Use Your Email Signature for More Than Your Name

Are you getting the most from your email signature? Probably not, says the author of "How to get the most from your email signature" on CBS MoneyWatch.

For example, if you can categorize your incoming emails into several categories, considering developing a response to each one as a signature and then merely selecting the right one. This elimaante having to cut-and-paste from a template saved in Word.

This was one piece of advice I found very worthwhile, given that I wear several different "hats," as do many home-based business operators. In fact, as soon as I finish this blog, I'm going to set up a couple of signatures that I hope will cut down on the amount of time spent replying to multiple requests with the same information.

Until next time,
Sarah

More Email Management Tips

When I open my email on a typical weekday morning, between 30 and 40 new messages blink at me. Just getting through the list can be overwhelming at times. "Why you should ignore email" from CBS MoneyWatch provides some tips on getting through the list without wasting too much time.

Deal with an email only once. Either delete or respond right away. Don't leave it for another day.

Prioritize. Delete what you don't need, respond to what you absolutely have to, and delegate what you can.

Schedule email time. Keep this to no more than once or twice a day. Turn off email in between time.

Avoid using your inbox as a to-do list. This doesn't work and it wastes time. Keep your to-do list separate.

I must admit to being guilty of ignoring some of these rules, but will be trying to implement these tips to more effectively manage my email.

Until next time,

Sarah

Spring Clean Your Email

Here's a shocking statistic for you: the average email user spends two-and-a-half hours reading, deleting, and responding to 147 messages. Here are some tips on how to keep your email in-box clean and organized from "It's Spring Cleaning Time for Your Email Inbox," in Business News Daily.

Avoid hunting for emails by utilizing the search function. This will save you time and frustration from wading through dozens--if not hundreds--of emails.

Turn off notifications on your phone and computer. Interruptions can, well, interrupt your brain's concentration. By not hearing that ping or buzz indicating an incoming text or message, you can concentrate on the task at hand.

Keep folders simple. Having too many folders can be overwhelming. Instead, set up the least amount of folders you need.

Clean your inbox. Don't keep old messages in your in-box. Either delete ones you have responded to or file the message in the appropriate folder.

Writer shorter emails. Don't let most emails go beyond five sentences. Brevity will be appreciated and probably responded to quicker than long missives.

Send messages at optimal times. Never send messages, especially important ones, at 4 p.m. Instead, try sending messages early in the morning.

Block out time for email. To avoid getting constantly sucked into email, set aside time throughout the day, such as an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon, to tackle incoming email.

Email has been a boon for home-based businesses, but the trick is to not let it consume our time. Following these simple solutions can help you keep your inbox clean and your email under control.

Until next time,
Sarah

More Ways to Tame the Email Monster

Recently, I went out of town for a Friday and Saturday, and didn't have time to check email while away. That Sunday was really busy, so I went three whole days without reading my email. That Monday, I downloaded 222 messages, which might not seem like a lot until you realize it was the weekend and most of those were not related to my freelance writing business.

Weeding through emails, no matter how many, can be tedious, especially given the time it takes to respond to them. Here are some tips on how to tame the email monster.

First, go through and delete without reading the unneceesary or unwanted messages. For example, on the days I don't write a news file for a trade association, I trash unread all the daily news digests and e-newsletters related to that job. Ditto on all the come-ons from companies I've done business with but have no need to order again at this time.

Second, triage the remaining email by tending to the ones in which you are the expert. These would be the ones that focus on your at-home business, for instance.

Third, tackle the rest of the email by either placing in folders for response later (and be sure to have a follow-up plan to do this) or write the response then.

Fourth, set a time limit on how long you will work on email. Then turn off or close the program and focus on other tasks.

Keeping the email monster tamed can seem daunting, but by developing a system that works for you can be a life-saver.

Until next time,

Sarah

Email Etiquette

Email has become the go-to form of communication in the business world, but not following some basic email etiquette can be potentially harmful, especially for the freelancer or home-based businessperson.


Here are some tips on business email.

Take time for grammar. Misspellings, missing punctuation and abbreviations or emoticons do not have a place in business email. Exceptions could be made for close clients, but even then, erring on the side of formality is probably better than choosing to be informal.

Keep it short and to the point. No one likes to read rambling emails, which can smack of unprofessionalism. State your purpose for emailing up front.

Make questions precise to avoid emailing again for clarification. You don’t want to start a long back-and-forth exchange if a properly worded question could have resulted in one or two responses.

Read it over before hitting the send button. Make sure you have the right recipient(s) in the To line. Did you cover all the points you needed to? Did you ask for a response within a certain time frame? Taking the time to give your message the once-over can save you lots of embarrassment later on.

Until next time,

Sarah

Email Marketing

Marketing your product or services via email can be effective and inexpensive. "Top 3 Email Marketing Tips" from E-CommerceGuide provides some additional ways to make every email count.

First, make sure you're sending to those who want to hear from you. Make opting out easy for those who decide not to continue receiving emails from you or your company. Nothing is more annoying than having to jump through hoops to get your email address removed from a company's marketing list.

Second, consider using a soft-sell approach instead of a harder push for your products or services. Sometimes, those hard sells are a good thing, but other times, sending out an email with tips on how to do something that prominently mentions your product might snag the customers' attention better.

Third, use a call-to-action in your email. Asking customers to come to your website via a special link in the email can generate a good response.

Until next time,

Sarah

Another Tool for Handling Email

Here's another tool for handling the deluge of email we all get. If you have an iPhone, AwayFind can help manage your email by forwarding only email from selected recipients to your phone, leaving the other email to be answered at your leisure.

You can sign up for a free version of the program or pay for more robust services. The service can alert you via Twitter, SMS, chat or even calling you up and reading the email to you verbally.

If you don't want to miss important emails from specific senders, signing up for AwayFind might be the ticket to helping you manage your email.

Until next time,

Sarah

Professional Email

With email now the most popular form of business communication, maintaining a professional demeanor with email is paramount to making a good impression on clients, both new and old.

AOL Small Business has an article on "How to Avoid Office E-Mai Disasters," which outlines several common email mistakes that are easily avoidable.

First, treat business emails like formal correspondence, not an informal message to your BFF. Use proper English grammar. If you're unsure about a sentence structure or word usage, check out GrammarBook.com or Grammar Slammer for help.

Use spell check. Most email programs have spell check, so sending out missives with misspellings is easily avoidable. I use Outlook Express and have it set to automatically check spelling when I hit the send button. That function has saved me from many an embarrassing typo.

Use proper formatting. Line and paragraph breaks and proper punctuation allow for the reader to more easily digest your message. Without those, the email can look like one huge run-on sentence or collection of meaningless words.

Lastly, make sure you respond in a timely manner. This means answering the actual email within a reasonable time frame, but it also means making sure you take time in crafting your answer. We've all hit "reply all" when we didn't mean to, or sent an email to the wrong person because we didn't slow down enough to check the name in the "to" box.

Email is a great communication tool, especially for home-based businesses. But poorly written emails can produce the wrong impression and could cost you clients or customers.

Until next time,

Sarah

Keeping the Email Monster Under Control

I receive between thirty and fifty emails a day and sometimes more, mostly related to my freelance writing business. Checking email can become a time-consuming process. CNN posted "Don't let email run your work life" about how to take back control over your email.

The article quoted from a new study that found the amount of email doesn't matter so much as what you do with that email. By using filtering technology and fighting off the pressure to respond quickly, email can become less of a stress and more of a helpful part of your work life.

Until next time,

Sarah

Tricks for Handling Email

Most of us have way too much in our email inbox to tackle some days. Sometimes, we pus aside those emails that don't need immediate attention and then forget all about them.

Since technology's the one burying us in work, it seems fitting that technology came up with a solution: a company that will resend the email back to you at a specified time. You simply forward those emails that need responses in the future and pick when you want to tackle them.

Check out "Get Reminders About Email You Don't Have Time to Answer" for more details. And take back your email!

Until next time,

Sarah