Forwarding e-mails can be a great way to share ideas, information and news if done properly. If you are not careful, it can ruin relationships and even damage businesses financially. When you receive mass e-mails, they usually include numerous recipients and copyees. Some senders simply send e-mails to their entire contact list, which is a mixture of family, friends and business names and addresses.

E-mail senders should be careful with these mass e-mails. Certain jokes, hoaxes and images might be acceptable for personal friends but might not be appreciated by business clients. Most business e-mails are monitored, so people need to be careful about what they send and receive while working.

There are many best practices for e-mail forwards that include prudence when adding new e-mail addresses to your contact list. Don’t add someone to your contact list after just one meeting, it is wiser to add people with whom you’ve developed a deeper, longer relationship.

Proper e-mail etiquette is to “ask” if people are interested in receiving forwarded material. Also, “ask” the original sender if it is OK to forward e-mails.

Many e-mails include hidden formatting, attachments and addresses that may not be sensible to forward. You should “share content not addresses.” There have been extensive e-mail contact list scams encouraging people to join fake social networks, spend money on unwanted services and send money to people in danger, which is diverted to criminals.

Before forwarding an e-mail it is wise to edit out content, images and addresses that are not important to the new recipient. There are applications and software that permit users to clean up e-mails quickly before forwarding. Sometimes, it is easier to start with a new e-mail, then cut-and-paste any interesting content to make sure that unwanted elements are not accidentally forwarded.

Also, don’t assume your recipient knows why you are sending the message. Some subject lines might simply say “Re:” that might not makes sense. With all of the electronic mail that people receive, it is easy to ignore questionable messages without personal content. Some spam filters might throw away messages considered junk that have vague descriptions.

If you continually receive unwanted e-mails, there are a number of filters you could use to “block,” “automatically delete” or “mark them as unsafe.” Different mail services use different terminology. Some have a “junk” or “spam” button allowing you to “mark a sender as unsafe.” You can also send these e-mails to special isolated folders. Others permit you to set “rules” to determine what you deem acceptable. A “blacklist” or “blocked list” can block e-mails from specific sources.

If you are sending a mass e-mail to a lot of people, it is wise to use the “blind copy” option, listed as “bc:” or “bcc:” in some mail services. This “blind copy” function hides e-mail addresses from others who receive the e-mail when you place the e-mail address in the blind copy box. Your “blind copyees” will receive the e-mail and only see your e-mail address; all others will be hidden from their view. This prevents a lot of potential headaches.

I want you to add friction back in.

The problem with sending forwards is that it is often done in a manner that is impersonal. Add the friction back into your emails and take the time to be personal. Also, keep in mind this great piece of advice:

14. Just because you have someone’s email address doesn’t mean you have the right to email them.

Read the rest at Seth Godin’s blog.

Is it possible to forward email responsibly?

Yes it is. While forwarding is often an email fopaux, the act of forwarding an entertaining or enlightening email to a friend or family member does not have to be a forbidden practice. Here are some tips you can use to pass such emails along without fear of making an email etiquette blunder.

1. Choose recipients wisely
   While reading your email, try to think of people who you know would enjoy reading it. Ask yourself these questions as you are making your list:
   • Do I know this person?
     If you don’t know who the person is behind the email address or if you do know who it is but you’re just acquainted with each other, don’t send it to him/her.
   • Do I work with this person?
     If your answer is yes, make sure you have the kind of relationship with your coworker that makes it acceptable to send the email. Also, use that person’s personal email address if possible.
   • Am I in touch with this person on a regular basis?
     Is this someone with whom you have regular contact with outside of forwarded emails? Don’t send an email with a bunch of silly photos to your sister if you never talk to her on the phone or have an actual conversation via email. Your sister might be irritated by the fact that you have the time to spam her with your FWDs but not the time to pick up the phone or write a personal note.
   • Do I really want to be associated with the content of this email?
     What you email people reflects on your own character. If you’re sending a list of racist jokes to your list, you will be labeled a racist. If you send out right-wing political emails, you’ll be labeled a right-winger. Whether you are okay with being labeled or not, be aware that it will happen.
2. Email one at a time
   By now your list should be relatively small so this should not be a big deal. Instead of emailing everyone on the list at once, email one recipient at a time. This will protect the recipients email address from being exposed to others which could increase the risk of spam or even more FWDs from people who are not as responsible as you;-) It also allows you to ad a personal note (covered below).
3. Copy and paste
   Don’t click the forward button when you are ready to compose your email. This will attach a bunch of stuff to the the email that you are sending out plus expose the email addresses of those who already received the email. Instead, compose a new email message, give it a descriptive and personal subject line that does not have FWD at the beginning, finally copy and past the content of the email that you are forwarding into the body of the email.
4. Add a personal note
   At the top of your email message, which now includes the part you wanted to forward, add a personal message from you to the recipient. Something like, “Hi Steve, I thought you’d like this funny picture of a guy with an Apple tattoo. How are your kids? See you at the club on Saturday!” Adding a note like this will make it more likely that you’ll get a response from the recipient and the personal touch will be appreciated.

You see, you can share the stuff that you think is worthy of other peoples’ time without offending them or exposing their email addresses. All it takes is a bit more time and thought. Now instead of being ignored, put on a block list or receiving emails from a.friend@stopforwarding.us, you’ll get the opportunity to share something with your friends and family while creating the opportunity for future communication and relationship building.