E-Mail

Organizing online is not much different than organizing by more traditional methods. As activists, we organize by communicating. One-on-one communication can take place in face-to-face meetings, by telephone, or by e-mail.

Do's and Don'ts of Electronic Action Alerts

Do:

• Keep the text short and focused.
• Make the subject line compelling or provocative.
• Include all your contact information: phone, address, fax, and e-mail
• Include phone, fax and/or postal addresses of targeted decision-makers.
• Post to relevant discussion lists and list serve groups.

Don't

• Post to discussion lists on unrelated subjects
• Leave the subject blank.

Sending E Mail

Electronic communication, because of its speed and broadcasting ability, is fundamentally different from paper-based communication. Since the turnaround time can be so fast, e-mail is more conversational than traditional paper communications, and your recipient can ask questions immediately. Because of its nature, there are several guidelines you should follow to make your e-mail messages more efficient and effective as possible.

• Be concise. Try to keep everything on one page.
• Use descriptive headers. The subject line of your e-mail message should provide the reader with a clear indication about what your message contains.
• Use short paragraphs.
• Line length. A good rule of thumb is to keep lines under 75 characters long.
• Be overly polite and respectful.
• Be swift. Try to make it a rule to answer your e-mail as soon as possible.
• Proofread or spell-check before you send.
• Continue to network by other means. E-mail is only a substitute for most of the communication you will need to be effective.
• Do not put something on your e-mail message that you would not want read by everybody.