In today’s world, many professionals rely on email—a quick and convenient communication tool—as their chief form of communication. Personally speaking, I use email daily to keep in touch with almost all my clients and vendors. With so many messages going out—sometimes as many as a hundred a day—it is important to always keep in mind the proper etiquette for business emails.

Here are a few tips and tricks we at Market Connections use to send effective emails with a positive impact:

1. Re-read your message before sending it. Just step back and take a moment to consider your wording, and who the message is going to prior to clicking send.
2. Still not sure about sending? Ask a colleague for their thoughts. If you are still unsure about the impact of your message, get a trusted colleague to critique the message for you. A few moments of help up-front may save a lot of time spent apologizing after the message is gone.
3. Can you reach out to the person more effectively in person or over the phone? Face-to-face and over the phone communications can be more timely, more personal, and much more effective than back-and-forth emails.
4. Stop and reconsider all forwards. Jokes and cute stories may be amusing fare for friends and family, but keep your business contacts strictly business.

Want more tips and tricks to send great emails? Check out Send: The Essential Guide to Email for the Office and Home, a book dedicated to making emailing easier, written by David Shipley and Will Schwalbe.

We want to hear from you! How important is email in your daily life? What tips do you have for improving email communications? Leave a comment to let us know!

As the ultra tech-savvy Gen Y enters the workforce, digital information channels & new technologies are exploding. They’re most likely to use only a cell phone, watch their desired TV shows on their own time, get most of their information on the web, and be super connected to their entire social and professional networks.  Not surprisingly, they’re bringing these technologies and habits into the workforce and making an impact on the way that both private and public sector organizations do business. 

We want to know how the emerging technologies of Web 2.0 are changing the way you work.  Please comment below.

To read more on this topic, click here.

“Going green”, or becoming a more environmentally conscious company, is a growing trend that cannot be ignored in today’s society. Many companies are already taking steps to be more environmentally friendly, including Bank of America, Starbucks, Hewlett-Packard, and Wal-Mart. And going green isn’t just good for the environment—even taking small steps to cut back energy consumption can save companies a substantial amount of money each year.

The federal government is leading the charge, by offering telework options to employees, encouraging the purchase of green products, and enhancing buildings, by adding a “green roof”. (A “green roof” is a roof that has had grasses and other plants added to it. These plants help to reduce greenhouse gasses by cycling carbon dioxide to oxygen and preventing rainwater runoff that causes erosion and pollutes rivers and streams. Some green roofs even include dining or sitting areas!)

Want tips to help your company go green? Check out the Small Business Guide to Energy Efficiency on the Small Business Administration website and the EnergySavers website (a joint project created by the U.S. Department of Energy, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).