E-mail Etiquette & Forms

Probably several times each day, I get an inquiry through my Web site forms on my various sites that make me shake my head. These are generally folks asking questions or for my assistance.

Most ironically, are those asking E-mail Etiquette questions about something someone else is doing or that happened at work — and they are not even making any effort to integrate the basics of E-mail Etiquette into their request. They are asking an E-mail Etiquette Expert about someone else’s behavior; while using no E-mail Etiquette themselves.

Through my consulting site I get numerous inquiries each day from those who do not check for typos, incorrect spelling or proper sentence structure. What type of impression do you think that will make? What type of customer would they be if they cannot communicate properly with the written word? Not a good one.

In my almost 13 years in doing online consulting, my experiences have proven out time and time again, that those who communicate via Web forms with no concern to communicating as though they have a solid education; are not profitable customers. There is a correlation.

E-mail Etiquette applies to completing Web site forms too. How you choose to approach the Web site owner, the terms you use, the skills and education you decide to implement — or not, will affect how you are perceived by the person on the receiving end of your e-mail.

When contacting anyone through a Web site form, you have the opportunity to impress and encourage a prompt response to your inquiry. When you type in all small case, don’t spell check and make demands simply based on the premise that you are the customer, realize that some Web sites may choose to not encourage you becoming a customer by not responding to your request.

Technology is nothing if not a bunch of details, knowledge and skills each of us has to embrace in order to accomplish out goals. To think that not communicating properly, with knowledge, understanding and courtesy with your Web form requests, is a misconception catering to the efforts not wiling to be made.

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