The good news is many more agents are using e-mail today than they did even one year ago. The bad news is, very few of us are using this terrific communication tool as an effective prospecting and farming opportunity. There are guidelines that make your electronic communications more powerful, unique and effective.

E-mail goes beyond just communication. You actually “publish” your communications once they sail over the Web. E-mail helps to meet the multiple demands of today’s consumer by incorporating several key service points just by adding options and information to your communications. You actually have the ability to “market” yourself through a simple e-mail communication by using the following guidelines.

1. Offer enough information to identify yourself.

   This is ESPECIALLY important if you are not using your own name in the domain. Since few e-mails include a “stationery” look with preprinted company logos, addresses, phone and fax numbers, the receiver may need some help to correlate who you are.

   Include:

   a. Your full name

   b. Your credentials

   c. Your company and city/state of where your company is

   d. Your phone number, including area code

   Don’t make this information too long, just enough to help correlate who you are to your message.

2. Include a hyperlink to your website.

   Make it convenient for the recipient to go to your site without having to do anything but “click” on the hotlink to get there. Include the http://www.YourURL.com so that if the recipient is on line, the link will automatically link to your website. With a simple click of the cursor, the reader is on their way to get more information about you and your services, if they choose to. When including this simple option, you are offering to the recipient a convenient on-ramp to learn more services and information.

3. Include a hyperlink to your e-mail address as well to encourage an easy response.

   Many e-mail users do not know how to “capture” an address. By offering a “hot link” to your e-mail, you offer a ready-to-go template. Accomplish this by including a simple link to your e-mail address in your signature. Type the words “Mailto” followed with a colon and then your e-mail address, and an automatically addressed e-mail template will appear for an easy response to your message. This saves the receiver time, and makes it extremely convenient and fast to respond.

4. Follow good grammatical guidelines.

   Just like hard copy communication, your e-mail needs to follow the same good grammatical guidelines. Be sure you are using correct grammar, proper spelling and punctuation. Use a spell checker if your mail manager or e-mail program has one, just to be sure.

5. Set up an automated signature line.

   Typing full signature information every time you send an e-mail would be annoying and time consuming. Many browsers are set up with a mail manager that incorporates tools to help you set up your signature automatically. Outlook and Outlook Express offer this service in the mail manager found in the “tools” section. By setting up your e-mail signature in advance, every e-mail you send will include this information automatically.

6. Avoid using inflammatory language or slang.

   You don’t want to breach the rules of proper communication by using inappropriate emotionally reactive messaging, called “flaming”. If someone sends you an inflammatory message, resist “flaming” back.

7. Use upper and lower case words correctly.

   Make your names, or words easy to read by typing correctly. All CAPS are difficult to read and are interpreted as “SHOUTING” in an e-mail. All lower case are equally difficult to read. The only place you may not vary upper and lower case is in passwords or password protected areas.

8. Don't forward send lists.

   If you receive an e-mail that has been copied to a very long list of other people, don’t include that list when and if you forward this message. No one wants to sort through a pile of e-mail addresses online.

9. Use “Emoticons” to convey a specific meaning to your message.

   Emoticons are icons used in communication that define the expression of the communication. A smiley face at the end of a note can connote friendliness and is done by using a colon, followed by a dash and then half of a parenthesis without typing any spaces which looks like this:

   :-)

   The recipient gets the message that you are intending to convey a friendliness to your message. For more emoticon information, go to: http://www.ChatList.com

10. Use your mail manager to organize and file your incoming and outgoing correspondence.

    Your mail manager also has the capability of creating folders to help you keep track and sort your messages. Each program works a little differently. It is important for you to organize the messages you need to keep, delete those that are not important to control the flow of e-mail messaging that you receive and send daily.

Using e-mail properly and effectively can make your communications more powerful, more presentable and more effective!

Published: October 22, 2001

Use of this article without permission is a violation of federal copyright laws.