No, I’m not financially insolvent… but I am e-mail insolvent.  Since the 2 big Illinois floods in January and February of 2008, I am not able to keep up and I’m not able to do my job as effectively as I was once able to.  So I highlighted all of the messages in my inbox and hit delete.  If you are waiting on an answer from me, send the request again… please.

On average I receive about 1300+ messages a day…  This has become extremely unmanageable and, quite honestly, a pain in the butt.  So, I felt it was time to prioritize the messages I get and eliminate 90% of the e-mail addresses I get them on.

What I ended up doing was coming up with 4 main addresses.  The first is my personal address, the second is my business address, the third is a mailing list address, and the fourth is a priority address.  In addition, I set up my main addresses on an Exchange server and the spam/lists addresses on a Gmail account with Imap. 

With the Exchange Server and the IMAP I am only managing and filing 1 version and not 4 copies of the message on the office PC, the studio PC, the Laptop, and the Treo.

With the changes I have made, I have effectively cut down on the number of messages I process from 1300+ daily to about 100-150 actionable and relevant messages. 

I just saw a feed come through in my RSS reader from Digital Pro Kim Komando.  She’s 6 Tips for Reducing E-mail Overload…  I hope it helps…

Justin Kaiser
Creative Identity Group
http://www.JustinKaiser.com
http://www.CreativeIdentityGroup.com

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Slash the number of new messages

Your first goal is to reduce the amount of incoming e-mail. So cancel subscriptions to unwanted mailing lists. The messages become a nuisance if you don’t have time to read them.

A good spam filter reduces the amount of spam reaching your inbox. But don’t expect to eliminate spam completely. Some will still get through.

Do your friends send jokes or chain messages? Explain your situation and ask that they stop. Hopefully, they’ll oblige.

Respond appropriately

Not all e-mail requires a response. If you receive an e-mail addressed to several people, you may not need to respond. If a response it required, it may not need to go to everybody.

Be succinct; restrict your messages to a few sentences. If you can’t, pick up the phone or talk in person.

If an e-mail contains several different points, respond to each in separate messages. This may take longer at first. But, it will be easier to deal with each e-mail thread.

Take advantage of subject lines

Subject lines should relate to the body of the e-mail. So be as descriptive as possible. Subject lines that say things like “question” or “hello” should be avoided. Recipients won’t know what the message is about. And it will be difficult for you to categorize responses.

If you have a one-line e-mail, put it in the subject line. This will save you and the recipient valuable time.

If possible, create a set of codes with your co-workers. Placed in the subject line, codes help you process and prioritize messages.

For example, use “FYI” for informational messages. Use “AR” for action required and “URG” for urgent messages.

Forwarding and copying

Be courteous when forwarding an e-mail. Summarize the message and say why you’re forwarding it. This is particularly helpful if the e-mail contains several messages.

Recipients will appreciate your thoughtfulness. They won’t need to read through several messages to guess your thoughts. This will cut down on questions from recipients.

Don’t copy someone on a message unless it is necessary. And explain why you’re copying them. Recipients won’t need to guess your intentions. This means less back and forth messages.

Be disciplined

Avoid the temptation to check your e-mail every few minutes. Check it every hour on the hour for important messages. If you can go longer, do so. Of course, this might not be feasible in some work environments.

Set time aside each morning and evening to process your inbox. When you’re done, it should be completely empty. File messages you need to keep. Set reminders for messages that require you to follow up.

Respond to messages immediately, so you only read them once. There is an exception to this rule. If emotions might govern your response, give yourself a cooling-down period.

Use your e-mail program’s tools

Explore the tools your e-mail program offers. I already mentioned setting follow-up reminders. Filters and folders can help you file and prioritize mail. Auto-responders can alert business associates when you’re out of town. You won’t come back to a full inbox.

Check out this audio course about managing your inbox in Microsoft Office Outlook 2007.

photo credit: Mzelle BiscotteNo

At the Creative Identity Group I hear “but it’s only 30 minutes of audio…” a lot.  Yes, that’s true, but it’s also 30 minutes of finished audio.

I’d like to give you a bit more insight into the finished product, a delivered 30 minute audio file ready for production.  This may help you better budget for your next voiceover project with Creative Identity Group and Identity Group Marketing.After we receive the script, we will convert it into 12 point Arial with 1″ margins.  This makes it easier to read, gives us an area to mark up the script for proper delivery, and to properly invoice you.

Next, one of our talents will pre-read your project, generally out loud to get a feel for it.  At the same time they will check pronounciation of various words and mark for emphasis.  We also try to identify the message you are trying to deliver, determine the best way to get the message to your buyer and figure out where to stop for breath.  This is generally a 40 minute process. 

We then move into the isolation booth open up Pro Tools.  After a couple of minutes we are ready to create a new client session.  Recording can take up to twice as long as the finished project, sometimes longer, because of re-takes, technical jargon or complex scripts that are not ready for a voice presentation

Up to this point we’ve invested about 75 minutes into your 30 minute project and we haven’t started editing yet.  Editing, as a rule, takes 2 times, more often 3 times, the length of the finished project.  So we’ll add another 60-90 minutes into your investment. 

Your 30 minute dry voice, fully edited project will probably take a minimum of 2 hours to create.  That’s 4 times the length of finished audio to record and produce. 

We do our best to be efficient with your time, however, we want to provide you with a quality product.  That’s the reason we’ve been successful. 

Here to Help!

Justin Kaiser
Creative Identity Group Marketing

If you’re not using the back of your card, you’re wasting an inexpensive method to catch and keep your customer’s attention. Here are some fun and useful ideas to get you started! If you see an asterisk (*) after the idea, you’d need to create a form on the back of the card for the cardholder to fill in with the suggested info.

a copy of the FRONT of your card
acronyms
acupressure chart
additional locations
admission pass
advertising rates
amortization schedule
appointment times*
area churches
area telephone prefixes
artwork
automobile accident procedures
awards or honors received
before/after photos
Bible verse
biography
biorhythm chart
birthdays & anniversaries*
BMI (body mass index) calculator
body measurements*
books/articles published
branch offices
brand names you sell
business philosophy
calendar
calorie or fat gram counter
calories burned while exercising
car care checklist
caricature
cartoon
charities you support
checklist of symptoms
children’s developmental milestones
child’s immunization record*
city offices (health, public works, utilities)
class schedule*
Code of Ethics
college readiness checklist
color wheel, complementary colors
common HTML tags
common misspellings
company history
comparison chart
contact information for local government agencies
contact information*
contest rules
copy of your email signature file
cost-cutting ideas
coupon or discount offer
courses you teach
CPR instructions
credentials
currency conversion rates
definitions
degrees obtained
Dewey Decimal system
disclaimer
distributors
emergency phone numbers
emergency preparedness checklist
employee names
energy-saving tips
entertaining or useful websites
envelope sizes
fabric care instructions
fabric yardage conversion chart
family clothing sizes*
favorite quotation
floor plan
flower meanings
food group pyramid
foreign language phrases
frequently asked questions
fuller description of what you do/who you do it for
fun places to go in town
game (Tic-Tac-Toe, Hangman, dot-to-dot picture)
game schedule for local sports team
goals
graduation requirements
growth chart
guarantee
heart rate chart
hobbies
hours of service
household safety tips
how to change a tire
how to jumpstart a car
humorous anecdote
image of a million-dollar bill
ingredient substitutions
instructions for Heimlich maneuver
joke or riddle
large print version of data on front of card
list of emoticons
loan payment information
local pharmacists
major clients
meeting schedule
membership card
menu
merchants who offer related services
merchants who’ll give discount when card is shown
metric conversion chart
mileage-destination chart
mini-resume
mission statement
most popular products
moving checklist
nail sizes
national holidays
paint/wallpaper names, by room*
periodic table
personal medical information*
pet peeves
phone card
phone numbers for time, temperature, weather
photo
planting guide
political organizations
prescriptions*
product comparison chart
product price list
product uses
public speaking tips
quantity discount list
reasons to purchase NOW
receipt*
recipe
recommended systems/minimal standards
record of child’s height/weight by age*
reflexology chart
retirement readiness checklist
return or refund policy
ring sizes
rubber-stamped design
ruler
rules and regulations
screw sizes
seal of approval
song lyrics
stain removal g uide
State/Country elected officials
stress relief tips
subscription rates
survey
table of weights & measures
taxi services
temperature zone map
Ten Commandments
Ten Warning Signs of Cancer
terms and conditions
testimonial
thought-provoking question (”Can you afford college?”)
time zone chart
tips percentage table
tire tread depth gauge
toast or blessing
toll-free phone numbers for airlines
toll-free phone numbers for car rental agencies
toll-free phone numbers for hotel chains
train or bus schedules
translation of your card into a foreign language
trivia related to your business or industry
U.S. Presidents
U.S. states and capitols
URLs for Internet search engines
vision test
weight loss record*
wind chill index
wine list
work or industry experience
your signature
zip/postal codes
zodiac signs