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Anyone who is online sends and receives emails. Some are annoying, some are spam and some are super relevant with awesome content from businesses and people we love... however there are little tricks to emailing to help it go smoother.
#1 - Keep your inbox organised by creating other folders to move your emails into or actioning emails then filing or deleting them
#2 - Treat your spam/junk folder like another inbox folder. These days spam filters can be pretty full on and dump really important emails into your junk folder, so check it every day, just like your inbox
#3 - It is pretty hard to prevent emails from heading into spam folders these days, especially if you are sending to more than one person or have links or attachments - so... send out the first email with no links or attachments to help reduce this and use something like Mailchimp for groups or heavy content
#4 - Use To, CC and BCC properly to protect the privacy of your recipients. Cc means carbon copy and Bcc means blind carbon copy. For emailing, you use Cc when you want to copy others publicly, and Bcc when you want to do it privately. Any recipients on the Bcc line of an emailare not visible to others on the email. More information from How to Geek here. #5 - So you don't get fined to make your business look spammy or unprofessional, make sure you know the rules with sending emails for marketing purposes. Basically people need to give you permission to use their email address in your eNewsletter list or use an opt in form. If you are sending marketing materials to an email list it is best to use a platform like Mailchimp so they can provide and monitor your unsubscribe option. Some people may feel bad about unscubscribing from your email list if you added their email without asking... so please make sure you ask to begin with or if you are updating your email list or even building a new one from your old database, send out your first email letting them know what you are doing and asking them if they want to remain on the list or tell them where/how to unsubscribe. #6 - When sending images, it is best to attach them rather than send using the inline option - they also need to not exceed a certain file size - generally it is best practice to keep email size (with attachments) under 7mb as some servers and filters may not send out emails bigger than that, so better to just be safe. If you are sending larger files or multiple large files then using 3rd party program/software like Dropbox, WeTransfer or OneDrive is the best way (they usually have a free account option - read the instructional material to use efficiently). Rather than inviting them to be involved in the folder, just share the link to the folder and that way the recipient doesn't need to create an account with that provider #7 - Unsubscribe from any emails you no longer want to receive to limit how much 'junk mail' you receive in your inbox - you can always resubscribe later if you change your mind #8 - Learn how to be safe with emails. Don't click links from people you don't know and even some people that seem legitimate like banks or IRD. One way to see if it is a legitimate email is to see who the sender is and if their email address is a 'normal' email address and if there is a professional footer at the bottom. If in doubt, don't click any links and don't provide any personal information. If you receive a spam email from a bank or IRD or something like that, mark it as spam and report it. (FYI you can also get spam calls and texts, so just be wary and use common sense and caution) I hope you find this information valuable. The digital world is such a fluid world and it is often tricky to keep up with everything, but following these basic guidelines might help you feel more confident with your emails. Remember that spam is normal, just like junk mail in the post and telemarketing calls... it is just new and different and takes some time getting used to.
Thanks for reading.
Amanda Sears