Editor’s Note: The Duct Tape Writer, Craig Cardimon, scours the web for tips and hints to make your work life more productive. This month, his Help Files focus on email.
So, how do you feel about email? Love it or hate it, even in these days of texting and tweeting, it seems we can’t live without it. Fear not, I have some tips to tame that savage email beast! Or maybe just keep things down to a dull roar. Let’s get started.
The Art of the Cold-Call Email
No one likes to make cold calls. How do you send an email to a stranger? This is where you don’t *know* someone personally, but you still need to pick their brains. Maybe they know *something* you need to know. Or maybe they already know someone you want to meet. The thought of cold calls can reduce normally confident people to shattered wrecks. Fortunately, Miki Agrawal has a few tips to help smooth this bumpy road.
How to Get People to Read Your Emails (Video)
So you’re emailing your sister, a friend, or even your boss. How can to persuade busy people that your message is worth reading? The Today Show invited The Wall Street Journal on to share some tips.
Why Your Emails Get Replies (or Don’t)
You’re overwhelmed. Everyone else is swamped, too. How do you cut through the chaos to get someone’s attention? Drake Baer notes that your message must be clear, concise, and actionable, then he tells you how to do it.
10 Gmail Hacks to Help You Master Your Inbox
Don’t know about you, but Gmail has mastered ME. Not the other way around. Yohana Desta offers some handy tip I intend to put into action, including how to undo sent mail, search attachments only, and set up automatic responses.
How to Keep Email from Ruining Your Life
Too much email, not enough time? Find yourself answering work email even after you have gotten home? Dave Kerpen offers suggestions on using email as a force to help you, not slow you down.
5 Ways to Keep Email From Taking Over Your Life
Check your email first thing in the morning? You’re not alone. Check your email during so-called “downtime?” You’re not the only one. Check your email even during family time? Okay, now email is starting to creep into your entire life. But fear not, Marsha Egan has 5 solid tips you can put into action to help you take your life back.
10 Annoying Email Habits to Break Today
We all have bad habits we’d like to break, but when it comes to email, those bad habits can damage all your relationships, both in the office and at home. Alison Green names the 10 habits you should drop RIGHT NOW.
How to Write the Perfect Email Subject Line for Job Hunting
You’re job hunting. It seems as though everyone else is, too. But since every job hunter is blasting out email, how do you stand out from the rest of the crowd who is applying for the exact same job you are applying for? Jenna Goudreau has 7 specific tips to help you forge the perfect email subject line that will catch the weary hiring manager’s eye.
Have some tips or tools to share with your fellow technical communicators, information developers, and content developers? Drop me a note: HelpFiles@TechWhirl.com. Send me a Tweet: @craigcardimon.
