Email Etiquette V

Email Etiquette V

by: Kathie M. Thomas

Further to my previous issues this subject continues – as per request from a reader.

This month I’ll share on Setting up Mail groups and creating signatures for your email.

Creating a mail group might differ, depending on the program you use, but for this exercise we’ll use Outlook as the program as it is a widely used email program. Why would you use a mail group? So that you don’t have to go through your address book selecting everyone that belongs to a particular group or listing – the same person could be listed with several different groups. Far quicker when sending an email to the whole list to just select the name of that list instead.

If you click on the Tools menu, and select Address Book, then File, New Entry, you will see you have two choices: New Contact, or New Distribution list. Selecting Distribution List brings up a new window where you can name that list, and then select names from your address book to add to that list. Once completed, save and close and you will notice that the new Distribution List shows in bold in your address book listing. Now, when you want to send to that group, you just select, or type, the name of that group in the BCC field, not the TO field. Why? Because Outlook will proceed to grab all the individual addresses of each member of that group and enter them in the TO field when sending the email – every recipient will see the addresses of the rest of the group. Hence why it is important to use BCC even when using a group name.

Signatures

It is good to experiment with your signature style – have a look at what others do so you can decide what you do and don’t like. You can use colour, different font formats, and even add a graphic. You may have to check your menus in Outlook but in 2000, to create a signature, you can click on Tools, Options, then select Mail Format, then Signature Picker and New. Depending on the options you chose when installing Outlook, a simple editor, or Word may open. Write your signature block, give it a name and save it. You can also choose (after saving) whether the signature block will be used on Replies and Forwards for email. This detail is simplified – if you need detailed assistance, please call me or email me for further instruction.

About The Author

Article reprinted by permission Kathie M. Thomas, Founder กA Claytonกs Secretaryก. Kathie is a multiple award winner in her industry as a Secretary and Virtual Business Operator, and has 30 yearsก experience in the secretarial/ administrative field. www.asecretary.com.au

[email protected]

This article was posted on February 09, 2004

by Kathie M. Thomas

Outlook… Not Just for Email! Using Your Outlook

Outlook… Not Just for Email! Using Your Outlook Contacts

by: Janet Barclay

If you use Outlook for your email, chances are you have a number, possibly a large number, of email addresses stored in the Contacts section. Youกve probably discovered that you can address messages to one or more of your contacts several different ways with just a click of the mouse. But if this is the only way you use your Contacts, you’re not using the feature to its full capacity. Here are a few other ways you can tap into the full power of Outlook.

* Create a contact from an email message

Drag and drop a message onto the Contacts folder, and a new Contact will automatically be created, using the name and email address from the message header. The message body will appear in the Notes section, which can be a valuable reminder of why the person contacted you in the first place. If the sender has provided their website address, mailing address, telephone number, or other important information, you can copy and paste this information into the appropriate fields.

* Assign categories to your contacts

If you have a lot of contacts, it is very easy to lose track of people, including prospective clients. By assigning one or more categories to each contact, you can easily locate the names of the people you need to contact for a specific reason.

Outlook comes with several standard categories, but you will likely want to create some of your own, based on your individual needs. Click on Edit Categories Master Category List, and type in your new category. Any categories added to the Master Category List will also be available in the Outlook Calendar and Tasks sections.

* View a map of your contactกs location

If you’re going to visit a client for the first time, or you don’t remember how to get there, youกll love this feature! When a contact record is open, click on the Display Map of Address button and you will be connected to MSN Maps, and a map of the contactกs address will be displayed. Of course, this will only work if you have entered a street address! Unfortunately, mapping is only functional for addresses within the USA.

* Print an address book

Many people who use a paper planner or address book don’t see a need to enter any details in Outlook other than the name and email address. Not only is it very easy to print out an address book right from Outlook, it offers a number of options for print layouts, including layouts for popular planners such as Day Runner, Day Timer, and Franklin Covey products.

By using Outlook as your address book, you don’t have to put up with messy changes and corrections, or spend time copying out information every year, or whenever you replace your address book. Instead, you can just print new pages from Outlook. You can even specify which contacts you want printed if you don’t need them all.

* Add a picture

Outlook 2003 has a new feature which allows you to add a picture to a contact record. To some this may seem like more of a toy than a tool, but if remembering faces is not your strong point, youกll appreciate being able to view a photo before you head off to meet someone!

About The Author

Janet Barclay, Organized Assistant, is a Professional Organizer, Virtual Assistant and Time Management Consultant. For more resources to enhance your productivity, visit http://www.organizedassistant.com

[email protected]

This article was posted on March 03

by Janet Barclay