email rules

There are days when I feel like answering the question “Lies what kind of work do you do?” with “I’m an emailer. I send emails.” I have a fairly erratic relationship with my mailbox, sometimes I’m super good at keeping everything up to date but more often than not, I end up with piles of flagged mails and need to plan in a day to like answer 130 open things. I had a day like that yesterday and as I emailed I thought about the What’sApp article I had written, so decided to do the same with email. So in random order, The Big Email Rulebook.

Keep a safe distance

As in, remember the relationship that you have with the person you are emailing and keep good practise. I find it a little strange when people who hardly know me mail things like “hiiii darling, how are you and how is work going? Oh by the way I have a cute event coming up bladibla ok and see you soon xoxoxox.”Huh? Do we know each other? Keep it appropriate, especially business mails.

 Keep it short and sweet

Sorry but I seriously do not have time to read A4 length mails, and neither does the rest of the world. If your story is long, send an email with a summary and offer to provide the rest per phone.

 Never use emoticons

Seems obvious but you’ll be surprised how many emails arrive decorated with little yellow faces. Weird. Look I admit, I also sometimes add a ;-) to lighten the message a little, but not after each and every sentence. This is especially important for business mails, because whatever you and your friends do is your business.

Don’t procrastinate for too long

I’m going to print this one out and stick it on my laptop because I am a star at answering a week later. Not because I have no interest but because I want to take the time to answer properly, but I never seem to have time and then aargh I never get to it. Not acceptable though, no-one likes waiting a 1000 years for a response. I am going to try (try!) to plan in an hour of mailing per day. Then ignore emails outside of that hour otherwise you’ll never finish anything else, but in that hour you’ll need to go full speed.

Don’t misuse the CC

Think carefully if all 18 of those people in cc actually want or need to read your email. It can be quite irritating to be unnecessarily included in a mail conversation that keeps on going. “Yes but you need to be brought up to speed” is the answer and that’s fine, but call or email me when everything is sorted or you are ready with a conclusion, and only add people in cc if they are unmissable.

 Use the bcc

I sometimes get an invitation for something with all addressees open and naked for all too see, and then I suddenly found myself with email addresses of at least half of celebrity Holland. So not chic. Emails for many people should be mailed to yourself with the rest in BCC. Point.

Send everything in one email

So not one email at 9am with part 1 and then at 10:15 the additions, at 12:30 the attachments, at 12:35 the oops I forgot attachments, at 14:15 a little change and then the summary at 17pm. No, no, no. Send everything in one email.

 Don’t force me to write about your product

Yes this one is very market specific, but I need to unload and perhaps someone will learn from it. Everyone on the editorial team knows about this frustration, that mail that you receive from a totally unknown person with “it would be great if you could write a post about this.” Or “Press release blah blah, when can we expect a post?” Yes of course it would be great if we could write a post about it, but it doesn’t always work that way. PR agencies are different, they send interesting news about brands and above all we have loads of close contact with them so they already know what fits with Amayzine and what doesn’t. But I have received press releases about a new brand of knitting needles and then received a lovely email a week later “I haven’t yet seen an article about our product, is this correct? Or is it still coming?” This is for everyone that has ever sent a press release: the editors decide what get’s posted and package your product/event/whatever in as nicely as possible so we think, wahoo we have to write about this!