Is it really urgent?

Last week: before Christmas Day, I received a number of 'URGENT: PLEASE RESPOND IMMEDIATELY' emails from other businesses. Of course, I responded as soon as I'd read them, only to receive automated responses "I'm not in the office until 4th January".
Why were they urgent: requiring my immediate response then?

Of course it is always correct to act quickly when a swift response is required; I like to hope that people would respond to me if an answer or response was needed URGENTLY. But in these instances, they weren't in the office, so wouldn't be able to act on anything I sent anyway.

It rather reminded me of Matilda and the fire, who was always telling lies and when she shouted "Fire" everyone called her "Little liar". If we constantly communicate something as being urgent, eventually, other people won't take it seriously. So only mark emails "Urgent" when you want a swift response that YOU can act upon straight away!

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Contacting your clients and potential customers - how frequently should you do this?

Today I was at an excellent online marketing course led by Derrick Cameron. One of the points we discussed as a group was how frequently we should contact clients and potential customers by email; direct mail etc.
Recently I have signed up for a couple of emails and newsletters. Some of these ezines are fantastic and I am really pleased to be receiving them. BUT there are a couple of nameless organisations that are bombarding me with emails; tweets; messages via Facebook, Ecademy etc twice even three times daily. I'm afraid I've had to unsubscribe because I'm SO fed up of being contacted.
One person that was cited today was a "Marketing Guru" who was contacting people daily by email, letter, phone calls etc to sell his marketing training day. It became TOO MUCH! and I had to ask his organisation to stop contacting me. Had I not been pestered so often, I might well have gone. I thought this was ironic given that the chap in question was a marketing expert - yet he'd got the style of communication SO wrong!

So how frequently should you contact clients. Now remember I am English - as my Canadian and South African colleagues frequently remind me: so I err on the side of caution with 'pestering people'. I tend to be more conservative than most, and could increase my communication.
I try to blog twice a week - and refer to these blogs on Twitter.
I try to audioboo at least twice a week and these are referred to on Twitter with a link to Ecademy.
I normally send out ezines once every 2 - 3 weeks. The exception to this is when I am marketing a new course; product or service.
If I am leading a teleseminar, I will email everyone twice and then a reminder the day before. In addition I will contact people that have registered on the course with reminders the day before and just before the call - and an email afterwards summarising the call and links to the recording.

Am I getting it right or am I being 'Too English' and not pestering enough. Do let me know!

Mind where you post an opinion

This week I did something that I've never done before: I posted a message on an online forum. This was in response to Austin being voted off Strictly Come Dancing. My son was distraught at this, and I started a new message stating this. I was astonished at the vitriol that some posters directed at my quite innocent comment. It seemed that for some posters, hiding behind a forum name, making personal attacks on myself and my son were perfectly acceptable, yet these comments were in the public domain. Fortunately I also had a pseudonym to avoid identification, but the hate directed at me by a minority was an eye opener. I should mention that the majority of posts were telling the minority to 'back off'.

Now I have learnt from this: I won't be posting another such message! But it made me think of how we communicate on line, and whether hiding behind a screen (whether it be via email or a forum) results in some people forgetting basic manners and communication styles that are unacceptable in other environments.

I remember receiving an astonishing email from a colleague when I was doing some singing teaching: he would never have spoken to me in that way, yet I had this crazy email. Perhaps as it was written I wasn't able to detect the nuance of what he was saying - although it was pretty blunt to me.

I also received an email from a Women's organisation, asking me to contribute to their website, to promote women's entrepreneurship. I had never met "Sophie" yet she copied me, and 100 other entrepreneurs into the same email, which had very girlie, friendly copy, signing herself 'love and kisses Sophiexx' - and demanding I spent 2 hours writing up something to promote her project. I am sure what she does is valuable, but her presentation, familiarity and style - to ask a stranger to volunteer time, did not engage me to assist her. In fact it did the opposite and I didn't want to be associated with her project.

My message today is to really consider how you use emails - and forums when communicating with others; whether they are good friends or strangers. Consider the best way of communicating which is respectful of the other person - particularly if they are a stranger.