Well, spring is finally upon us! In this edition, we talk about better email communication (how's that for exciting!) and a very important date you should block off in your calendar immediately.

I would also like to congratulate Rose (and her Husband Mike) at South Huron Office Solutions on the birth of their son Jayden Michael Pullman. Congratu-very-much!

Your feedback is welcomed, please feel free to contact me directly at anthony@aurora-bits.com. Thank you for allowing us to take your business efficiency to new heights.

Yours in technology,
Anthony Wilkinson

Help Your Bottom Line by Helping Us Grow

We have created a new program to reward businesses who help us grow. Nearly every client we work with has been referred to us by a friend or business associate. You know who you are, and we cannot thank you enough.

Besides our eternal gratitude (no cash value) you can also become eligible to receive our products or services for free (significant cash value!).

Sign up to our referral program by clicking here...

Use The Subject Line
The subject line has a single purpose: to make it easy for recipients to know what your message is about.

When viewing your own emails, wouldn't it be great if you can get the information you need simply from the subject line? How often have you received an e-mail without a subject or one that’s labeled, for example, "Phone number you requested." Why not put, right in the subject line, "The phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx?"

When sending an e-mail that concerns a particular person, give details in the subject line, along with the name. For example, if Joe Brown has been promoted, make your subject line "Joe Brown has been promoted." Do not use only the name as the subject. If you send out an e-mail with just the subject "Joe Brown," recipients may mistakenly believe that Mr. Brown has passed on.

One Subject Per Email
Covering multiple topics in one note is often quicker and easer. However, often only the first topic in the email is read closely, especially when the email concerns detailed technical information. When in doubt break up larger emails into smaller ones with one topic each.

Think Before Sending, and Be Sure to Proof Read
"A fool shows his annoyance at once, but a prudent man overlooks an insult" is a quote found somewhere in the Bible, please don't ask where.

It is much, much easier to misinterpret the spirit of an email more than face-to-face or telephone conversations. Be very careful about joking or sarcasm in an email and try not to take offense at an email received. Often a quick phone call will quickly clear up any misunderstanding of this sort.

Before you send off an email, read through it form the receiving party's point of view. Is your message easily understood? Also be sure to check for any spelling and grammatical errors.

Reply to All Has Very Limited Use
Before hitting Reply To All, make sure you really need to do so. Does everyone need to see your response? Does your response benefit everyone else? In most situations, it’s better just to do a simple Reply.

The Answer Should Always Include the Question
Including some or all of the text of the original message in your reply can help the original sender understand your response. If all you send back, however, is a "Yes" or "That’s right," it may be difficult for the sender to understand your answer. For that reason, it's best to indicate the context of your answer by including the original question.

Know what BCC and CC Does
There is an unspoken rule against displaying addresses of recipients who are strangers to each other. As of now, consider this rule spoken.

You know how you get those emails where there are gazillion other recipients as well? The message header, which had all of those recipient addresses, probably took up half your screen. Besides annoying you, the sender has compromised your privacy by revealing your e-mail address to all the other recipients.

When sending out an email to a group of strangers, use BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) to hide their email addresses. After adding all of the recipients to the BCC list, send the email to yourself.

CC or Carbon Copy is used to give somebody a "heads-up" on an email, but they do not need to act on or respond to the mesage.

For instance, when we are emailing an annoucement to a group of clients, we use BCC. When Eric is emailing a client about a web development project, he will put my address in the CC field so I am kept in the loop and I will do likewise.

Send Your Email to the Correct Recipient
Be careful when addressing e-mail, particularly if your software has a "predictive fill-in" feature (as Outlook Express, Outlook and Thunderbird does). As you’re typing in a recipient name, the software will complete the entry for you. If it’s wrong, and you hit Send without noticing, you will have misaddressed your note. Take a moment to double check that your email is going to Anthony instead of Andrew (Hi Julian!).

*Thanks to Calvin Sun at TechRepublic for the article this article is based on.

Last Year's Summer Extravaganza on July 19, 2007

What are the lastest innovations in technology to enhance your home and business?

Join us and find out for yourself. We will educate you about the latest in technology and how it will impact your life. Hear about our obsession to make technology work for you in innovative and exciting ways. Visit and network with other business professionals from Goderich, Exeter, and all around… Refreshments will be provided.

This year's event will be held on Thursday July 24, 2008, starting at 5:30pm (tentative).
More information will be released closer to this date.

This year, it's going to be even bigger. For directional map, photos, and flyers from last years event go to http://www.aurora-bits.com/ba5

RSVP by midnight July 17 for entry into our draw. Last year it was a 19" Viewsonic LCD monitor, this year it will be even better. We gave away more then $500 in prizes last year and we are looking to double that figure this year.

For more information on how we can be of service to you, don't hesitate to call or email us.

Aurora Business IT Solutions
73714 Goshen Line North
Zurich, ON N0M 2T0

Toll-Free: 1 866-936-4021
E-mail: info@aurora-bits.com

www.aurora-bits.com

Sign up a friend to this newsletter. Click here...