The Top Twelve E-Mail Mistakes That Can Sabotage Your Career

By Lydia Ramsey

You return to your office from an afternoon meeting and decide
to check e-mail. An hour later, having downloaded your
messages, selecting those you should read, deleting the ones
that look like junk, crafting replies to the most important
ones, filing others that you want to work on later, you wonder
where your day went. It was like that when you arrived at work
this morning, and tomorrow promises to be no different.

What is this e-mail explosion? Was there a point in time when
people decided to use the Internet as their business
communication tool of choice? Are there rules for managing
messages and being a professional and polite user of electronic
mail? There are, but not everyone has gotten the word.

Your e-mail is 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. 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.
If you are writing to 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. Changing the header will allow your
publisher to find a specific document in his message folder
without having to search every one you sent. If you change
the subject all together, start a new message.

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
you 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.

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.

Lydia Ramsey is a business etiquette expert, professional
speaker and author of MANNERS THAT SELL. For information
about her programs and products, call her at 912-598-9812 or
visit her web site: http://www.mannersthatsell.com/