Mr. Internet is the alter-ego of Michael J. Russer, an Internet speaker, trainer, author, and consultant. Send your questions tohelp@askmrinternet.com

Tip of the Month

Related content at RealtorMag Online:
For more ideas on using e-mails in your marketing, visit the Sales Meeting Tool Kit on Using E-Mails Effectively .

More Resources
Many Clicks, One Salesperson , Michael Russer, March 2002.
Send Readable, Receivable Attachments , Michael Russer, March 2000.

Article Resources:
TextPad. An affordable, yet powerful, text editor that is ideal for formatting text e-mail message templates.

Creating a Template

Let's first focus on text-based e-mail templates because they are much easier to set up. And because not every user can read HTML, text-based e-mails are the most universally acceptable form.

If you’re using Microsoft Outlook 2000 (or later), there are four steps to creating a text-based e-mail template in Outlook:
1. Create your message. Take the time to make each template message good; remember you’ll be using it many times. Keep line lengths to no more than 65 characters (so the recipient doesn't have to scroll horizontally to read it), and make sure it’s spell-checked, edited, and otherwise proofed for errors. Also remember to include your electronic signature at the bottom. To create your messages I suggest using a good text editor. Notepad, the program that comes with Windows is okay, but has many limitations. You can use Word, but be sure that you put a hard return after each line to avoid uneven line breaks on screens of different sizes. My favorite is TextPad, which you can find at http://www.textpad.com. It is a full-featured editor that lets you easily format your text messages any way you want and even includes a built-in spell checker.
2. Copy the message to a template. Open a blank Outlook message window and copy the text you’ve created into it.
3. Add subject line and addresses. Simply add your subject line and, if you want, any number of cc: and bcc: addresses. For example, you may want to send a copy to the prospect’s attorney, or blind copy (bcc:) your virtual assistant on all template messages that have to do with an active transaction.
4. Add attachments. Add whatever attachments you want to include with this message. There are no limits here. However, be advised that the more attachments you include, the longer it takes the recipient to download the message and the more likely it is that it won't even get through. If you’re sending a message to a e-mail program that has a limit on the number of characters it will accept, a long message may be rejected.
5. Save the template. Select "Save As" under the File menu in the message window. When the dialog box pops up, change the file type to “Message” with the extension of “msg." Name the file something that makes it clear what the template is intended for, choose the folder on your hard drive where you want it stored (more on this below), then click the "Save" button.

If this seems a little daunting, it really isn't. In fact, I’ve created a self-paced and very cool online "slide show" tutorial that shows you step-by-step how to do the entire process from start to finish. And if you are currently using Outlook 2000 XP or above, you can download the example template referenced in the tutorial.

Accessing Your Templates

Once you’ve discovered the power of e-mail templates and created quite a few or them, you’ll need to develop an effective way to organize and access these great new tools. It’s best to set up a folder structure now that will help you keep your various templates organized and easy to find. It’s also a good idea to make your template folder accessible via the "Start" button found at the lower left of every Windows computer screen. Being able to launch the template from the “Start” menu will make it easier for you to use them.

Here’s how you can set up both of these options in Outlook:
1. Right-click the "Start" button, and select the "Explore" menu item.
2. On the right hand side of the browser window that pops up, right-click again, and choose the "New" and then "Folder" menu items to create a new folder. Name that folder "E-mail Templates". 3. Within your new folder, follow the same procedure to create additional folders that best represent how your templates will be grouped. For example, you can create subfolders such as "Prospects,” “Expireds,” "Buyers,” "Title," and "Lenders" to hold their respective e-mail templates. As you create your templates, store them in a subfolder that best describes their function.
4. Move each e-mail template to the appropriate folder by selecting the template, right-clicking to “Cut” the template from its current location, and then right-clicking again to “Paste” it into the new subfolder you’ve created.

When you store your templates this way, you can launch any template by simply clicking the "Start" button and following through the submenus with your mouse to the template you want. Once again, I have created a self-paced, step-by-step tutorial to help you through this process. The template you will select will instantly appear, whether Outlook is running or not.

Once you’ve developed your basic set of templates, you’re set up to use them in your business marketing and operations in a way that will save you a lot of time and trouble.

Note: Text e-mail templates are just the beginning. The real magic happens when you create HTML e-mail templates. I’ll cover that in the December “Mr. Internet” column, so stay tuned.


Tip of the Month

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