Check your email inbox at least twice per day and respond within 36 hours to a request. If you are on vacation or will be unable to respond in a timely fashion, turn on your out-of-office auto response.
Reply to every message that originates from a person. It is not necessary to respond to general solicitations and advertisements.
Responding:
Always include a phone number when recommending people call someone.
Always use the URL address (web link) in the message when recommending
page on our website.
Use staff titles in email responses. For example, “Adam Seaton, the City First Church Connections Pastor, will have the answer to your question.”
Forwarding:
If you are forwarding to someone else for a response, copy that person in your reply and reference his or her email address. Also, send blind copies (BCC) to the contact’s assistant when applicable.
Forward to one person only for follow-up and BCC other contacts as a professional courtesy only. Monitor responses to original message. Follow up in one week if no response is received.
When forwarding, make sure the contact will be available to answer in a timely fashion.
Never forward to or distribute personal email addresses in replies. Always use a church email address instead of a personal email address.
Remember:
You may be the first and only contact someone has with the church.
Your goal is to connect people directly with a resource and not necessarily another person. Avoid the middleman.
Tips:
If an email conversation is resulting in more than 2-3 replies, consider meeting with the individual face to face. Often times, an answer or solution can be agreed upon with a quick meeting instead of several emails back and forth, spread over a few hours.