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A book about email

emailbook Recently I heard an interview on Wisconsin Public Radio about email. The guest was David Shipley, coauthor of “SEND: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home.”

Shipley gives tips to help avoid email pitfalls and discusses how to write the perfect message.
I encourage everyone to give it a listen; it was a fun interview.

The authors also have a website where you can read examples of bad emails.

We all have our horror stories, here’s what bugs me the most:

  • No meaningful subject line—Imaging if the newspaper quit using headlines or changed them all to “read this” or “FYI”.
  • Email for the masses—Chain letters, rants, persuasion pieces…why did you send this to me? I barely know you. (This website provides a solution.)
  • Forward of a forward of a forward— I don’t always need to see who sent you the message. And maybe they don’t want you to spread their email address all over the world either.
  • Pretty email—Just because you can make your default font Comic Sans in purple doesn’t mean you should. And there’s nothing wrong with a white background.

Aaaah that felt good. Now post your pet peeves in the comments section below.