Often enough, we use the word don’t and do not in our writing.  They’re real words, they convey clear meaning, I’ve got nothing against them.

Yet, often enough, your reader will skip over the “not” part, and think you’re saying “do.”  Here are some tips to help you say No and be sure your reader hears you.
Vocabulary choice
Replace don’t with a precise and unambiguous word. Here are just a few excellent candidates for the job of saying No: Avoid, ban, block, delete, exclude, forbid, hinder, obstruct, omit, prevent, prohibit, reject and stop.

Avoid submerging your toaster in water.    is …

Throughout my recent series of postings, Build a Better E-Mail Message, I spelled e-mail with a hyphen.

While writing those three articles, my fingers kept typing email. I got so tired of having to go back to insert missing hyphens, I paused to research the correct spelling of e-mail. My usual resources confirmed e-hyphen-mail, so I conscientiously kept inserting hyphens.

However, since …

Gentle Reader,

E-mail correspondence, like all business communication, plays a balancing act between formality and efficiency.  But there are other features that are unique to e-mails.

One in particular made compiling this list especially difficult:

There are actually two …

This week I conclude my series on e-mail deliverability inspired by the Lyris Inc panel featuring Michael Kelly of Click Mail Marketing, Craig Spiezie of the Online Trust Alliance, and David Fowler of Lyris Technologies.  If you enjoyed this series, or found it useful, please comment on this post.

Origins of the term SPAM

Anyone telling you that SPAM is an acronym (at least in regards to its online usage) is pulling your leg.  It comes from Monty Python’s SPAM skit, where SPAM manages …

Emoticons are those small two to five character icons that use letters and symbols from the keyboard to create faces, hearts, or other recognizable shapes in order to convey how the author feels about what they are saying.

The most commonly used emoticons are fairly easy to identify.

and XD are used to express pleasure
and :`( are used for sadness
is used to point out jokes or inside references
<3 and @`~,~~ are used for romance

However, beyond general impressions, the meanings and use of the various emoticons has never been codified.

may show mirth, but it does not indicate …

Sound can be a touchy subject online.

Remember many people will have multiple web browsers open at once, or while playing music of their own, and that catchy jingle that is perfect for your site can cause your visitors no end of consternation while then are engaged in other activities.

Earache My Eye

It is very rare that you can guarantee that your audience will give your site their undivided attention. Any sound that starts up on its own will most likely be considered audio SPAM.

It is better “netiquette” to let visitors chose to turn your chosen soundtrack on. …

Last week I discussed how to get testimonials.  Now let’s look at how to decline giving them.

The first rule of getting testimonials is: Ask for them from people who have already complimented you. They’ve complimented you in print—in an email or letter or a reference posted on a networking site such as LinkedIn—or they’ve complimented you aloud, during a phone call or face-to-face.

But now Joe, whom you’ve never complimented, asks you to write a testimonial for his business.

The first rule for giving testimonials:  Because you’re putting your reputation on the line when you endorse someone else, decline rather than …

Signatures are essential on business email. They provide your customer with your contact information. But some businesses turn their signature block into a billboard of advertising: awards won, credentials earned, specials offered — all dressed up in a rainbow of colored fonts bordered with inspiring quotes and exclamation points.

Why? In everyday business emails, you’re emailing someone you know. Your recipient isn’t a complete stranger: You’re emailing to follow up with a potential customer, confirm an appointment, send a proposal, thank someone for a referral, whatever.  You don’t need to “sell” her; you need to communicate with her.

Put your message into …

According to Rachel Metz of the Associated Press, the website Yelp! is planning to roll out a new feature that will allow business owners to respond to reviews posted by the websites users.

This new feature will address one of the concerns about Yelp! which I mentioned in my previous entry, “Yelp! Not Just Another Exclamation.”  While business owners will still be unable to take down reviews that they dislike, the new feature will at least allow them to contest or address negative reviews.

This feature will be especially important to companies that are new to …

This is a very interesting question, and one that is not as easy to answer as it might first seem.   What looks like a single question is in reality four.
1)     Is it possible to copy text from another website onto my own site?
2)     Is it legal for me to use text from another website on my own site?
3)     Is it ethical for me to use text from another website on my own site?
4)     Is it effective to copy text from another site onto my own site?
Is it possible to copy text from another site onto my own site?

The first question …