Checklist before sending email
June 6, 2008
Some good advice here from Seth Godin on the topic of sending emails. He wrote 36 different points, here are some of my favourites:
- Is it going to just one person? (If yes, jump to #10)
- Since it’s going to a group, have I thought about who is on my list?
- Could I do this note better with a phone call?
- Is it in black type at a normal size?
- Do I have my contact info at the bottom? (If not, consider adding it).
- Could this email be shorter?
- Is there anyone copied on this email who could be left off the list?
- Have I attached any files that are very big? (If so, google something like ‘send big files’ and consider your options.)
- Have I attached any files that would work better in PDF format?
- Are there any
or other emoticons involved? (If so, reconsider). - Did I hit ‘reply all’? If so, am I glad I did? Does every person on the list need to see it?
- If this email is to someone like Seth, did I check to make sure I know the difference between its and it’s? Just wondering.
- Are there any little animated creatures in the footer of this email? Adorable kittens? Endangered species of any kind?
- Bonus: Does the subject line make it easy to understand what’s to come and likely it will get filed properly?
- If I had to pay 42 cents to send this email, would I?
Entry Filed under: Hacks for work and life, Technical/Gadgets. .
Trackback this post | Subscribe to the comments via RSS Feed