Introduction to E-Correspondence

E-correspondence is generally an election correspondence or the email correspondence. The use of the communication here is via electronic means. The information between the parties is exchanged through email addresses. Therefore, it is viable for both the parties to give their correct email address.

The many forms of communication can be letters, memos, e-mail messages, text messages, voice mails, fax messages, and notes.

Features of E-Correspondence

E-Correspondence has many useful features which businesses can utilize for a

Less time-consuming and cost-effective method of correspondence:

One can send copies of a message to more than one person at a time

There is a facility for auto-reply in case the receiver cannot reply to messages within the stipulated time

Messages can be re-directed and auto-forwarded to others

One can store multiple addresses in an address book which can be instantly retrieved

One gets to know if a message was delivered or not through notifications

One can attach signatures to their emails

One can also send files, sound, graphics in a compressed format via e-correspondence

Automatic date and time stamp on each email are available

If you are on the move, mobile email or web email can still be accessed and one can respond promptly

One can integrate calendars and appointments with e-correspondence systems

It has searching capabilities to look for an email using its subject, body text, etc.

Conversations can be arranged in different folders for ease of access

One can set automatic rules for sending emails to different folders or destination

Benefits of E-Correspondence

It is a cost-effective way to contact all over the world

One can reach out to more than one person at a time with emails

With e-correspondence, all interactions are documented and can be used as an evidence

You can leave messages for people at any time of the day without having to bother them

Features of email

Cost-effective: Emails are very cost-effective and also provides communication in a faster way as compared to other modes of communication. With the help of smartphones, you can send email easily from anytime and anywhere.

Packages: With the help of messenger and Outlook, you can compose many formats of email. This can help you send it to anyone in no time. Also, the address box allows the sender to sends the email without any trouble. You can change the font size, highlight the important points, save the images, and many more using email.

Spam: Any unwanted or unsolicited emails can be sent in the junk folders without any effort. These emails can be advertisements, promotions, job offers, etc which you are not interested in.

Signature: You can customize your signature based on your requirements in the email. Whenever you are replying to someone or emailing someone than this signature will automatically appear at the bottom of the email. Thus, you don’t need to write your details again and again.

Attachment: This feature allows you to share any documents, presentations, pictures, videos, and many more along with the email. The size of attachment will be limited.

Automatic reply to messages

Auto-forward and redirection of messages

Facility to send copies of a message to many people

Automatic filing and retrieval of messages

Addresses can be stored in an address book and retrieved instantly

Notification if a message cannot be delivered

Emails are automatically date and time stamped

Signatures can be attached Files, graphics or sound can be sent as attachments, often in compressed formats

Webmail and mobile email can be used to receive and send messages while on the move

Types of Business Letters

Correspondence is varied so let's get acquainted with some of them.

Internal Correspondence- Means communication between individuals, departments, or branches of the same organization.

External Correspondence- Means communication between two people. These are not members of the same organization. Any letters sent outside the organization are foreign letters. Customers and suppliers, banks, educational institutions, government departments fall under this category.

General Correspondence- Refers to books on common practices. Letters for questions, orders, answers, thanksgiving, invitations, and letters of appointment are common letters.

Sales Correspondence- Mention sales-related communications. Sales letters, sales reports, invoices, and order confirmation are sales letters. Delivery letters, statements of account, etc. here are some of its examples.

Personal Correspondence- Refers to books based on emotion. Request letters, recommendations, and congratulations are personal letters. An introductory book, offer, and rejection of terms are some of its examples.

Circular- Refers to the communication of a common issue to many people or firms. Circulars, tender notices, address changes, and new branch openings fall under this category. The introduction of new products is also an example.

Elements of an Email Message

When you think of an email message, you might think of the person you’re sending it to and what you’re going to say. However, an effective email has many more elements than these few. Double check these parts before sending your next email.

1. Subject Line

What is the email about? A good subject line summarizes the email and makes it sound important enough for the reader to open. Subject lines like “Hello” or “Meeting” are vague and make it difficult to know what the email will be about.

2. Sender

The email address of the person who sent the message appears here. Most email services display the person’s name before their email address to make it easier to identify them. When you press “reply,” your email will only go to this person.

Date and time received (On). This field shows the local time and date when the message was composed. It's a mandatory header field that's filled automatically by most email clients.

3. Recipient

If you are receiving the message, your email address probably won’t appear here. Instead, you might see wording like “to me.”

Message recipients might also include email addresses in these sections:

Carbon Copy (CC) – people who receive the email for their own information, but who are not expected to reply. When you press “reply all,” all of these addresses receive your response.

Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) – people who receive the email but are not listed as recipients. Senders use the BCC section if they don’t want recipients to know who else has received the email. They do not receive “reply all” responses.

Reply-to. If a user clicks on the Reply button, this field automatically populates the message with the sender's email address, which now becomes the "recipient."

Recipient (To). This field shows the first and last name of the email recipient, as configured by the sender.

Recipient email address. This is the email address of the recipient or where the message was sent.

4. Salutation

After the subject line, your email salutation, or greeting, is the next part that the recipient will see. It should match the tone you’re trying to set in the rest of your email. Don’t skip this part unless you are emailing back and forth quickly with someone in a virtual conversation.

5. Email Body

The email body contains the message of the email. Effective emails keep their email bodies short and add more extensive information to the attachments. For formal emails, such as messages to an employer or emails to your teacher, it’s best to avoid common email abbreviations.

6. Closing

If an email message is an electronic letter, it’s polite to end it with a closing. The closing you choose should match the tone of the rest of the email. Formal closings include “Sincerely” and “Thank you,” while more friendly messages can use “Talk to you soon!” or “See you later!”

7. Signature

Friendly letters might sign off with the sender’s name. But many business email accounts have signature sections that include the sender’s position, company and even company logo. These extended signatures are helpful when reaching out to clients or employees from other companies.

8. Attachments

An email might include an attachment that provides more information. The attachment could be a document for review, a picture to share or any other file type. Most email accounts have limits on the size of attachments, so the sender might add the file to the email body itself rather than attaching it.

Popular email sites

Some examples of popular, free email websites include the following:

Gmail is a free email service provided by Google. Gmail also offers paid plans for business users that include extra storage, advanced features and support options. According to Litmus in its "July 2022 Email Client Market Share" update, as of April 2022, Gmail holds 29.5% of the email client market share.

Microsoft Outlook is available as part of the Microsoft Office suite and offers both free and paid versions. Microsoft Outlook works across several operating systems and devices and provides features such as deleted email recovery and automatic email organization.

Yahoo Mail was launched in 1997 and is one of the oldest webmail clients available. Yahoo Mail is useful for personal emails and comes in a mobile app version.

AOL Mail was one of the most popular email services in the past and is now a part of Verizon Communications. It offers an unlimited mailbox size and lets users link their AOL Mail to other email accounts, such as Outlook and Gmail.

Zoho Mail was launched in 2008 and is part of the Zoho Office Suite. This email client provides great security and affordable plans for both personal and business use. According to a survey conducted by Zoho, it had 15 million users worldwide in 2020.

ProtonMail offers enhanced security and end-to-end encryption. It also provides features including Proton Calendar and Proton Drive.

iCloud Mail is a free email address for Apple users and comes preinstalled on Apple devices. As long as a user has an Apple account, they can connect to iCloud mail using their Gmail, Yahoo Mail or AOL email address. ICloud Mail offers each account 5 GB of cloud storage and additional space can be purchased.