The document discusses personal marketing through email communication. It emphasizes that professionals need to carefully manage their personal brand and reputation, which are influenced by how they use email. Some key points made include: focusing email use on communicating value and benefits rather than just sending messages; being aware of who sees your emails and how they affect perceptions; and improving writing skills to ensure emails are clear, concise and avoid misunderstandings. The document provides recommendations for more effective email use, including considering other communication methods instead of email if urgent responses are needed.

1. Personal marketing
through e-mail.
Your professional oppotunities depend
on your reputation
Juan Carlos Jiménez
Book author:
September 2008 “E-mail at the workplace”

2. Personal marketing
through e-mail.
If you want to improve your chances attention to their qualities, values, and
for professional growth, you need to be particularly, the benefits they offer.
more aware of the importance of your
permanent marketing as an individual. The personal brand is the quantitative
and qualitative addition of your profes-
The same marketing techniques com- sional career in an integrated manner,
panies use to create a commercial and the image of the person that consti-
brand, so consumers perceive it in a tutes it. Therefore, planning and devel-
positive light and prefer it, can be used oping a personal brand has significant
by professionals when they look for a advantages:
job or in their work experience.
• It helps us generate professional
Brands of products, services or compa- interest and positively catch the at-
nies create a unique image and use it in tention of clients, bosses, colleagues,
a planned manner to attract and main- friends, and potential employers.
tain clients and consumers. Profession-
als can also plan their image to attract • It allows us to focus on what we want
the ideal employers or to have better people to remember most of our per- Commercial marketing is the cha-
job opportunities. sonal and professional qualities.
llenge brands face to commu-
Commercial marketing is the challenge • It makes it easier to obtain trust and nicate their values and benefits,
brands face to communicate their val- credibility, as a result of our coherent
ues and benefits, presenting an image and consistent professional perfor- presenting an image that differ-
that differentiates them from the com- mance. entiates them from the competi-
petition and makes them desirable
brands. • It allows us to differentiate ourselves
tion and makes them desirable
as workers. brands.
Isn’t this the same challenge we face
when we look for a job or when we Just as with the marketing of a product,
want to improve our possibilities in our if we don’t work on our own professional
present positions? brand image, others will create one for
us, and it is quite likely that it won’t be
The concept of “personal brand” is not what we want or what we are interested
common for people who are not in the in projecting.
arts, sports, or other professions where
the public opinion is relevant. However,
if people looking for a job or planning
their professional development in a
company don’t build a strong positive
image, it will be more difficult to attract
1 Juan Carlos Jiménez - September 2008

3. Personal marketing through e-mail
Where to begin
First of all, we need to be more aware of Our clients are the individuals with
the fact that in all areas of contemporary whom we interact directly or indirectly,
society, we are always marketing our- who are important to us professionally,
selves as individuals. and who can recommend us to others.
This means that we need to take more In a society where jobs are so intercon-
into account the fact that we are al- nected, “external clients” are just as im-
ways affecting the perception others portant for our personal marketing as
have of us. We are always influencing are our co-workers, including bosses at
that perception positively or negatively. all levels, the staff in other departments,
There is no such thing as “no influence” and suppliers.
or “neutral influence”.
Yes, this answer is very broad because
We affect others with what we do or the most frequent marketing mistakes
don’t do, and also with what we say or are made in part by underestimating
don’t say. So, we start defining our per- the range of influence that the public
sonal marketing and communication or audience with whom we interact as
plan with the following questions: clients have. that make written communication ef-
fective will allow us to assertively man-
• “How do I want to be known and re- Finally, being more aware of our person- age those aspects that determine our
membered as a professional?” al marketing implies being more aware reputation through that medium.
of the tools we use to communicate our
• “With what values do I want others to skills, competencies, values, and ben-
associate me?” efits. That is, we need to keep our inter-
personal communication channels and
The answers to these questions provide media fine tuned.
the guide we need on the type of ac-
tions we must take to positively affect These are made up by all our interper-
others and obtain the professional per- sonal communications, whether face-
ception we desire. to-face, telephonic, or through e-mail,
and by the form and content we convey
Second, we need to have a wide per- through these means. That is, our body
spective of who our “clients” are. This and our behavior are like our mobile
can easily and efficiently be established marketing channels, with verbal and
answering the following question: “Who non-verbal messages.
can speak about me, positively or nega-
tively, as a professional and as a person?”. In this context, e-mail increasingly has a
greater impact on the professional im-
Our marketing strategies and tactics age we project as individuals. Therefore,
must be oriented towards all of them. a better understanding of the factors
2 Juan Carlos Jiménez - September 2008

4. Personal marketing through e-mail
E-mail productivity
There is no doubt that e-mail provides the aspects that contribute to create a
transcendental advantages as a tool for public reputation of our work perfor- The number of messages we
communication, work, study, research mance. send, the way we write them, their
and filing, and its influence is growing in
all aspects of people’s lives, in all coun- Here are some expressions that are in- length, and even the time when
tries and cultures. creasingly frequent in the work place: we write them says a lot about the
However, the process of assimilating “It seems that Pedro has nothing else to
quality of professionals we are.
e-mail has occurred with insufficient do than send e-mails. I get his messages
preparation. In some cases, training is all the time. They are very long and dif- to ignore them, particularly those that
provided on a specific e-mail program ficult to understand”. are in the “Cc” field.
(for example “Outlook”). In others, there
are “policies” on the use of e-mail, but “María is very inconsiderate: She keeps If we want to improve our effectiveness
they mainly have to do with the need sending chain letters. Doesn’t she know in the use of e-mail, we need to under-
for security and control of computer that I’m very busy and have no time for stand how they act, and what do re-
systems. those foolish things? They also fill up cipients value more in our written mes-
my inbox and prevent other important sages, in order to positively affect their
We assume that to know how to write messages from arriving”. perceptions and attitudes. Likewise,
is to know how to word things correctly, we must deal with each recipient in the
and that it is enough to communicate “José always copies messages to the most personal way possible, taking into
efficiently in writing. Sometimes we boss: He cannot be trusted. I know we account the emotional impact that writ-
know how to word things well, and this must document our work, but why ten words have and the structure of the
is enough to communicate efficiently didn’t he call me first? We would have e-mail.
in writing. Sometimes we think that if clarified the situation and then write a
we write as we speak, we will be un- message with what we agreed on”.
derstood. However, it is more difficult
to master written communication If to this we add the great number of
than verbal and non-verbal com- “spam” messages we receive, and the
munication. number of copied messages that are
useless to us, we can understand the
E-mail has a great influence in our per- increasing stress that managing e-mails
sonal image. The number of messages produces in our work.
we send, the way we write them, their
length, and even the time when we The productivity of this tool is
write them says a lot about the quality greatly associated to our personal
of professionals we are. reputation. That is, our effectiveness in
managing e-mail is reflected by whether
How fast we respond to messages, if we we achieve the purpose of a message or
read them carefully, and even if we send not. For example, if we write “too many”
a copy to another recipient, are some of e-mails, it is likely that recipients will start
3 Juan Carlos Jiménez - September 2008

5. Personal marketing through e-mail
The demands of written
messages
Body language references are essential mail very productively as a communica-
to understand the foundations of an tion channel. They adapt their language
effective “mediated communication” and verbal style to the demands of writ-
through e-mail, a challenge we face to ten communication, according to their
convey affinity and empathy in writing. intentions.
The absence of non-verbal and physi- If people make a special effort in their
cal clues in written communication written communications, they can
makes it substantially more difficult for nourish enough trust, and create a wide
the recipient to receive the sender’s key contextual framework so that e-mails
information regarding emotions and at- convey the affinity necessary to be ef-
titudes. This determines the perception fective, as in fact occurs in many of our them feel better through e-mail, due to
and final interpretation of the written e-mail communications. satisfactory and positive experiences in
message. the exchange of information.
But for this to happen, senders must
When we communicate by e-mail with constantly cultivate trust and credibility What is the positioning or reputation
people we know, the process is different with their interlocutors (key elements of we form of a person who sends many
than with strangers. Knowing our recipi- personal marketing), and improve their messages every day, or of the person
ents and senders provides more contex- writing skills so that they can compen- who never responds? What is our opin-
tual information about their personality, sate for the non-verbal components of ion of co-workers whose messages are
affinities, communication styles, and in- interpersonal communication. difficult to understand, or who send
tentions. Therefore, e-mail exchanges lengthy messages, or always send “chain
have a social and relational framework On the other hand, the quality of atten- letters”?
that facilitates understanding and effec- tion that our e-mails receive, and the
tive communication. attitude of our recipients when they
read them are for the most part values
But there are many cases of misinter- determined by the positioning we
pretation, confusion, and misunder- cultivate as professionals and users of
standing of written messages between e-mail.
people that know each other well. Even
people who care for each other can eas- Our positioning as senders determines
ily badly judge the implicit intention of a our capital of credibility, trust, and abil-
written message. ity to generate positive responses to our
requests, and the quality of our written
However, people can adapt to the messages increase or reduce that capi-
media and make it efficient. There are tal.
social-emotional and relational expres-
sions that not only depend on non-ver- As with products, services, companies
bal communication clues. That is why or institutions, people are more prone to
many people can in many cases use e- respond positively to people that make
4 Juan Carlos Jiménez - September 2008

6. Personal marketing through e-mail
Some recommendations
to manage e-mail
E-mail is an efficient channel of com- 7. Don’t use your company’s e-mail ad-
munication when the sender properly dress to send jokes, congratulation cards
manages the content of its message, that are not corporate, family photos, or
according to his/her intentions and the any other personal message that may
characteristics of this medium. put the image and reputation of the
company at risk before clients, suppliers
1. Whenever we write an e-mail, it is or co-workers.
worth stopping for a moment to be sure
that sending it is better than a telephone 8. For your e-mails to get more noticed
call or a face-to-face conversation. by its recipients, we must take into con-
sideration the “peak hours” where many Whenever we write an e-mail, it
2. Avoid discussions or “clarifications” people check their e-mails: First time in
in writing. This always carries the risk of the morning and last time in the eve-
is worth stopping for a moment
misinterpretations, and also generates ning (right after arriving and before leav- to be sure that sending it is better
an exchange of much longer messages. ing work); and before and after lunch.
than a telephone call or a face-to-
3. Discussions are natural and necessary 9. Every professional must develop bet- face conversation.
in any job, so it is better to have them ter writing skills as a personal respon-
through other means, and send by e- sibility. We can be very efficient in the
mail only the agreements reached. way we express ourselves verbally, but
when we do it in writing, the message
4. If there is no other option and we can be confusing and difficult to read.
must “clarify” an issue in writing, avoid
involving third persons in the message. We must try to improve our writing skills
Don’t send a copy of your clarification to as well. That is the only way to be more
other recipients. accurate in our written messages, gen-
erate more interest in them, and have
5. Unless we have established an agree- better chances that their content is eas-
ment with our interlocutor beforehand, ily understood.
e-mail is not the best work communi-
cation tool if urgent responses are re- 10. We must take into account the order
quired. in which e-mails are processed before
they are opened by their recipients:
6. Senders must be more explicit with First, they read the name of the sender;
what they expect from their recipients. second, they check the title of the mes-
Every day we receive messages that sage, and then they look for their name
don’t indicate what we must do, be- in the recipient field.
cause the sender assumes it is “obvious”.
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7. Personal marketing through e-mail
Other recommendations
A decade ago it seemed an exaggera- By constantly expanding our vocabu-
tion to say that a person without a mini- lary we avoid “fillers” and common place By constantly expanding our vo-
mum of knowledge in Office (Microsoft) words, and dodge being repetitive or cabulary we avoid “fillers” and
would have many difficulties finding rhetorical. In other words, the larger is
a job; today this is a reality. Perhaps it our vocabulary, the less “blah blah blah” common place words, and dodge
also sounds exaggerated to say that in we write. being repetitive or rhetorical. In
five years it will be difficult to find a job
if we don’t have excellent written com- But be careful: some people use their
other words, the larger is our vo-
munication skills (remember that know- vocabulary to write in an incomprehen- cabulary, the less “blah blah blah”
ing how to write doesn’t mean knowing sible manner. The purpose of having a
we write.
how to communicate). broad vocabulary is not to show-off our
knowledge, but to have the resources to
It is essential to expand our vocabu- communicate in the simplest, more ef-
lary and improve the way in which we ficient way possible.
structure and present information. Go
to writing courses and seminars. If you If you want to improve your professional
can, get a post-graduate degree in so- reputation and have better sales oppor-
cial communication, with emphasis in tunities, you need to be more aware and
written journalism: given its objectivity observant of your permanent personal
and amplitude, the journalistic style is a marketing process through e-mail.
good writing example to follow.
Have practical books and writing guides
on hand. When we write, it is always
useful to have references to look for syn-
onyms or to be sure about the meaning
of certain words. Resources I recom-
mend:
• http://dictionary.reference.com
• http://www.wordreference.com
• http://education.yahoo.com
• http://www.merriam-webster.com
6 Juan Carlos Jiménez - September 2008

8. E-mail at the workplace
A survival guide. Solutions and tips
• Improve e-mail performance:
save time and money.
• A guide to more efficient e-mails that meet your
communication and business goals.
• Recommendations on how to structure, understand
and increase e-mail comprehension, and obtain more
effective answers.
• Provides practical guidance for managing writing
communications, perceptions, and emotional impact
on recipients.
Buy it now in Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/4j217g
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