Is E-mail Too Easy?

A concerned site visitor comments:

“Do we overuse e-mail as a communication medium? In many instances, e-mail is the “easy approach” but not necessarily the best approach.”

Yes we are. Many have chosen to take the lazy, easy way out and not pick up the old fashioned telephone or have an in-person meeting when that is what is called for or best for the situation at hand.

E-mail is too easy. Hit a few keys and off your e-mail goes. A healthy portion of those using e-mail still do not even make the minor efforts necessary to communicate with clarity or even use e-mail properly!

I get contacted by those who get notifications of a relatives death by e-mail, Dear John letters, as well as e-mails filled with vitriol and insults all by folks who chicken out by using e-mail rather the choosing the phone or meeting in person.

E-mail is a tool. Whether for business or personal use, it is all up to each individual’s discretion and business savvy to know when and how to use it properly.

For personal use, everyone knows darned well when it is best to pick up the phone and have a intimate conversation in lieu of sending an e-mail.

Those who truly understand business will not fall into the e-mail everything trap. While those who choose the path of least resistance will not be as successful at nurturing business relationships and partnerships.

Your gut knows what is right; listen to it!

How to Handle Errors in Mailings

We are only human. I’ve yet to run into anyone who is perfect or never makes a mistake. Over the years, I’ve lost count of the number of mailings I receive where the link contained within is either “404 Not Found” or does not take me to where the e-mail stated it would.

This is generally due to the sales folks not double-checking with the tech folks to make sure that they are ready for customers to be sent to the new page, survey or information that the e-mail mailing is promoting.

What is one to do when they find that they have prematurely sent out an e-mail to a not yet ready URL? Easy… Send a short and sweet follow-up and humbly apologize for the oversight and include either the correct URL or repeat the Web site address that you have now checked is up and running.

Whenever you make mistakes, acknowledging their existence and correcting the situation promptly will make your error seem less consequential.

Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.
Oscar Wilde (1854 - 1900)

Does Size Matter?

A site visitor to NetManners.com inquires:

Does the font size matter in an e-mail? What I mean is if your font is large does it also mean that the person is yelling or screaming at you?

Not necessarily… It would make a difference on how the larger font is used. Is it the entire e-mail or just certain words/terms?

Unless the sender or recipient is vision impaired and requires the larger font size so they can see better, anything larger than the standard default font size can be perceived as adding emphasis. Otherwise why would one make the font larger?

If one is visioned impaired and having a larger font makes it easier for them, then all they need to do is make the font larger for when they type their message and then reduce it back to default when they send.

This is all about perception and trying to determine one’s intent by how they choose to communicate with their e-mail. Including the courtesy to return the font to a normal size if you are increasing it purely for your own benefit.

Since it takes a manual setting change to increase font size — folks will wonder what the reason is for doing so just as you did. And if certain words or phrases ares much larger, yes, one can assume the sender meant to yell or scream.

Unannounced Attachments

When sending attachments, the Sender is all too often concerned only about what they want to accomplish. In this case, sending their attachments to whomever they want to have them.

The problem here is that by doing so, one risks shutting down the other side’s e-mail box with their large unannounced attachments. Most photo files right out of the camera are megs in size. Excel or Access spreadsheets and even PDF files can fill a 5-10M e-mail inbox to capacity in one fell swoop.

What happens next? All subsequent e-mails bounce back as undeliverable due to over quota. There could have been important e-mails that the recipient was expecting that now are bounced back and not received. All because a Sender did not take the time to think about how their actions could effect others.

The solution?

1. All photo files need not be larger than 600 pixels in width. Learn how to resize or resample photos BEFORE sending.
2. Access or Excel files only are openable by those who have that software. You should always confirm even if the other side has those programs before sending a file they may not be able to open anyway!
3. For business related attachments, only send during business hours when the other side is there to keep their inbox clear and have the courtesy to ask first when would be the best time to send them.

This Sunday, one of my clients sent over 20M of files to be integrated into their site. On a Sunday! Luckily, I logged on to check an eBaY auction I was interested in or I would have experienced a shutdown. This client has been asked ad nauseam to please only send attachments during business hours and to give me a heads up when doing so.

I guess, as so many do, he was only interested in accomplishing his task rather than making the extra effort to honor my numerous requests by not sending such large files outside of business hours. How his actions could have effected me was a mute point — he wanted to send his files and did so ignoring my previous requests.

Do yourself and those you e-mail a favor. Think before you attach! You’ll look tech savvy and your contacts will without a doubt appreciate your extra effort and courtesy.

Don’t Attach That!

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