIL ADDRESS
Owning your own domain assists greatly in your marketing
efforts and allows you to change providers without having
to give out new information. With this said, the email address
that is used should match your domain. Why? It gives your
domain name more exposure and advertises you and your business,
and not your provider. (e.g. www.flowers.com,
use info@flowers.com instead of flowers@aol.com
or flowers@earthlink.net). At least one email account should
come with your domain hosting service, but check with your
provider first.
6. SENDING TO MULTIPLE EMAIL
ADDRESSES
Privacy for the recipients must be considered with the convenience
of sending email to multiple recipients. Use the BCC option
to hide the list of names from each recipient. They have
entrusted us with their personal information including email
addresses and phone numbers. The professionalism of protecting
their privacy often goes unnoticed but is appreciated. Any
email address can also get into the hands of people who
send "SPAM" so this simple rule of thumb goes
a long way.
7. FORWARDING EMAIL MESSAGES
Another huge issue with email messages, the dreaded ">>".
Seeing the "Fw:" in the Subject line is less than
personal. Use your email program's function to "edit
message as new" or again, use the cut-and-paste method
between messages or a saved text file. Avoid sending a message
that you have either forwarded to yourself several times
or to another bride/groom.
8. INCORRECT INFORMATION
Double check who the message is for. Getting a message that
was meant for another person, with their name and wedding
date, is less then professional, and it doesn't make the
person feel "special", which is what all you want
to do.
We hope you both enjoyed this article and learned
something new. Please feel free to bookmark it for future
reference and if you have anything to add, let us know!
