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    Studies have conclusively shown that recipients are motivated to read eMail based on the name of the author and the subject line.  We talked about informative and influential Subject lines in the issues of June and October, 2002.

    eMail addresses can be short and cryptic (say, tim@xo.org) or long, and complex (like "Dr. Jill Maris" <jill%sales@mail.xyz.net>).

    Some parts of a complex address are intended for computers to understand to move the mail, others are ignored by the computers and intended for humans.  Let's break a complex address apart:

    Unfortunately, some companies have practices that make eMail addresses hard to understand.  They may limit the length of the unique name part (say to only eight characters), or they may insist it conform to specific, rigid rules (like "fmlast," where "f" is your first initial, "m" is your middle initial, and "last" are the first four letters of your last name).  Those rules can make your eMail name embarrassing if you are Ira Michael Dumbarton.  If you aren't given complete freedom to choose your own eMail unique name, talk with the administrators of your mail system to see what they will allow you to do.

    In the best case, you get to pick your own meaningful unique name.  The best strategy:  Because spammers are so universally hated, they never use their real names...so, use your name so recipients know you're not a spammer.  And, use the nickname, if you have one, that you'd like people to use: Maybe your name is John Paul Martin, and you like to be called "Jock."  Then you might want to use "jock_martin" or "jock.martin" or something easy to read in your formal address.

    If you get to pick your own name, don't try to be cute, unless you don't want to be memorable.  I have a friend, Rick, who runs a business called "Telefix."  He made his eMail address "telefix@..." and had a problem:  Many of his eMails never got a response; people delete it as spam.  He's now added his name to the informal part of the address (below), and it's improved his response rate.

    All formal Internet eMail addresses prohibit using spaces; that's why you see so many characters like "_", "." or "-" in eMail names:  They simulate the disallowed space character.  Also note that upper- and lower-case are identical in eMail addresses.  You could be known as "jock.martin" or "Jock.Martin" (or even "JoCk.MaRtIn") as you choose, and all your eMail will still get to you; they're all treated the same.  But, you have to coordinate the exact spelling; "J.Martin" is not the same as "Jock.Martin" to an eMail system.  Your eMail administrator also needs to make sure the formal part of your name is unique in the organization so someone else doesn't get eMail intended for your.

    eMail addresses may be enriched with extra text that helps people identify you as the sender of the message.  You can put virtually anything you want in the informal part of your eMail address.

    There are several ways to separate the informal from the formal parts of your eMail address, so the Internet only pays attention to the formal part.  The most common style used by most eMail programs marks off the formal part with "<" and ">" symbols.  Anything outside those special marks is just there for people to recognize.  So, while Dr. Jill Maris may have a formal eMail address of

jill%sales@mail.xyz.net

it's possible to put her actual, full name in the eMail address, too:

    Jill Maris

    Or, if she'd like to include her professional title, she could write it as:

Dr Jill Maris

    The advantage of all this is that when someone gets Jill's message, it will show her title and name ("Dr Jill Maris") in their Inbox.  (Notice the absence of the period after "Dr"; if you want that period, you'll have to depend on the eMail system to automatically put the informal part in quotes.)

    Most eMail software, like Microsoft Outlook, or Lotus Notes, or Qualcomm Eudora, will show the informal part of the eMail address in the recipients' Inbox.  If that's not available, they present the unique name part ("jill%sales"), which is probably not as inspiring or informative to the recipient, and that can mean your eMail gets deleted by mistake.

Configure Your eMail Software     You should use the tools or preferences of your eMail program to adjust your own eMail address so it shows up the way you want it to be seen by the people to whom you send mail.     For example, in the ever-popular Microsoft Outlook Express, you click on Tools / Accounts and select the account you use for eMail, and click on the Properties box. Test Your eMail Identity

    After you save your preferences, send an eMail to a cooperative friend so they can show you what it looks like at their end.  When a message from Jill arrived at my IBM/Lotus Notes inbox, it looked like this:

    So, as you can see, her eMail is configured properly to display her "real" name to mail recipients.  She's more likely to get responses to her eMail messages.

    When a recipient opens up the message to read it, they'll see the entire eMail address, with both formal Internet parts and the user-friendly informal parts, complete:

"Dr. Jill Maris"

    Find out how your eMail address looks by trading messages with a friend.  Keep 'tuning' the properties of your eMail program until you're sure the form people see in their eMail is what you want them to see.  It also makes it easier to find all the mail to and from "Jill Maris" when you need to review the entire exchange, because both mail received from and sent to that party will have the same spelling.

    Replies from your correspondents will be sent back to this address, and you should test that, too.  That way, you're sure to get responses intended for you.

    Take particular attention with shaping and testing your eMail address, because it's seen by all your correspondents.  Since this is your "official" identity on the Internet, it's an important element of your professional image.

    In addition to your "official" eMail address that you share with friends, family and colleagues, it's a good idea to create a second address that you use when you really don't want to identify yourself.  That address can be your "spam absorber."  eMail to that address is still worth occasionally reviewing, just in case something significant shows up.

    For example, I have an account I use when websites demand an eMail address for registration.  I know those addresses will ultimately get into spammers' hands, so I consistently give them a second address that I don't normally use.  That unique address starts "getspam@..." All eMail to that address goes to a different account, and once in a while I check it just to see if there's anything worthwhile.

    A secondary eMail address will preserve your professional identity for when you want it, while avoiding overloading your Inbox with junk you don't want.

    Sometimes, you need to set up eMail addresses that are related to your business, not your personal name.  If you have several employees in your department and you want customers to be able to send eMail to the department (and you want to respond without revealing personal names and addresses), you can set up a unique address, and have one person assigned the responsibility of frequently checking that Inbox.

    You'll probably have a simple unique name (e.g., "sales@..." or "billing@...").  It's especially critical in this case that you have an informal part that informs and inspire recipients.  If you don't, you risk not getting responses you need to conduct business.

    I know that when I receive an eMail from "billing" and the subject line says "Your order," I'm very likely to assume it's spam and hit the Delete key.  However, when you add some text in the informal part (e.g., the "Name" field in the Outlook example, above), you maximize your chances of getting through people's resistance.  Use your organization's name, like "Allied Plumbing Billing."  That way, people who receive your messages—who already know who "Allied Plumbing" is—are more likely to read your message than to delete it as spam.

    As a matter of practice, I schedule a monthly "To Do" in my personal calendar to send an eMail to my own company's general address, just to make sure it's getting through, and that responses from that account get back to the original party.  I use my alternative ("second") eMail address for the test.

    It's important to verify that the original (simulated) customer eMail is received at the right Inbox, and that your responses get back to that original customer's eMail Inbox.  You might also note the times each message was sent and received, so you understand the time delays built into your customary eMail infrastructure.