Email: Work Smart, Not Hard
When did I start using email? I can’t remember. I know that I started using the Internet back in 1992, but that is a different story. Around that time, JEMA sponsored an email service called JEMAnet. It was great. It was slow. It was clunky. But it worked. It was great way to communicate through the Internet.
Since that time the Internet has grown and matured. There are now many different email services and most of our missions and other organizations have their own email services. The majority of us have multiple email accounts, which we use for many different things.
One of the most important uses for missionaries is to communicate with our partners and supporters back home. Since email is such an important means of supporter communication, here are a few tips to help you use email more effectively.
Less is better than more
Some of us like to write a book when we send updates to our supporters. Others are much more terse. Remember that it seems people’s attention spans have decreased. I know that mine has. It is more difficult for people to concentrate on any one thing for a long time. I know that when I receive email updates from missionary friends that seem to go on and on, I skip a great deal of what is written. I may read what comes up on the first screen and then skim the rest of the message to see if there is anything else important. Keep this in mind. Fewer words are better than more.
Don’t overwhelm people
I don’t like to receive messages from people every day. You should limit the number of messages you send out. Maybe you should think of only sending something once a week or a couple of times a month (and even that might be too much for some supporters). You don’t want to overwhelm your supporters with messages.
Send a photo
It is nice to send a photo. However, be careful that you do not send a full size photo. Most countries don’t enjoy broadband as fast as we do in Japan. Photos should be reduced to a size that can be easily emailed to other countries. For communicating with supporters, aim for photos under 500KB. Try to keep emails under 1MB in size.
Use a bulk email service
Many email services do not allow you to send bulk or batch email. They are trying to help fight spam. There are email services available that will help you send out your email without worrying about you personally sending bulk or batch email. One such is MailChimp <http://mailchimp.com>. MailChimp is a full-featured service. They have a number of plans, free or subscription. If you want something more local and visible you can contact my nephew, Nate Rudd <webmaster@naterudd.com>, who offers a bare bones service.
Email continues to be an important part of our communications with our partners and supporters. Make sure that you use it well and effectively.
Photo by Ariel da Silva Parreira