Group E-Mail Etiquette: How to win friends and avoid scolding while staying in touch with your group #MFRWOrg

E-mail is a great method of communicating, giving us instant communication with minimal expense. In a group setting, e-mail helps you get in touch with a large audience with no more effort than you would expend contacting a single recipient.
This wonderful opportunity to communicate can also be a wonderful opportunity to irritate. Following a few guidelines can avoid irritation from your fellow posters and list moderators. You see the requests to please trim, please change the subject line, please please please... Sometimes the impression is one of nannies fussing about table manners, and you might wonder what difference does it make if you don’t trim your post. Having the whole conversation in one place just makes it easier for someone to follow.
    Doesn’t it?
    It certainly seems like it would be easier, and it’s absolutely faster to dash off a reply and hit send.
    Except: not everyone in a discussion group receives messages as individual e-mails. So when you write: “Does anyone know where the pearl is?” And someone answers “The pearl is in the river” it comes out on e-mail:

***
The pearl is in the river
Cindy Lou Who Whoville Seussland

Does anyone know where the pearl is?
Sandy Paws, Beach City Ozland

Then another writer joins the conversation with :

What kind of pearls are you finding in the river?
Furry Fawcet, Happyland South Branch

The pearl is in the river
Cindy Lou Who Whoville Seussland

Does anyone know where the pearl is?
Sandy Paws, Beach City Ozland

***
And so on. Each successive message includes the entire train of preceding messages. For someone on digest, this becomes a never ending mass of missives. This example includes one line messages. Imagine how this would read with longer messages and complex signature lines. Yeah, it can get really messy.
Trimming messages depends on your mail program, but you can generally block out the extra verbiage and then click control and X (cntrl+X) If necessary you can leave in one or two lines from the original post. Your loop companions will thank you fervently.

SUBJECT LINES:
Often a group discussion segues into multiple other topics. The initial discussion might concern formatting e-books and by the time the posters finish every facet of contracts and agents and rights might have been covered. If the subject line is still “E-book Formatting in Traditional Romance” then some valuable information might be missed by readers who are not interested in formatting their e-books. It helps to add a word or two relating to the added information. “E-book Formatting in Traditional Romance/agent contracts” will let readers know additional information is available.
However if there is a radical change in subjects it might be a good idea to start an entirely new subject, which will establish a new message trail and make it easier to follow the new subject. This also makes it easier to find and follow subjects of interest in the Yahoo group.

How, you might wonder, do we get to the Yahoo group? Glad you asked.. If you scroll down to the bottom of your loop message, you’ll see:

Group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingForRomanceWriters/
Website: http://marketingforromancewriters.org/

Visit Your Group

By clicking on the Group link, or on Visit Your Group, you’ll go directly to the Yahoo group home page, where you can search messages and follow the message trails. Kind of nifty, isn’t it?

Following these few simple suggestions will ensure good communication and uncomplicated messages. Even better, you won’t receive moderator messages imploring you to PLEASE trim. This might not be all sunshine and roses but it will make everyone involved much happier!
---
Posted by Mona Karel, Bloghop Coordinator and Moderator for Marketing for Romance Writers

Website http://mona-karel.com

Blog http://mona-karel.com/blog/

Twitter http://twitter.com/MonaKarel

Facebook https://facebook.com/pages/Mona-Karel/101308129961137

Goodreads http://goodreads.com/author/show/4878639.Mona_Karel

Good Author Signatures for Yahoo Groups

Sign Here, Please.

Which of the following is the point of a signature?

1. To identify you
2. To reinforce your brand
3. To create interest in your work
4. Drive traffic to your site
5. Sell your books
6. All of the above

If you answered 6 - you're right, but identification - item #1 - is the key to accomplishing the rest. Your name is vital. Your author name. If you write as Mary Jo Smithe, sign as Mary Jo Smithe. You are your author name when you are on Yahoo groups. If you don't use a pen name, then it doesn't matter. Or does it? If you use a non-writing-oriented email to post messages, it might be costing you readers. For example, if you sign your posts with only "Mary" but your email address says "BobbysMom2012" - how is anyone supposed to find that wonderful book you just told them about? If they hop over to Amazon and search for Mary BobbysMom2012 -- are you going to show up? Sign with your author name - Mary Jo Smithe.

Do you need a signature for every email? That depends. Are you posting as an author? Do you hope this post will accomplish the items listed above? Then you must post as a professional. Sign your emails. It is not hubris to identify yourself. You are there to accomplish a purpose.

What belongs in your signature?

At a minimum, your name and website. If you have a brand or tag for your writing, don't be afraid to use it. I sign everything with my name, my tag (unstoppable heroes, uncompromising love, unforgettable passion), and a link to whatever website(s) pertain to the message.

What does "pertain to the message" mean? If I'm replying to a question about blogging, I use my blog url. If it's about Twitter, I use that one. In most cases, I include my website's home page, my Twitter account, and my company's site, The Author's Secret. I have a signature page on hand with all the pertient links available, which makes it easy to click/drag the info into my message as needed.

What shouldn't you include? 

It depends on where you're posting. On some Yahoo groups, be aware images might not translate well. A group that disallows embedded images might turn your embedded cover into 3-4 inches of white space.

Multiple colors in your signature can be hard to read. Some people are color blind and cannot differentiate various shades. To them, your list of books might go from looking like this:

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4 

to words run together like this:

Book 1 Book 2 Book 3 Book 4

Likewise, using embedded links and substituting the site name can give you more room, but if you write your signature as:

Twitter Facebook 

readers who receive their messages as text see: 

Twitter Facebook

How long is long enough? 

If you are posting to a Yahoo group, you are limited to what the group allows. Read the rules. If you post regularly to a group that permits only three lines, create one you use for that group. In general - you are safe with three lines that are short enough not to wrap around and start accidentally making a fourth line. I use the one below for most situations.

Kayelle Allen
Unstoppable heroes, Uncompromising love, Unforgettable passion
http://kayelleallen.com  ~  http://twitter.com/kayelleallen  ~  http://theauthorssecret.com

If I'm promoting a new book, and I'm on a group that allows longer signatures, I've found one like this is effective:

Kayelle Allen
Unstoppable heroes, Uncompromising love, Unforgettable passion
Surrender Love  |  Not rebound, payback, loneliness, or great sex, and far beyond love. This is surrender.
Loose Id: http://www.loose-id.com/Surrender-Love.aspx  |  Kindle: http://is.gd/surrenderlove_amz

It's better to err on the side of caution. If you are banned or placed on moderation for violating rules, you can't accomplish your goal.

How long is too long?

How many times have you seen signatures that seem to go on forever? They include lists of every book the author has written, where it's been reviewed, the various places you can buy it, mini-images of the book, a banner... 

Simple is better. Follow the rules of the group where you're posting.

Signature, please...

Okay, so what's the best signature?

Your author name
Your brand, book name, or book tag
Your website, Your blog, Your Twitter/Facebook

Less is more. You want to identify yourself, reinforce your brand, create interest in your work, drive traffic to your site, and sell your books. To do this, be professional. Using a signature that underscores this message will help you accomplish that.

What other questions do you have regarding signatures for a Yahoo group?

Kayelle Allen is the founder of Marketing for Romance Writers, a Yahoo group focused on learning marketing and publicity. 

Group site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MarketingForRomanceWriters/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/mfrwauthors/
Newsletter http://www.issuu.com/MFRW