Email Efficiency: Attachments

 DROPBOX FILE SHARING DIALOG BOX

Continuing the Email Efficiency series, it's time to discuss email attachments. I'll skip over my opinions on what the attachments should be named because you can read all about that here. But please name the attached files something helpful. I'm looking at you "SOW.pdf".

Below are 5 of my best practices for email attachments.

• Communicate that the email has an attachment
  • Email programs display attachments differently and sometimes the attachments are easy to miss. Call out that your email has an attachment within in the body of your email.
  • Bonus points if you also call out next steps and due dates.
• Be courteous about file size
  • I do not recommend emailing any attachment(s) totaling over 8MB. Many corporate emails will block large attachments and we all know the annoyance of the "you're about to hit your file storage limit" warnings.
  • If the file is too large, try one of the following:
    • Compress the attachment
    • Post the file to Dropbox or Google Drive or Evernote and include the file URL in your email
    • Send the file(s) via a large file sender like Hightail or WeTransfer or Box
• Do not include inline attachments
  • I understand the visual benefit of a bulleted list with reference images associated with each bullet. However, once a reply happens, it's just a mess. Also, not all email clients are the same and there can be display compatibility issues.
  • Attachments should appear at the bottom of your email.
  • If the content of your email is best displayed with inline reference attachments, I recommend using Evernote to outline your points and associated images and then share the note via URL.
• If you need feedback on a set of options, send one attachment with all options included
  • For example, if you have 5 JPGs and need feedback on each one, do NOT send an email with 5 JPGs attached. Instead, send all of the JPGs in one attachment (a Word document, a Google Doc, an Evernote link, etc).
  • Make sure you give each item a unique identifier that is easily referenced in the feedback (for example, Option A, B, and C).
• Do not use image attachments as part of your email signature
  • I will frequently download "all attachments" from an email. It is frustrating for my hyper-organized self to see a tiny image version of a company's logo in the folder of downloads.

What are your best practices for emailing attachments? Let me know in the comments below.