Copyright (c) 2003 by Angela Booth

Who's reading email messages you send out? Not as many people as you think. For example, research by Internet marketing firms suggests that only ten per cent of email ezines are opened and read.

Email's turning into a spam-filled jungle to which only sensible response is a flame-thrower or a machete.

Here's what I do, and I expect that I'm typical. I get around 200 email messages a day. I delete 150 unread. I move 30 to a "follow up" folder, and read 20. By "read", I mean I open message and scan it quickly.

Will your message be read? Think about how your message will appear in someone's overcrowded Inbox, and structure it carefully to differentiate it from all spam and other trivia.

=> The From field

When you're scanning your list of messages, your glance moves first to From field. Is it from a friend or foe? Will you read or delete? If it's an address which sounds genuine, message has passed first test.

Therefore, your email address is important. Use your own name, or that of your business.

Your email name shouldn't be cute, or weird. When someone's cutting through swathes of spam, after tenth invitation to view utterly vile images, your cute email address will inspire rage, not a smile.

Remember that you're conducting business, and strive for professionalism.

Because I'm a writer, much of my email is from other writers. Many beginning writers select strange email addresses. Such as:

ialwayswantedtobeawriter@freeemail.com. Or writergrl27@atanotherfreeemailservice.com.

Even if you're forced to use a Web-based, free service because you don't have a computer at moment, or because you're travelling, read Help file to see how to set From field to your own name, rather than to your User Name for service. Many people have their email filters set to automatically delete mail from free services.

=> The Subject line

The primary rule: be clear.

Many people you're communicating with won't have any idea who you are, so your Subject line should make your reason for communicating with them plain.

If your message's Subject line is blank, or if it has a weird subject line, it will be deleted, unread.

Drop cute, friendly, or mysterious subject lines. Spammers use cute, friendly and mysterious subject lines.

I automatically delete: "Hi!" (sounds like someone sending me a virus); "Hey come see" (not while you live and breathe); "Re: your account payment" (the address has to be from someone I do business with); "Auto-response confirmed" (you're an idiot); "thanks for your subscription" (I didn't subscribe, and I hope you die a slow, miserable death).

If you're sending an article proposal, for example, say so right on Subject line, with:

"Article Proposal: 10 ways to fold your socks"

Can't think of a Subject line? Take a moment. Ask yourself why you're sending message.

Would you like to learn how to set up a fully portable office? No matter where you live or if you are moving, your contact information will move with you. Whether you are on business in France, vacationing in Greece, sizing up property in Brazil, or living in Timbuktu, your contact information will stay same. No matter how often you move around, you can now be instantly accessible to friends, family, and even your bank manager! Your portable office system means your postal address, email addresses, telephone and fax numbers need never change again regardless of your physical whereabouts. Technology has made your portable office possible. You can set one up too! It’s simple and for less than $50 per month! Let me tell you how!

Step 1: Your FREE Email Account:

Set up unlimited personal email accounts without spending a cent. You don’t need to have your own computer or to pay monthly rental fees. You can set up free email accounts online. Connect to Internet at a Cybercafe or use a friend’s or employer’s machine. Visit any of following sites and follow simple instructions to set up free, personal, fully portable email addresses:

www.mailstart.com www.hotmail.com www.mailcity.com www.mailandnews.com www.yahoo.com

Once your email address is operational, you can hand out address to your contacts. Using a computer with Internet connectivity, you can access messages sent to your address wherever you are in world. Even if you don’t own a portable laptop computer, shouldn’t prove too difficult to find a public-access machine in most places. Try cybercafes, libraries, hotels, bookshops, and office-service providers. It takes less than five minutes phone time to access Internet, download your new messages, and print them. And you can also use your free email address to send messages.

Step 2: Your Global Telephone and Fax:

Next you need phone and fax numbers that stay same and that enable you to receive phone and fax messages—instantly—wherever you are in world. At one time, this would have been impossible. Not anymore.