Email Format from XIANGLIN JIN,MITC BA 318 student.

Email has become a common communication tool for most busy business people. It is appropriate to use email for many common business communications, including the following:

* Most good news letters, requests for information, and simple follow-up letters.
* When a quick turnaround time is needed for response. Since business professionals often check their email several times a day, it may be much quicker to send the information by email than through mail. It is also a better way to get specific information to someone instead of leaving long voice mail messages on the telephone.

When you do use email, it is essential that you still use good business communications writing skills.

* Use the appropriate "formula" for writing. For a good news or request, use three paragraphs. The first paragraph must contain the good news or request. The second paragraph must contain the details; the last paragraph contains no new information and is a courteous close.
* Use appropriate sentence structure, grammar, and punctuation. Don't use "internet acronyms" such as LOL (laugh out loud)! The communication can still send an appropriately formal message, even though it is quicker than a traditional printed letter.
* Don't lapse into informal writing techniques that you may have learned when using chat rooms! This is not appropriate for any business communication.
* You will want to include your name in the "from" and "reply to" sections of your email set up so that the reader will know who you are immediately.
* You should also set up a "signature" on your email that will automatically put your full name, position, company name, phone number, and email address on each email you send out. This will save you time and give the appropriate information to each person with whom you communicate by email.
* Be sure to include a specific subject line that gives the reader an idea of what is coming.
* Try to keep the email brief (preferably to one page) so that readers do not have to scroll.
* Return emails in the same day that you would a phone call.
* Use capitalization and punctuation in the same way that you would in any other document.
* Format your email to be sent in plain text rather than HTML because some email clients may not read HTML.
* Write a salutation or greeting for each new subject email. However, if you exchange several emails over the same topic, it is not necessary to include a greeting because it is as though you are carrying on a conversation. When we carry on conversations, we do not say hello each time we speak.
* Be sure to write an appropriate and specific subject in the subject line so that the recipient knows what to expect.

It is always important to know who will receive your email, including the number of people you have on the mailing list. This helps you in two ways. First, it helps you think about the tone of your writing. Second, if you send an email to more than four people regularly you should create mailing groups so that the recipients do not need to scroll through names before they can get to the content of the email. It also helps to keep some email addresses anonymous, as some perceive it as rude for their names and email addresses to be posted for strangers to see.

You will need to talk with the technical support in your office or use the "help" option on your computer if you do not know how to create a mailing group. A mailing group is a list of email addresses assigned to one name. You want to use names that make sense to you so that you can remember them. This is especially helpful when you are managing several mailing group lists.

Emails are public documents, despite the fact that you may send an email to someone privately. Therefore, only include those statements in email that you can openly defend should your message be circulated or shown to other parties. Using emotions, and other virtual gestures may be appropriate in some cases, but not in all cases! It is always essential to consider the type of relationship you have with the receiver of your message before including virtual non-verbals. If your relationship is more casual, then using the symbols is fine. If your relationship is more formal, then it is best to refrain from using them.

In general, the email should be approximately one page printed or the length of your computer screen before scrolling. However, there are times when email messages need to be longer to convey important information. Oftentimes organizations seeking to reduce their paper costs will use email as their primary source of communication. Longer emails generally consist of: Orientation schedules and information, memos, convention information, newsletters, and policy changes.

When you need to write a long email try to include three essential elements at the top of the email: (a) an executive summary at the top of the document, (b) how soon a response is required from the recipient(s), and (c) a table of contents.
An executive summary

This is a short summary of everything in the email document including the main goal of the email or the "bottom line."
Required response

Because your reader is most likely going to read the first few lines of your document thoroughly and browse through the rest, if you need to have him or her respond by a certain time with certain information, that should be stated within the executive summary.
Table of contents

A table of contents allows the reader to pick and choose what sections of the email are most relevant to him or her. A person is most likely to comply with your requests when you make it easy for him or her to navigate your materials.