EMAIL:
DO IT RIGHT!
by Bob McElwain
Judging from what I receive,
lots of people have not thought much about email. Yet dealing with it effectively
is vitally important to the success of your business. This may be the most
overlooked and under-valued aspect of doing business on the Web. Here is
what is needed.
> Answer it!
> Answer it promptly!
> Answer it completely!
> Answer it with grace
and style!
These all seem obvious, I'm
sure. They reflect plain good old common sense. Yet I find one or more
of them ignored in much of the email I receive.
Answer It!
Apparently many are selective
as to what they will reply to. Big mistake. If I visit your site, ask a
question and do not receive a reply, I promise you won't hear from me again.
You say you're just too busy
to deal with dumb fool questions or stuff of no interest to you? If that
is really true, then you can afford to hire someone to do it for you. If
a person felt it was worth the time and trouble to write to you, they deserve
a reply.
Not so? Try this. Pick three
sites you feel are successful and ask them a question. Let it be something
way off the mark. Maybe: I was given this URL as a source of information
about Dobermans, but the address must be wrong. Do you by chance know of
such a source? You will get a reply. Brief, most likely, but courteous.
Spam is probably part of the
problem. Much too much of what I receive is pure junk. Even so, I take
the trouble to read at least the first line or two before hitting the delete
key, for serious email does occasionally come in looking like junk.
A Tale: A newsletter I follow
asked for articles in a way that sounded as if material was needed. So
I wrote what I thought was a neat piece, and worked it over carefully.
I put about four hours into it, then submitted it. No reply. Well, things
get lost, so I resubmitted. No reply. Out of curiosity, I sent a brief
positive comment about the newsletter, and asked a question easy to answer.
No reply. Rejection slips? I deal with them. No reply? Nuts.
Think about what a person
risks in asking a question. Ridicule, rejection, and such, and the possible
misuse of the email address that brings more spam. A reply is mandatory.
Besides, it's good business.
Answer Your Email Promptly!
This can be difficult if you
are working a full time job. Still, it must be done. I often get replies
so late, I've forgotten why I sent the message! If email is answered every
evening, in most cases you provide a same-day response, which is sufficient.
You might also consider a morning session before going to work. Since not
many messages come in during the night, a short session may work well.
You can leave a tough question or issue until evening.
I personally check my email
four to six times each work day. It really pays off. I see it in a reply
that begins with: Wow, that was quick! I see it even more clearly when
a sale comes through an hour later.
Again judging from my email,
some apparently wait until the weekend to answer. This may mark you as
a part-timer in your Web business, a negative to be avoided if possible.
For the same reason, I do not reply to business email on Sundays or holidays.
Answer Your Email Completely!
Next to waiting too long for
a reply, my pet peeve is a reply that fails to answer the question I asked,
or an important part of it. Often this is just carelessness, but consider
what it does to a company image. Do you want to deal with careless people?
One of the problems with email
is the lack of eye contact and body language available in face-to-face
conversation. Even the phone gives something of this, as in a hesitant
response, the opportunity to quickly repeat something that may have been
misunderstood, correct a blunder, etc.
This slack is just not available
in email. All you have are the words in front of you. To complicate matters,
not everyone is a good writer. This sets things up so that it is
easy to overlook the real question buried in the one apparently asked.
If I have the slightest doubt about what the question means, I say so.
Maybe: I'm not sure I understand the question. If you meant ... blah, then
... blah. Then I wrap with: If that is not what you were looking for or
I missed something, please get right back to me.
Not stated, but implied in
the above, is the need to be correct. Never try to fake it; people will
quickly peg you as a phoney, con artist, or worse. Sometimes the best answer
is: Sorry, I don't know. Maybe continue with: It seems to me ... Also provide
a resource if possible. Worst case, suggest a search engine. But in whatever
you say, be correct.
Complete does not mean it
is necessary to write a manual. In fact brevity is king in all business
correspondence. If the question is too broad, the best choice is to try
a one sentence reply that offers something of the answer, followed by a
reference as suggested above. A few do try to take advantage, and in such
cases, this is the only reasonable approach.
Answer Your Email With
Grace And Style!
Few webmasters are professional
writers, so how is the above possible? Substitute courteous for grace,
and the first part may make more sense. The idea is to treat the writer
as you would a valued client or customer.
Your first contact with a
future prospect is quite likely to be email. Since you are not meeting
face to face, you can not offer a hearty handshake, a warm smile of welcome,
or show your intense interest with your eyes or posture. While it is not
easy, I try very hard to get something of this in every message I send,
particularly to someone new to me.
Style is not as tough as it
sounds, for we all have one, whether or not we recognize it. I tend to
be informal. Some tend to be formal. Most are somewhere in between. What
your style is matters little. The important thing is to be true to whatever
it is. To do otherwise quickly destroys credibility. That is, cute and
clever doesn't make it, unless you truly are. And grand formality doesn't
fly unless it is who you are. Write as you would speak to a visitor to
your office or shop.
All of the above has to do
with trust. Any relationship between yourself and a client or customer
begins with trust. A question gives you the opportunity to build on the
trust inherent in the act of sending the message. Do otherwise, and you
will blow it.
The structure of your web
site, search engine position, and so forth are essential elements to the
success of your online business. But of all vital elements, email seems
to be the one most often overlooked. This seems odd, for it is the easiest
part to get right.
About the Author:
Bob helps webmasters grow
their sites by showing them how to work smarter for more fun and profit
with less effort. He has been marketing on the Web since 1993. Visit
his newest site: http://sitetipsandtricks.com/
There's a new Mail in town. It's called IncrediMail.
Click
here to download
