ERROR-FREE EMAIL: READ BEFORE YOU SEND!

Meredith Pond Whether at home, at work, or elsewhere, chances are you have
access to an email account. In this day and age of online
communication and connectivity, email has emerged as a free,
convenient, and instantaneous alternative to traditional letters
and postcards.

Along with the convenience and speed of email, however, comes the
added potential for mistakes in typing, grammar, and spelling.
Just like you'd carefully re-read a handwritten letter before
sending it off, any email communication you send should be read
through carefully before hitting that send button.

Especially if your message is business related, you need to be
sure that your information is accurate, the recipient's name is
exactly right, and your spelling and grammar are correct. Of
course, it's possible that your recipient won't notice the
errors, but when it comes down to your business, do you really
want to take that chance?

Most modern email programs are equipped with a spell check. If
you haven't noticed one in the program you're using, chances are
you just haven't looked hard enough. Look carefully under your
tools and options menus to make sure you have the spell check
enabled.

A spell check is definitely a useful tool, but it doesn't
necessarily have the human intuition to catch all errors. So,
no matter how great your spell check is, remember that there is
simply no substitute for a careful, human read-through.

Just like any other piece of poor writing, an email full of
mistakes can do damage to your credibility, which can be
devastating for anyone trying to do business on the web. On the
Internet, people have to rely on written communication, and if
yours isn't effective, your business and your image will suffer.

If you don't feel you have the grammatical expertise to catch all
the errors yourself, get a co-worker or friend to do it for you.
Even experienced writers often need a second pair of eyes to
catch the little mistakes.

About the Author

Meredith Pond is editor and manager of DrNunley's
http://CheapWriting.com, where you can download her FREE e-book
full of business articles. See her low-cost writing and editing
services for students and business people. Reach Meredith at
meredith@drnunley.com or 801-253-4536.