4. It should go without saying that forwarding of chain letters (regardless how noble topic may seem), virus warnings or anything that says "forward to everyone you know" simply shouldn't be forwarded because it is plain old B.S. or commentary that many will not appreciate. But I have to say it because folks do so anyway.

5. If you must forward to more than one person, put your e-mail address in TO: field and all others you are sending to in BCC field to protect their e-mail address from being published to those they do not know. This is a serious privacy issue. Again, be sure to take time to type a nice little comment about why you are forwarding e-mail to recipient(s) at top of your forward.

The above 5 rules will help qualify if an e-mail is worth forwarding and right way to do so if it is. If one cannot make these extra efforts, then they really have no excuse to get mad or have hurt feelings when asked to stop. And if asked to stop forwarding, don't get mad; just realize person on other side certainly has right to make that request.

At end of day, if you fear hurting someone's feelings by asking them to stop forwarding you e-mail, know they probably meant well, were really thinking of you, were trying to make a point - ahhh, just hit delete!

Now, also consider putting promotional info in your sig file, such as: - an offer for a free report or product you offer - an offer for a free consultation or trial offer - a company announcement (new client, new product, award won, etc.) - a hyperlink to your latest press release, article, or Web site feature - an invitation to subscribe to your free e-newsletter

In interest of space and your reader's time, keep your offer or announcement to one or two sentences only. (Tip: Always throw in word "FREE" when possible. It's everyone's favorite word!)

BONUS: Most e-mail software programs allow you to create and keep several signatures on file, so you can change them easily and often. This makes it a cinch to switch your messages weekly or even daily, and maintain ones for different businesses.

**Choose What's Important to You** Of course, it's possible to get carried away and include too much information. We don't need random quotes that have no relation to your business, cute illustrations made up of keyboard characters, or your weekend phone number in Hamptons.

Try to keep your sig file to a maximum of eight lines. More than that will overwhelm reader, and it will look silly if your sig files are always longer than your e-mail messages!

Here's a good example: Jane Smith, President Smith I.T. Consulting "Take a Byte Out of Network Headaches" ph: 800-321-0000 fax: 212-321-0001 jane@smithit.com *Visit http://www.smithit.com and get your FREE report on top 10 most common computer network problems and how to solve them!*

Notice that "Jane" opted not to give her mailing address here, in order to use space for her tagline and an invitation to receive her free report. It's all up to you. If your customers frequently need your mailing address, then you should include it. (I don't include it in mine, since 99% of my work is done via e-mail.) Decide what bits of info are most valuable to keep, and use rest of space for a unique message or promotion!

**One Last Thing: Make Sure We "Get" What You Do** I've seen some seemingly complete sig files that still leave me wondering, "Thanks for all info, but what do you DO?" We all know what IBM and Kodak do, but whole world doesn't know what your business does (yet). For now, it's your job to help us all learn. Include a tagline that describes what your company does or a short phrase that helps us understand. If your sig file consistently delivers a clear impression of what you have to offer your prospects, it will reward you numerous times in future!