Episode 135 - Why It’s Smart to Add Your Name to Your E-address
Take a look at the in-box of your e-mail. If it’s like mine, 50% of the senders identify themselves with their names. The others use just their e-mail address, which might include enough of a name to figure out who they are. OK, so what’s the big deal? It’s smart to put your name before your e-mail address when you’re the sender. Here are 3 things to consider: be proud, be positioned, be paid attention to.
Be proud to be you. People like to do business with self-confident people. Use your name proudly. When people don’t use their names it kind of makes me wonder if they are hiding something (like the spammers do) or if they are mousy like a person who mumbles her name when introduced.
Position yourself. Build your name recognition as if building a brand. Take Coca-Cola, one of the most recognized names on earth; they still spend half a billion dollars every year on advertising so you remember who they are and what they are all about. It’s healthy for you to do some horn blowing, too, so you don’t get lost in the shuffle – especially in hyper-evolving workplaces, like yours.
Get people to pay attention to your e-mails. I don’t know about you but I get so much spam e-mail now that if I can’t tell who it’s from I’m more likely to delete it than read it.
That said, send me an e-mail about your gripes or compliments about e-mail etiquette. Include your name, but if you don’t want me to read it on the air, just say so. My address is Doug@DougSmart.com.
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