Do you dread going away for a few days on a holiday knowing that when you come back you will have hundreds of new e-mails in your inbox? Do you spend the first morning you arrive back at work going through a huge inbox? Would you like to reduce the size of your inbox and feel more in control? If you answered yes I have some great news; I can offer you some ideas and suggestions to take back control of your inbox.
That’s why I have put together my new book called “The E-mail Manual“. It is the book you should have received when you first started using e-mail. I think if everybody had a copy of this book on their desks and read it before they started using e-mail, there would be a fewer problems and issues with using and managing e-mail. Please enjoy these 5 email strategies. Be on the lookout for my other articles on how to better manage your e-mail and reduce the size of your inbox.
36. Be careful about forwarding attachments
Forwarding Emails is a great way to let others know of important updates you have received. But when you hit forward, any attachments go as well.
Delete any unneeded attachments. This is especially important when forwarding an email to a group.
37. Find other ways to send large files instead of using attachments
People HATE receiving huge files by Email. It is slow, clogs up the email server and can waste time. Instead try uploading large files (say more than 3 megabytes) to a shared folder on your organisation’s server, or to a free service like www.mediafire.com.
Once you have uploaded the large file, sites like www.mediafire.com will provide you a url link to the file. This link can be sent to your recipient in an Email, allowing him or her to click on the hyperlink and download the larger file from there.
Please be aware that while these free services are very reliable, use your common sense. Don’t send confidential or super-sensitive files using these free services. While the chances of these files being intercepted by a third party is low, it’s better to be safe than sorry.
For added security, try zipping the file and using an encrypted password.
38. Get to the top of your customers and colleague’s email queue
If you want your email to get noticed, make sure it hits your recipients email box last.
For example, when you open your email in the morning, have you ever noticed how dozens of new Emails fill your screen, withthe older Emails dropping down from view?
The best way to make sure yours doesn’t fall down in the list and will get seen is to send it at the end of the day or when you know they will be probably be checking and reviewing their Email.
For example if you write an email and send it on Sunday night, (not Saturday morning), then it will be closer to the top on Monday morning when your recipient opens his or her email program.
39. Make sure your attachments work
The best way to be sure any files that you send to others will work is to open it and try it first. Make sure that you only use formats that virtually everybody uses. PDF files, Microsoft Word, Excel documents or PowerPoint presentations are common.
Beware. Some newer PDF and MS Office documents are not compatible with older Acrobat or MS Office versions, so send your attachments using the most common format or compatible version.
40. Use short subject lines
Don’t use the subject line to type your entire message (unless it is really short and simple). Keep the subject line short but significant so the person reading your email will see the subject line, know what the email is about and open the email and read your message.
If you would like to learn how to better manage your e-mail or inbox, why not consider my Zero Inbox training program? This e-mail management course is available in Australia and will soon be available online. You can visit, http://www.success.net.au/seminars/zero-inbox.html to learn more about how to better manage your e-mail and reduce your inbox. Alternatively, you can visit: http://www.zero-inbox.com/
