You’ve become a top-notch referral networker, you take action on your referral sales plan, and you leave excellent voicemail messages. What messages does your email communication convey?

With ever-present Internet access (“crackberry,” anyone?) and Twitter, your emails and character-limited “tweets” say as much about you as your business card. A whole new school of thought exists around Twitter, so let’s keep the conversation to old-fashioned email. Some things work, some don’t work. So win with strong emails.

6 Winning Email Tips

1. Subject line: Get to the point here. What primary information does your contact need to know?
2. Define your goal and purpose: Just like voicemail, decide what you want as a result of this email message, and write your way to the point (quickly).
3. Personalized greeting: Start with a greeting, this is an electronic letter. “Hi John,” or “Dear Barbara”. Launching straight into your message is rude (and great salespeople aren’t rude).
4. Close/action step: Ask your contact to get in touch with you and suggest possible dates/times. And, offer to follow up when you fail to receive a return message by a certain date/time (People get busy. Own the communication, and offer to take it through the process.)
5. Identify yourself: Emails need signatures. Include your first and last name, phone number (including the area code), email address, and company URL. Include a little more information, such as your tag line or a note about upcoming events.
6. The basics: Grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Before clicking “Send”, skim your email for accuracy (if spelling isn’t your strong suit, use a spell-check, but know that even electronic tools make mistakes, too.)

The average person receives 75 to 100 emails a day. To use email effectively, keep your correspondence brief, to the point, and informative. The world’s inboxes thank you.