Being Heard in the Age of E-mail

Written by William Arruda


E-mail has been around for a while. And even though we have augmented e-mail communications with newer technologies, like team rooms, and chat and video teleconferencing, e-mail remains, for most businesses,repparttar primary communications mechanism. It has become such a powerful and pervasive component of our communications toolbox that people who sit so close to us that we can hear them type use it to communicate with us.

Andrepparttar 121311 average knowledge worker receives LOTS of e-mails each day. In fact, most of us receive so many that we feel overwhelmed and almost paralyzed when we look atrepparttar 121312 screen showing how many new mails we have received. Yet despite e-mail's ubiquity and popularity, users, in general, are not proficient at its use. So here are ten tips to help you makerepparttar 121313 most out of this critical business tool... without letting it consume you.

1. Getrepparttar 121314 right fit.

Firstly, you need to determine if e-mail isrepparttar 121315 right vehicle for your communication. It is - if and only if - if meets at least one of these criteria:

„h The content ofrepparttar 121316 communication needs to be documented.

„h The recipient is unavailable (by phone, instant messaging or in person), not co-located or in a different time zone

„h It is not time-sensitive.

„h There are multiple recipients who are not co-located or available simultaneously. (Readrepparttar 121317 caution below in Number 3 about broadcasting e-mails).

„h The subject does not require a lot of back and forth discussion.

Even if you decide that e-mail isrepparttar 121318 right medium, don't create a mail or respond too quickly or emotionally to e-mails you receive. "Sometimesrepparttar 121319 phone is better for difficult interactions. You needrepparttar 121320 personal contact to resolve matters and certainly don't want to document things in ways you may later wish you hadn't said." cautions Janet Jordan, communications expert at Keynote Communications in Boston.

2. What's my objective, anyway?

As with any business correspondence, before you put finger to key, you should really ask yourself, what is my objective in sending this mail. Is it to inform, persuade, motivate, request action, etc.? Knowing this up front will help you craft an effective e-mail.

3. Whose business is it?

Don't copyrepparttar 121321 world. Just ensure thatrepparttar 121322 people who really need to see this communication receive a copy of it. If it needs to go to a group list, it is probably content that is better posted in a team room or to an intranet site. The mail you send should just reference whererepparttar 121323 recipients can findrepparttar 121324 information.

Copying a large number of people or sending it to a group list causes two potential problems. First, many people who don't need to see it do, and you are clogging up their in-boxes; and Secondly, by "cc:ingrepparttar 121325 world", you can easily detract fromrepparttar 121326 effectiveness of your message. Studies show that when faced with a deluge of e-mail, many of your fellow human beings filter out e-mail that appears to be forrepparttar 121327 masses. Essentially we're facingrepparttar 121328 electronic version ofrepparttar 121329 "this doesn't apply to me syndrome" that has plagued humankind for ages. The message: if you want to reach individuals don't treat them likerepparttar 121330 masses.

4. Makerepparttar 121331 subject clear, direct and accurate.

The Subject line can berepparttar 121332 most important part ofrepparttar 121333 mail. It can berepparttar 121334 factor which helpsrepparttar 121335 recipient determine if he/she is going to open it. So, make it clear and as descriptive as possible. How many times do you see a subject like: re:re:re:re:re:re:re:re:re:re:fwd:stro? If you are forwarding a mail or replying to a mail - changerepparttar 121336 subject if you need to make it more accurate. Mark things urgent, or routine, inrepparttar 121337 subject. But use 'urgent' sparingly - if you mark everything urgent, you may unknowingly build a name for yourself asrepparttar 121338 "boy who cried wolf" and cause people to eventually disregardrepparttar 121339 urgency of your mails (and even cause a few snickers as people review their in-boxes).

5. Setrepparttar 121340 scene.

Few people would open a meeting asking colleagues to share their opinions on a key topic without providing enough history to ensure all participants haverepparttar 121341 same background information. Yet many of us don't takerepparttar 121342 opportunity to use e-mail inrepparttar 121343 same way.

What Do They Search For?

Written by June Campbell


Do you know what and how people search when online? If you're operating an online business, this is important information. Understanding search habits and online behaviors helps you strategize your marketing campaigns.

Pew Internet Project has released a new study (summer 2002) describing what people do online. (http://www.pewinternet.org/)

The researchers found that searching for information is big -- second only to using email. Fully eighty percent of Americans who are onrepparttar Internet have used a search engine to find information. Twenty-five percent (that's thirty-three million) use a search engine on a daily basis.

Men are more likely than women to use a search engine on a given day. 33% of men and 25% of women reported using a search engine on a specified day.

College grads are more likely to use a search engine than high school grads. 39% of Internet users with three or more years under their belts use a search engine on a given day, while only 14% of those online for less than six months userepparttar 121310 searches on a given day.

Google isrepparttar 121311 most used search engine in terms of minutes searched. It's currently at 25.9 minutes and gaining. However, MSN hasrepparttar 121312 most number of users. It recorded 43 million unique users in May of 2002, compared to Google's 36 million. Yahoo had 38 million unique visitors during that month.

Information searches fell into four main categories: information about people, health, government and religion.

People searches leaned towardsrepparttar 121313 personal (66.6%), more thanrepparttar 121314 professional (33.3%). College grads were more likely to do people searches than high school grads, and younger people (18-29) were more likely to do people searches than older people (50-64).

Seventy-three million Americans looked for health information... up from 52 million in fall of 2000. Women are more likely than men to look for heath information, but are likely to be turned off by sites that are selling something, or by sites that do not providerepparttar 121315 date and source of their information. 81% started their search at a search engine or at a web portal like Yahoo, AOL or MSN. The others started at a health information site.

45% started atrepparttar 121316 top ofrepparttar 121317 search list and worked their way down. The rest clicked through according to recognized names or relevant content descriptions.

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