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Think about your recipient

• Not all Internet users are on cable, ADSL, or fast connections of any kind. In fact a lot of Australian users are on very slow dial-up connections so take this into account early in the process.
• Think of sending email as much like a telephone conversation. Keep it short and to the point. Don't over punctuate. Use emoticons such as :-) sparingly, they can add intonation to your message but not at the expense of clarity. Abbreviations can also be used effectively but limit them to the ones you know your recipient will understand.
• Some people receive hundreds of email messages daily so you have a better chance of having it read if you don't send unnecessary messages and especially don't send spam, chain letters, virus announcements, which are usually hoaxes anyway, or jokes (unless it is a very personal message to a friend or relative).

Addressing your email

• Always include a subject line in your message and be careful of the wording or you are likely to be the victim of someone's spam filter - resulting in messages that are never seen or read.
• Don't overuse the priority flag. If you develop a reputation for sending this way it looses it's effectiveness.
• Do not request 'delivery' and 'read' receipts unless you want to annoy your recipient. Like the priority flag these should only be used on rare occasions and are generally just a waste of bandwidth which disadvantages all Internet users.
• Make sure you are using the 'reply all', 'cc', and 'bcc' fields correctly. Some people object to having their email address distributed aimlessly around the Internet because you have used the 'reply all' or 'cc' fields incorrectly. Having a large list of email addresses visible in these fields is potentially also leaving you open to litigation under privacy laws.
• If you want to send newsletter type email or announcements to large numbers of recipients take the time to find out how to do this properly, don't just add large lists of addresses to the "To" or "cc" fields. (See the point above regarding distributing other peoples email address.)
• A signature line that contains your name, email address, web address, phone and fax numbers can be an effective way of not only reminding people of your online contact information but also of other off-line contact methods.

The content of your message.

• Sending email messages in all uppercase is generally taken as shouting - don't do it.
• Answer swiftly. One of the expectations and advantages of email is that it is accepted as a faster means of communication.
• If replying to a message post your content at the top of the email message so that the recipient doesn't have to scroll to the bottom to see your reply. Of course if they are unsure of the original context or message they can still see it beneath your text if necessary.
• Don't send large attachments without checking with the recipient first and only then if absolutely necessary. The email system was never designed as a means to swap large files so if you must do it break the attachment into smaller pieces and zip them up to reduce the file size (see the first point about connection speeds). For any number of reasons attachments larger than 5 meg will more often than not fail or cause problems for your recipient that you may not be aware of - avoid them at all costs.

..... and finally.

• Think twice before sending HTML email for the reasons in the very first point and because not everyone accepts HTML email anyway.
• Don't leave your email sitting on the email server longer than necessary, especially if it contains large attachments, you may exceed your mailbox quota and cause important mail to bounce back to the sender.