2. Don't overabrvt.
Getting to the point quickly is good, but don't over-abbreviate your
words and sentences until your recipient doesn't understand what you're
saying. I mean, what's the harm in writing, "I sent the files you
requested yesterday," rather than, "Sent fls u rqd ystrdy." Think I'm
exaggerating? I have dozens of e-mails sent to me from wireless devices
that were almost incomprehensible. Why return the favor? Be brief, but
also be clear. It sure beats having to resend the message in order to
clarify.
3. The subject line isn't everything, but it should often be the only thing.
Want to make a wireless e-mail recipient really happy? Then keep your
message so short and to the point that opening the actual message is
unnecessary. For example, instead of a message header "call me,
please," you should say "problem: pls call (your number)." This makes
it far easier to process the information, and far less taxing on
valuable air time. If your message is longer, be sure to give and
appropriate header that's concise and can't be confused for spam. Otherwise, it could be ignored.
4. Put yourself in the receiver's shoes. If you
violate any of these rules, be prepared to have your message ignored.
"I always have longer messages or messages with lowered importance sent
to my regular work account," says Samir Bhatnagar, a finance manager in
Arlington, Va. And then, of course, there are spam guards that can be
set so that e-mail that is legitimate but too wordy or containing too
much HTML code can be summarily discarded. Do you really want that
happening to your important messages?
5. Ask before you tell your life story. Graduates of
the e-mail etiquette school already know this one. Before you send a
big attachment, find out if the receiver can handle the file. With
wireless e-mail, take that a step further. If you're thinking of
sending more than a paragraph, check first to make sure the recipient
can deal with the information. I once got chewed out by a client for sending a
brief e-mail to an account that was being checked wirelessly through a
satellite phone (he was at sea). I won't make that mistake again.
6. Cut the funny stuff. E-mails that contain
animation, graphics, or anything else that might challenge the
bandwidth-starved should be avoided at all costs. Evelyn Fine, who
travels with a Palm Tungsten W, got so tired of the gibberish that she
set her PDA to disregard the bells and whistles. "I have friends who
send e-mail with smiley faces, animations and other useless additives,"
says Fine, president of a market research company in Daytona Beach,
Fla. "My Palm immediately truncates the e-mail, assuming it's all
garbage."
7. Skip your John Hancock. Signatures tend to get so
big and lofty that they clog up the pipeline. It isn't just the name,
phone number, address and several e-mail addresses. Now it seems as if
every signature is also followed by lengthy legal disclaimers
"This e-mail message, including any attachments, is for the sole use of
the intended recipient(s) and may contain confidential and privileged
information." Puh-leeze. No one needs to see that disclaimer when space
is at a premium. And there's no easier way to strain a business
relationship than to bog a wireless message down with that kind of
gobbledygook.
Bottom line: keep it short and sweet — and
remember that if you don't, you'll get ignored or worse, incur the
wrath of a customer.
But relax. There's a way to at least
heighten your awareness of the fact that you're dealing with wireless
recipients. In Outlook 2003, scroll over to the Navigation Pane, click
Mail. Then on the Tools menu, click Rules and Alerts. You can create a
rule to move messages from a user who you know is on a wireless
account, or based on keywords such as "Blackberry," to a designated
folder.
That way, at least you know when you have to be on your best behavior.
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