A message that earns respect has a better chance to make sales. That`s why our topic for discussion is email etiquette.



Train yourself to always -- and I mean always -- stick to the rules below when crafting your email messages.

RULE #1 - ALWAYS WRAP YOUR LINES AT 65 CHARACTERS OR LESS

Whenever you write an email, always format the lines so that they`re 65 characters, or less, across. To do this, you may need to do a "hard return" by hitting "Enter" at the end of the line.

Wondering why you should limit your lines to just 65 characters? Good question! There are two reasons why "less is more":

The first thing to remember is that looking at a computer screen for a long time causes "eye fatigue" for many readers. The shorter span of characters across the screen makes reading easier and more appealing to the recipient of your email message.

The other reason to go short instead of long is this: some email clients automatically enforce line-wrapping at 60-65 characters on received messages. If your email is wrapped at 70, the content will arrive all "chopped up." This makes it unattractive...and worse -- unappealing.

How do you get your lines to wrap at 65 characters? Some email clients, such as Outlook Express, allow you to set the line-wrap to any character-width that you choose. That means you won`t have to hit Enter each time after typing 65 characters. Makes life easier. You can also type 65 asterisks or dashes in a Notepad file to create a template. Then paste your email below it to see if any lines extend too far to the right.

RULE # 2 - BE CAREFUL USING ALL CAPS

How many times have you changed the TV channel to avoid listening to a screaming car salesperson? No one likes ascreaming salesperson...and no one likes a "screaming" email message, either. Odds are, when someone has over-amped the volume of their message by using too many capital letters(not to mention too many exclamation points and other punctuation) - you`re going to be turned off.

On the Internet, email messages written in all caps are considered yelling. It`s okay to write some sentences and some words in all caps, but don`t go overboard. (As you can see in this message, I`ve tried to use capital letters to help break up sections of the content from time to time).

Remember that consumers buy from a source they trust. Emails in all caps are perceived as "shady" or uneducated, and have an appearance that damages the credibility of an offer.

RULE #3 - WATCH YOUR Ps & Qs (Spelling and Grammar)

Would you be influenced by an email selling you something that had noticeable spelling and grammar mistakes? Sure you would...and the influence would be negative, not positive! When a consumer reads a sales message that`s filled with errors, they think to themselves, "Good grief, this person doesn`t even take the time to get his emails right. His product is probably the same quality as his emails."

When you`re in business, your image is your reputation and your reputation is the reason people buy from you or the guy down the block. It`s essential that you create an image of integrity, credibility, and honesty in the mind of your prospects. Sending emails filled with errors doesn`t hurt your professional image...it destroys it.

Follow these basic email marketing rules and you will dramatically improve your chances of being a successful email marketer.