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How to Personalize your Email Account © 2003 by Michelle Lee, http://www.UltimateResourceBarn.com ----------------------------------------------------------- You now know how a little effort like personalizing your email accounts can increase the chance of your emails being read by your potential customer or readers. Before we start to talk about the details in setting up your email accounts, let's understand a few terms. The FROM field of any email you view is referred to by different names. Some mail clients refer it to as first name/last name, some will call it display name, some simply call it the FROM name. The technical format of any email address is typically of the format "@URB Webmaster" < webmaster@UltimateResourceBarn.com > for example. Notice that whatever is within the " and " is the FROM name that you will see when you receive my email. Whatever that's in between the < and > is my actual email address. In fact, I can re-write it without the " and ", i.e. @URB Webmaster < webmaster@UltimateResourceBarn.com > and it should work the same. Typically, mail servers will recognize this format too. This is how an email address is represented 'technically'. If you expand any email to its full header, this is the format of email addresses that you will see too. However, it doesn't mean that you need to specify this technical format in your email account setting. For most popular mail clients, you will set the FROM field via a simple form, which hides all the complicated technical stuff. To help those who are not too familiar on where and how to personalize your email accounts, here are the steps for you to follow for some of the more popular mail clients. 1. Hotmail Once you are logged in, click on 'Options' (found on the left-hand-side of the screen). Choose Profile, then set the First Name and Last Name. 2. Yahoo Once you are logged in, click on 'Options' (found on the left-hand-side of the screen). Choose Mail Preference, then set or change your From Name field. 3. Outlook Express/ Outlook If you are using Outlook or OutLook Express, from the menu bar, choose 'Tools', follow by 'Accounts'. Choose your email account, then click the 'Properties' button. Under the 'General tab', set your Name field. If you are using email accounts that comes with your web hosting package, you should be able to set the FROM field of all your accounts too. Please check out how this can be done by talking to the customer service personnels from your web hosting company. ---=====--- Ok, you are ready to do it. But before you begin, here are three tips to help you further. 1. Use unique FROM name The whole point of personalizing your email account is such that your reader of your emails will recognize you. Hence it only make sense to use a unique FROM name. Using your website domain name, or product name, or even your ezine name is a good choice. 2. Use short-form If your product or website domain name is longer, using a shorter FROM name. For example, I used '@URB Webmaster' and '@URB Newsletter' instead of '@UltimateResourceBarn Webmaster' which is such a mouthful. You probably don't like long FROM name when viewing in your mail client as it only take up more screen space. I am sure your readers won't like them too. Therefore use abbreviation or short-form if possible and make it real easy on your readers' eyes. Beside, short-form is more catchy and easier to remember too. 3. Have a prefix for your subject header in your email Though writing good subject headers for your email is another big topic, I am going to touch a little of it here. Do prefix your subject headers with something meaning that will help your readers identify you. Searching for something specific in the tons of emails is not easy. Help your readers in finding your emails. For example, I prefix '@URB Issue 30' in the subject header to help readers identify that this is the usual Sunday's issue of the newsletter. For Solo Ads, I use another prefix. If you are writing from a customer service email account, how about prefix the subject header with [Your Enquiry < a unique tracking number >]? If you have a reference number for tracking purpose, why not include it as part of the subject header so that your readers can easily find your emails? They can quote the same reference number in future if they need to communicate with you on the same issue or matter too. I hope these tips gave you some ideas on what to set to personalize your email accounts. Now, go do it! :) © 2003 by Michelle Lee ----------------------------------------------------------- Michelle Lee is the owner of the website http://www.UltimateResourceBarn.com and publisher of the @UltimateResourceBarn Newsletter, a FREE weekly publication. Both the website and newsletter are jam packed with Informative Articles, Tons of Resources & Tools, Money Making Tips & Tricks, Proven Internet Marketing Concepts, Affiliate Programs & more. Get FREE eBooks plus 1 FREE ad! mailto:subscribe@UltimateResourceBarn.com?subject=artclsub ----------------------------------------------------------- If you wish to publish this article in your own ezine or newsletter, you are most welcome to do so. However, please publish this article as it is. No modification, alternation should be made to the content of this article, including the resource box.
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