ERROR-FREE EMAIL: READ BEFORE YOU SEND!

By Meredith Pond
Posted Wednesday, November 24, 2004

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.