Be Careful With That Email

If you needed another reason to carefully proofread your email before you hit send, take a look at this survey sponsored by The Creative Group, a staffing firm that works with marketing, advertising, creative and web professionals. The survey asked 250 advertising and executives via a telephone interview, "Have you ever mistakenly emailed someone the wrong message or copied someone on a message without intending to?" Seventy-eight percent of those surveyed responded "yes." Wouldn't you rather be among the 22% that responded "no"?

The respondents were also asked to describe the worst email mistakes they know of, either ones they made themselves or ones they've heard about. Here are a few of them:

• “I once sent a job offer to the wrong person.”
• “Someone made a nasty comment about a supervisor and it was sent to the supervisor by mistake. It eventually led to dismissal.”
• “Confidential information about one client was sent to a different client. It was certainly embarrassing.”
• “I once sent an internal memo about restroom etiquette to a prospective client by accident.”
• “Someone meant to send a racy picture to a couple of friends but ended up sending it to the entire staff, which caused her much embarrassment.”

Of course mistakes happen, but you can take precautions that will help you avoid them. The Creative Group recommends some tips. They include giving the email your full attention, saving the distribution list for last, checking attachments to make sure you are sending the right ones, avoiding sending emails while you are angry and keeping your emails professional.

Share your email blunders? Click on "Comments" and tell us about a time you hit send and wished you could take it back.

Read More:
Tips for Professional Email
Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Hit Send
Mistakes at Work