Sending Email Messages

Addressing a message

There are two ways to address an email:

Type in the whole address
Use your email software's address book feature.

Your address book

All email software offers some form of an address book. This feature allows you to store email addresses, access, and apply them to your message without having to types the entire address.

Here are several different techniques email software uses to accomplish this:

Type in the full email address (kabade@crlc.org) and then assign it a more recognizable name (Kathi).
Extract the address from a message sent to you. When someone sends you email, click on the "add to address book" feature. The program extracts the address and places it in your address book. You can then edit the entry to put a more recognizable name on it (similar to a nickname).
Import a group of email addresses from another program or another person using the same program. You can even categorize this group of addresses.

Sending to multiple addresses

You can send a message to more than one person simultaneously by using any of these methods:

Put multiple addresses in the TO: field. Some programs let you do this by separating the names by commas, ex:
To: lloyd@ocean.net,deckster@nova.net,rocky@coastal.net

Others let you have multiple To: fields by touching RETURN after you enter each address, ex:

To: lloyd@ocean.net

To: deckster@nova.net

To: rocky@coastal.net
Use a mailing list. You can set up a mailing list in your address book by assigning multiple addresses to the same name, ex:
To: protest committee

Although you key in "protest committee", your email software will translate this to all the addresses associated with "protest committee", and the address would look like this when the message is sent:

To: lloyd@ocean.net,deckster@nova.net,rocky@coastal.net

Using a mailing list will save you time because you only type or select one name to get the message to more than one person.
Use the copy function. You can send a copy either as a "cc" or a "bcc". These terms are taken from the business world.
The term "cc" means Carbon Copy. Anyone getting a "cc" copy can see the addresses of everyone the message was distributed to.

The term "bcc" means Blind Carbon Copy. Anyone receiving the "bcc" only gets to see the message and not the other addresses the message was distributed to.

Tip: Add additional recipients to the To, cc, or bcc field by typing them in or using the "Insert Recipient" feature, if your program has it. If you point to Insert recipient, the program will display your address book, and you can point to each additional recipient instead of typing each one.

Creating the message

Creating an email message is just like working with a word processor.

Tip: If you create your message using a word processor instead of your email program and click on "send as email", your message will be sent as a blank message with an attachment instead of text in the body of the email. Unless your recipient has the same word processing program you do, s/he may not be able to read it.

Because of the restrictions placed on sending email, you may not be able to format your email document exactly the same way you would a word processor document. Some of the formatting you won't be able to do with basic email software includes changing fonts and font sizes, using tabs, justifying text, and coloring the text.

Adding some personality to your message

Text-based communication cannot convey emotions the way that verbal communication can. To get around this limitation online, people have created "emoticons", also called "winkies". These symbols are used to convey a smile, a frown, a wink, etc. For a list of emoticons, click here.

Another way to convey emotions or to save time in typing common expressions is through the use of a standard set of abbreviations, such as "ROFL" ("rolling on the floor laughing"). There are several sites that list common abbreviations. Click here for information and links.

Be kind to people reading your message - remember that typing in ALL CAPS in an email message is considered "SHOUTING", so type in upper and lower case.

Formatting Text

Many email packages offer some formatting. The problem with this is that the person who gets the email either needs to be using the identical software you are using or a program that can decipher the special formatting characters.

If the person receiving your message is using a program which can't decipher the special formatting characters, s/he will either see no formatting or "strange" characters in the email you send. Click here for an example.

Some programs use HTML formatting because most email software can interpret HTML tags. Click here for an example.

If you see strange characters in an email message you receive, it is probably because the person sending the email used special formatting characters which your email software cannot interpret. Unless you know your recipient can interpret them, it's a good idea not to use special formatting (such as colors, bold facing, etc.).

Most email software will warn you when you send a message using formatted text. If you are not sure that the person receiving the email can interpret the formatting, it is a good idea to turn it off.

Creating a message with "stationery"

"Stationery" probably makes you think of a nice border around your text.

Actually, it's quite different in email! Email "stationery" is a message you create and save so you can send it multiple times without having to copy lots of people, which makes the message more personal.

Here's how to create and use stationery on Eudora:

1. Select NEW MESSAGE.

2. Fill in the Subject: field, but leave the To: field blank.

3. Type your message.

4. Click on SAVE AS. The program will insert the text that was in the Subject: field as the name,

5. Click on STATIONERY.

6. Click on GO TO STATIONERY FOLDER.

To send this message to someone:

1. Click on NEW MESSAGE WITH.

2. Point to the name of that message (you may have multiple pieces of stationery!).

3. Insert the recipient's email address in the To: field.

4. Send the message.

Creating and using a signature

A signature is a group of text that is included automatically on every email you send. The text could be information on how to contact you ( your street address, phone number, fax number, etc.), an interesting phrase, or even a text-based image. Click here for some examples.

Your email software will let you create multiple signatures.

Most software allows you select a default signature to include with every message. By accessing your signature file before you send the message, you can choose which signature you want for this particular message, or click on none to eliminate a signature entirely.

Sending now vs. queuing and sending later

You can either send a message immediately after creating it, or you can put it in a queue and send it later.

It makes sense to create and queue each message and then log onto the Internet and send them all at once if:

You are not always connected to the Internet. If you are not always connected, you may either be paying by the minute, or have a set number of hours of usage per month for a flat fee, and will be charged extra for additional time. You can save a lot of time (and money) by logging on to download your email, logging off, creating and queuing all your responses and new messages offline, and logging on to send your queued message.
You want to think about them a little more before you send it. You can edit a message a message that is still in the queue. Once you have sent it, you cannot change it.

Saving sent mail

On occasion, you may need to keep copies of email message you sent as well as those you receive. Some email programs automatically keep everything you sent in a mailbox or folder called "Sent Mail", but others need to be instructed to do this.

If the email you sent is part of a project for which you have created a special mailbox, you may need to manually transfer it to the appropriate mailbox.