Effective FRG E-mail Communications

Ever wonder if your e-mails are being read and understood by your FRG Members? Use these guidelines to help create better e-mail messages that clearly get your point across.

Start with a Detailed Subject Line The subject line is like your headline for a newspaper. It needs to grab their attention, and make them want to open the message. Make it relevant, make it informed, make it sticky, and make it irresistible. "Quarterly Unit Newsletter" does not grab attention, but "Unit Newsletter- Special note from Commander in Iraq!" certainly does.

Keep it Simple Keep your message to the point. E-mail messages are not the time to dribble on and on about a subject. Most e-mail programs only show 1/2 a page of text at a time. If FRG members have to scroll to read the whole message, they may put it off to read later, which may never come. Use BLUF-- Bottom Line Up Front, and cut out the poetic prose.

Make One Point "If you've said three things, you've said nothing at all." People can only remember one specific statement at a time. If you need to make more than one point, use bullets or bold letters to highlight the different points in the message. This makes sub-topics stand out better.

Combo E-mails The only exception to the above rule is if you are combining multiple informational messages into one combo e-mail. If you send out a dozen messages a week, people will begin to ignore them. You can elect to combine multiple informational e-mails into one weekly message. Use bullets and bold lettering to highlight specific topics, allowing FRG members to scan through the parts that don't pertain to them

State the Action Clearly state the action you need readers to take. For instance, if you need people to reply to the message, say so. If you need them to login to an online survey or view the vFRG website, provide the link. If you want people to call you, state the times and days to make the call, and provide the phone number. Repeat the action needed at the end of the message.

Closure Wrap up your message, repeating the action needed. Touch on the highlights of your message, if necessary.

Proofread and Use Checks Read through your message again for clarity; scan it for spelling and grammar checks. Small typos can completely change the effect of a message. Don't use all lower case or all capital letters. It makes the text hard to read.

Signature File Sign your message with your name, but also include your signature file. This can automatically be attached to each e-mail message, and should have your title, your basic contact information and perhaps a website or a quote that speaks to you.