Using e-Mail to your Advantage

By Gayle Buske, President and CEO, Team Double-Click® and VirtualAssistingUSA;

Working virtually, a reliable email account is essential. We recommend AGAINST using an AOL, Yahoo, or Hotmail account as they appear "cheap". People like to see an email extension, which reflects the business you're in - something with stability.

I constantly receive inquiries asking how on earth I handle all of the emails that I receive in a typical business day. Depending on what's going on, I can receive anywhere between 100 and 300 emails a day and send about as many outbound messages. Even if your email load is smaller the tips I provide here will still help tame that email tiger.

Tip 1: Use Outlook or Outlook Express

I prefer Outlook or some similarly robust, non-web based email program, because they simply allow more flexibility than a web-based email program. Even if you have an AOL, Yahoo, or some other conglomerate's email address, you can usually locate instructions somewhere on their site to set up the email in Outlook - just look for SMTP settings.

Tip 2: Set up lots of folders Just as you would keep your paper files organized by setting up folders for various topics, do the same for your email files by creating files within your "local folder". Mine go something like this: Client Update, Weekly Update, Next Weekly Update, Clients, Contractors, and so on. Within those folders are more folders. For example, my Clients folder contains a folder for each client. Yes, I use a lot of hard drive space saving emails, but it keeps me organized and I can (usually) find what I need quickly. Outlook's "find" command is a lifesaver when you want to dig up that specific email from that client from a few months ago.

I have another "special" folder that I call "Requires follow up". In this folder, I place sent messages (go into your sent messages folder and drag the sent message to another folder), which are important and need to be watched. I do this if I have any doubts about the party responding quickly. Never assume that just because you sent a message to someone rapidly, that they will reply with the same speed.

When my request has been answered; that message (or the other person's reply) goes into the appropriate folder for storage. I review my "Requires follow up" folder several times throughout the day.

Tip 3: Save all emails that seem important.

Before the virtual world, business people were conveniently divided into 2 categories: filers and pilers. Filers kept things that they thought they might need, but dumped the rest. They could fill up a wastebasket of paper in half a day. Pilers, on the other hand, saved everything. Their wastebasket was for decorative purposes only. They'd save the most trivial of things "just in case".

The virtual world has ended this distinction. Now, you can (and should) be a little of both.

For the Pilers:

Keep all of your email; or most of it. Just create more folders to store them in. If you require more hard drive space, just go out and get it. Hard drive space is ridiculously cheap compared to even a decade ago. I maximize my Outlook window to full screen. Adjust the Inbox window so that it takes up half of the vertical portion of the screen. This is my own anal little rule: If the messages in my Inbox extend below the screen so that I can't see all of them (about 20 emails fit on the screen), I'm falling behind and need to spend some time answering them.

In Outlook, if you click the column headings above where the email message lines appear, it will sort your emails ascending or descending (keep clicking the heading and watch the little up or down arrow on the bar), whichever you choose. I always keep mine sorted by date/time received so the NEWEST emails are on top.

For the Filers:

If you have a continuing string (you reply, they reply, you reply again, etc.) keep only the most recent message. Go back in and delete the older ones so you don't have duplicates.

Tip 4: Respond to All Emails Quickly.

... and as soon as possible (I try to respond within two hours at the most). Even if it's just a tiny 10-second email that says "message received, I'll get back to you within 3 hours", send it! Let the sender know when you will answer them and then be sure to do it at that time/day. The Internet can seem like a giant abyss; a Bermuda Triangle through which emails go and are never seen again. And given that most business people receive 50+ emails a day, it's important that your contacts know that you have received their email, and that you are "on top of it".

Tip 5: Use the Subject Line!!!!

ARGH! This is a GIANT pet peeve of a lot of people; particularly those who are a bit less Internet-literate than you. Some of your contacts will come from a world where memos really did have a meaningful "re" line, as did business letters. As an added bonus, you can use Outlook's find feature to search for particular words in an email subject header. So 6 months from now if you want to dig up that email from that guy who asked you about the thing, you can probably find the email in a matter of seconds if your subject line had something relevant to say.

Tip 6: Don't Change the Subject Line!

Fresh on the heels of Tip 6: once an email thread is started, please don't change the subject line. When you're replying back and forth and someone suddenly changes the subject line on you it's maddening. I do this occasionally if the subject of the conversation changes and the original topic has been dropped, but very rarely. In that case it's better to just start a new thread with a fresh, clean message.

Tip 7: Answer EVERYTHING That the Other Party Asks For

This seems obvious; but it is hard to do, when a contact inserts a number of questions into one paragraph. Sometimes, the questions will not even be different; they will just be the same question that has been worded differently.

For example, a contact might write something like this: Hi there, I'm really interested in your virtual services. I need someone who can write the content for my web page. Do you have someone who can do this? Can they do it within two weeks? How long will it take? Can I choose the person who does this? Would it be possible for them to have it done by the end of October? Thanks!

There are 5 questions there, each one, conveniently, with a question mark. Many people - particularly those who are not Internet-savvy - will sometimes not add a question mark to their questions; which means that you must make sure that you carefully read the entire email to make sure that you're answering what needs to be answered.

Here's how I ensure that I do this: I hit reply, and then move my cursor to right after the first question, change font color and answer there. Move the cursor again to right after the next question, and so on until I've answered all of their questions. It's much quicker and you're sure not to forget anything. Here's an example:

Hi there, I'm really interested in your virtual services. Thanks! We're interested in having you as a client! I need someone who can write the content for my web page. No problem! Do you have someone who can do this? Absolutely! Can they do it within two weeks? Certainly! How long will it take? Between 1 and 2 weeks. Would it be possible for them to have it done by the end of October? Yes, I think so. That's 3 weeks from today, so it means we need to get started right away. I can send you our standard agreement and we can get moving today. What is your fax #? Thanks! Our pleasure!!

NOTE: To make these color-embedded notes in an email message, you must be in HTML format. To do this, in Outlook, click "Format" and then "Plain Text (HTML)".

Tip 8: Copy and Paste

What a blessing that is. I personally use this a lot. If I need to send a message to several people, but I just don't have time to type and retype the same answer, then I type that response once, copy it, then reply to each person individually. This saves countless hours!

Tip 9: Know Which Emails You've Read

You'll have to dig around your settings a bit - in my OE the command is in Tools, Options, Read. Click off the button that says, "Automatically mark messages read after x amount of time". I manually mark my messages read or not read. That way I can quickly look at my Inbox and know what still needs to be taken care of and what can wait.

This won't work for everyone, but when I get up and am enjoying my morning coffee, I sit and catch up on emails. I do the same (without the coffee ;-) about 15 minutes before I turn in for the night. I answer anything urgent and just skim the rest leaving them for morning.

Tip 10: Clean Out Your In, Out, and All Other Email Boxes

Once you've "dealt" with a particular email, make a decision immediately to delete it, file it, or leave it for follow up in a few minutes, then do it right away. It keeps your Inbox freed of clutter. Do the same periodically with your other boxes. I "clean house" on my mail boxes about once a month. I permanently delete, from client and contractor folders, strings that I think are done and issues resolved, or just not needed. I empty my deleted items box once a week and I save only one week's worth of sent messages.

Because I'm so diligent about filing away my sent and received messages, I pretty well know that if it's sent and I didn't save it to a folder, or if it's deleted, I won't need it anymore and can safely get rid of it. I keep the week's worth of sent items just in case. If you do need to save something that might be important later, you can save that message into that contact's folder in Windows Explorer like this: Highlight the message to be saved, click "File", "Save As", and this will open up a browser window where you can locate that contact's folder (or create a new folder for that contact). It's also a good idea to get a copy of the Outlook Express Backup Wizard and periodically backup your email.

I also don't do joke forwards and delete most of the ones I receive - unless they're a "10".

This won't work for everyone, but when I get up and am enjoying my morning coffee, I sit and catch up on emails. I do the same (without the coffee ;-) about 15 minutes before I turn in for the night. I answer anything urgent and just skim the rest leaving them for morning.

Your Email Signature

We recommend a signature something like this:

Gayle Buske
Phone: 888.827.9129
Fax: 262.364.3022
Email
http://www.TeamDoubleClick.com
"Providing the people ...virtually!"
Team Double-Click® provides virtual assistance for small and home-based businesses. We are a virtual staffing agency, working with over 1,500 of the best virtual office professionals the world has to offer.

~ Virtual assistants
~ Transcription
~ Editing and Creative writing
~ Project management
~ Marketing
~ Graphic design and Illustration
~ Web Design and Search Engine Optimization
~ Literary agency

This lets everyone know what you do every time you send a message and can help bring in business. We recommend using a TeamDoubleClick.com email address and the same signature line every time you send an email.





About the author:
Gayle Buske is the co-founder, president and CEO of Team Double-Click® and VirtualAssistingUSA. As the head of a virtual staffing agency with over 57,000 virtual professionals in its pool, Ms. Buske is uniquely qualified to aid small business owners in their growth and development through virtual outsourcing. Virtual Assistants across the globe look to Ms. Buske and her organizations for guidance, mentoring and motivation.

Team Double-Click®, the country's foremost staffing agency for trained Virtual Assistants - Matching Top Virtual Workers with Top Companies! Visit www.teamdoubleclick.com or phone 888.827.9129 for a variety of full-service virtual staffing options.

VirtualAssistingUSA provides Virtual Assistants a place to upload their profile, advertise their services and get access to affordable training, marketing and billing assistance for their business. VirtualAssistingUSA gives small business owners direct access to our database of tens of thousands of virtual assistants - without the ongoing agency fees and gives them access to talent that is not available through other venues. Visit www.virtualassistingusa.com for more information.

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