email communication

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective Emails

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Introduction – Andy Poulton, IT Specialist

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsAgenda

• What your email address says about your business

• Where the emails go

• Email Policy

• Effective Email Etiquette

• Out of Office Message

• Auto-Responders

• Email Marketing

• Viral Marketing

• How not to do it

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsDo you have to send an email?

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:: Jo Moore has a very bad day

As the World Trade Centre crumbled on September 11, 2001, Transport Secretary Stephen Byers' special adviser Jo Moore emailed colleagues suggesting it was a good day to bury bad news.

She had to apologise after the email became public and later lost her job over accusations she had made a similar recommendation for the day of Princess Margaret's funeral.

How not to do it

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Business Email Account

What does your email address say about your business?

Personal / free [email protected]

[email protected]

info

sales

accounts} @joesbusiness.co.uk

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Business Email Accounthow it may be used

Business

Personal

Internal

Marketing

Personal

Business

External

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsPersonal Email Use – Internal and External

• Ensure that an Email use policy is written into Employment Contract

- The business has the legal right to monitor use

- Send, receive, solicit, print, copy or reply to offensive emails

- Sending inappropriate emails either internally or externally

- Chain emails

- Fake / Anonymous

- Indecent Mail

- Libellous Content

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsEmail Etiquette

Use the correct field, To, CC, BCC

To – people you are directly addressing

CC – people you are indirectly addressing, FYI and CYA

BCC – refrain from use unless conducting e-marketing

Spelling and Grammar

Spell check before sending. (Set in Options for auto spell check)

Don’t use excessive punctuation !!!!!!!!!!!

Don’t use fancy fonts.

DO NOT SHOUT

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Abbreviations and Smilies

Only use those in common use – and only to colleagues / friends

FYI and BTW for example

:- ) ;-) - not recommended

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Abbreviations and Smilies

This Means This

:-) Smiley face

;-) Wink (light sarcasm)

:-| Indifference

:-> Devilish grin (heavy sarcasm)

8-) Eye-glasses

:-D Shock or surprise

:-/ Perplexed

:-( Frown (anger or displeasure)

:-P Wry smile

;-} Leer

:-Q Smoker

:-e Disappointment

:-@ Scream

:-O Yell

:-* Drunk

:-{} Wears lipstick

This Means This

BCNU be seeing you

BTW by the way

FWIW for what it's worth

FYI for your information

IMHO in my humble opinion

OBO or best offer

ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing

RTFM read the funny manual

TNSTAAFLthere's no such thing as a free lunch

TTFN ta ta for now

TTYL talk to you later

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The Subject Line

Always have a subject

Make the subject line relevant to the email

– Helps get through Spam Filters

– Helps encourage opening

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Replying and Forwarding

Only use “Reply to all” when everyone needs your response

Remember, the contents of the email may be confidential. The sender may not be happy for you to “Forward” to anyone.

When BBC Five Live acquired the services of football commentators Andy Gray and Jonathon Pearce for the 2002 World Cup, executive editor of BBC Sports News, Graeme Reid-Davies, jokingly replied to an email that advised a large number of staff of their arrival saying "I think they're both crap."

He accidentally “replied to all” and copied his message to 500 members of the BBC sports staff - including Gray and Pearce. “I can't believe I was such an arse," he later reflected.

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Don’t send or forward libellous, defamatory, racist or obscene content

Shortly after Gordon Brown returned from a charm offensive in China, Treasury press officer Robbie Browse sent an email to some friends which made fun of Chinese people's eyes.

He accidentally copied it to his press list, containing 83 leading national newspaper journalists.

One them immediately replied asking: "Will we all be invited to your leaving party?"

Browse faced disciplinary action.

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Be ConciseEmail should be brief and to the point. If the message is long –

think again

Joseph Dobbie briefly met a woman at a barbecue party.

He later acquired her email address and sent her a 500 word toe-curling message, describing her smile as "the freshest of my special memories" adding that he was sure she would "be able to see sincerity where others would see cliché".

Instead, she forwarded the message to her sister and millions ended up reading it.

Dobbie had included his phone number on the message and was bombarded with mocking calls from around the globe.

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Double check any attachments

Is the required attachment actually attached? Is it the right attachment?

Get the right address

Before hitting “Send” double check to make sure you have the right email address and it is in the right field

Devon schoolgirl Claire McDonald found herself receiving emails containing top secret information from the Pentagon after being accidentally added to a round robin list by a navy commander.

One of them was offering advice to the UK on how to prevent secrets from being leaked.

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Opening

Use the most appropriate salutation

Non-Business – Dear Joe or simply Jo

Business – think how you would speak to that person

- If unsure, then play safe and go formal

Signature

Casual

Simple / Informal

Formal – Compliant with legislation

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsEmail Signature - Legislation

Mandatory Information – not required for Sole Traders

Company Registration numberPlace of RegistrationRegistered Office Address

Discretionary Information

Confidentiality noticeDisclaimerIf email is monitored – a statement should be included to that effect

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Closing Signature

Casual – friends and close business acquaintances

Regards

Andy PYour man 4 IT

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Closing Signature

Simple / Informal

Regards

Andy PoultonBusiness Adviser - ICTMobile: 07966 547146

Please consider the environment before printing this email. Double side and print in draft where possible.

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsEmail Signature - Formal

Regards

Andy PoultonBUSINESS ADVISER – ICTBusiness LinkGreat Western Business Centre, Emlyn Square, Swindon, SN1 5BP

Mobile: 07966 547146 | Customer Information Centre: 0845 600 9966Email: [email protected]: www.businesslinksw.co.uk

‘Business Link provides the information, advice and support you need to start, maintain and to grow a business’

Please consider the environment before printing this email.

To see how your business can reduce its impact visit www.businesslinksw.co.uk/environment

Registered Address: Northern Arc Ltd, Great Western Business Centre, Emlyn Square, Swindon, SN1 5BPCompany No.: 05607342 VAT No: 927 2729 04

DISCLAIMER: This e-mail is intended for the addressee only and may contain information that is privileged and confidential. If you are not the intended recipient, you must not copy, distribute or take any action in reliance on it.

If this email has been sent to you in error please notify us immediately by telephone 01275 370865

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Pause, re-read and think before hitting send

Once it’s gone – it’s gone

Don’t send an email you would not want your mum to read.

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:: Human Relations

Senior personnel officer John Crook recommended one of his colleagues for a pay rise and was asked by his line manager why he felt his colleague deserved it.

He gave his reasons and jokingly added: "She was a grrrrrrrrreat shag as well!"

He lost both his job and a subsequent claim for unfair dismissal.

How not to do it

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsAuto responders

Can be invaluable to

Confirm an email has been received

To set or manage an expectation

Can be problem causing

Perceived to be impersonal if not carefully used

May confirm valid email address to spammers

May send wrong message if people send to wrong email address

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsAutomatic Out of Office response

Use if unable to respond in a reasonable time – Email is believed to be instantaneous

Don’t mention the fact that you are on leave

Remember to switch it on when leaving and switch it off when back

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Email Marketing

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• Build Loyalty

• Remind former clients that you are still around

• Advise clients of full range of services

• Provide easy access to latest – news/advice/offers

Why

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It’s Not Expensive

Why

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It’s Effective

Why

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Sector Sent Delivery Open Rate CTR Response

B2CAcquisition

100% 91% 29% 27% 6%

B2CRetention

100% 91% 32% 28% 12%

B2BAcquisition

100% 88% 32% 25% 4%

B2B Retention

100% 90% 37% 30% 13%

Source – DMA Email Marketing Benchmarks Survey

Why

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsWhy

Direct Marketing Association Survey 2009

$1 spent on Email Marketing

$46 generated

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• over 95% of site visitors = “Window Shoppers”

• x 6 = the cost of winning new clients

• Web users like them (over 95% have subscribed)

• 65% have made a purchasing decision

• 37% find the invaluable

Why

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• Develop your database

• Existing Client Data

• Encourage Subscription through website

Offer enticement to subscribe

Exclusive deals, Top Tips, early access to information

• Subscription through other routes

How

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Quality Content

• Relevant

• Tailored

• GRAB attention

• Frequency

• Legal

• Measure, Measure, Measure

How

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What can be measured

• Number of emails sent

• Number of bounces

• Number opened

• Number deleted without opening

• Action taken

How

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• Pre-existing relationship

• Reason why the recipient has been included

• Opt in or Double Opt in

• Sender is clearly identified

• Unsubscribe instructions with EVERY email

Law

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• Mail Chimp www.mailchimp.com

• Vertical Response www.verticalresponse.com

• Constant Contact www.constantcontact.com

• iMailer www.emailtools.co.uk

• Lyris www.lyris.co.uk

• Mailing Manager www.mailingmanager.co.uk

• Graphic Mail www.graphicmail.co.uk

Who

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Viral Marketing – How & Why

• Get other people to do your marketing for you

• It’s free

• Give them something in return if possible

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Viral Marketing – How & Why

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40020 x 20

400 x 20 8000

400 x 20 160,000

160,000 x 20 3.2m

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Viral Marketing - How

• Refer a friend

• Competitions

• Video

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Communicate or Alienate – Effective EmailsViral Marketing

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Now go Sell Something

• Where the emails go

• Email Policy

• Effective Email Etiquette

• Out of Office Message

• Auto-Responders

• Email Marketing

• Viral Marketing

Summary

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Andy Poulton

Business Link

M: 07966 547146

E: [email protected]

Thank You

email communication

Documents

address email

concise email

email etiquette dont

email use policy

email etiquette double

email etiquette abbreviations

business email account

personal email use internal