Group Emails - ALWAYS ENTERTAINING (At First)

Note: The above cartoon might be construed as either irrelevant or sacriligious (sp?). Then again, there might be someone out there (you know who you are!) who, like myself, will find it humorous. I apologize to the first group -- I'm certain that I'll get what's coming to me. -Douglas Castle

GROUP EMAILS – ALWAYS ENTERTAINING (AT FIRST)

Dear Friends:

Group emails are wonderful if the subject matter is likely to be of interest to all recipients – otherwise, they will insidiously destroy your perceived importance and credibility. Generally speaking, address your correspondence to the shortest list of persons politically necessary. If you enjoy sending out announcements, start a newsletter (with a double opt-in subscription e-mail management program), or write a blog.

The following is excerpted from some recent correspondence which I sent to a friend who has ceased to become a correspondent and has started to become a broadcaster:

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Dear Heather - Should you ever have a direct question for me (one on one) in the future, it would be best to just email me directly, with a copy to Albert. Repeated mailings to the whole group about a basic question, or which carry an unchanged message in the subject line will impede your credibility and bring forth the "boy who cried wolf" spam response. Please do not overuse group e-mailings -- they will start to get even you most important messages treated as spam. You will lose your recipients’ attentiveness -- I used to innocently use group emails too frequently (even within my own organization), and have experienced the inevitable loss of welcome.

Two examples follow to illustrate the point:

"The British are coming!" is fine for a group email.

"You wouldn't believe how constipated I am," is better for a much smaller, more ‘select’ recipient audience. 

I don't want you to lose any of the clout or momentum that your most important messages (i.e., the ones that truly involve the whole group in a question, advice, sharing of something relevant or an admonition, to name a few examples) deserve or require. Don’t waste a powerful tool!

In friendship and with respect.

Douglas


Douglas Castle 

http://www.LinkedIn.com/DouglasCastle

http://aboutDouglasCastle.blogspot.com

http://www.DouglasCastleBlogosphere.com

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