How To [Properly] Forward An E-mail Message

Step-by-Step How To Forward An Email

Step #1: Click the "Forward" button, then manually delete all of the other e-mail addresses that appear in the message. To do so, you simply highlight the addresses then hit the "Delete" button, or the "Backspace" button, or use "Edit...then Cut". (You must click the "Forward" button first before you can edit the message.)

TIP: If you want to Forward an e-mail that has already been Forwarded many times before -- one where you have to keep opening e-mail message within e-mail message before you eventually get to the one with the information in it -- make sure you click the "Forward" button when you're on the actual page that you want your friends to view. (This is usually the last/most recent e-mail in the chain of Forwards.) That way, your recipients won't have to keep clicking through just to see what you sent. And, many won't click through an e-mail these days anyway -- for fear of getting a virus -- so your message could go unread.

Step #2: If you will be Forwarding this message on to more than one person, then instead of using the TO: line (or even the CC: - Carbon Copy line), use the BCC: (Blind Carbon Copy) line instead. This will "hide" all of the e-mail addresses that you will be sending this message to. As a result, the people you send to will only be able to see their own e-mail address and no one else's. This may not seem important at first, especially if you're only Forwarding something to one person. But if you think ahead to how forwarded messages eventually get re-Forwarded on to more and more people... then you'll realize the importance of "hiding" the e-mail addresses of your friends any time you can.

TIP: If you don't see "BCC:" as an option in your e-mail program, just click "TO:" and your Address Book will pop up. Then, either highlight a person's name from your Address Book and click "BCC:" or type an e-mail address in the spot next to BCC:. That's it! (Separate multiple e-mail addresses with commas or spaces.)

Step #3: Remove the "FW:" from the subject line. Why? Because many people (including me) don't even open Forwarded e-mails anymore. Most of us send them right to the trash bin, not wanting to take any chances with viruses or SPAM. Forwarded emails are generally a big waste of time.

TIP: You should always write your own Subject line anyway. The key here is to personalize each and every e-mail you forward in such a way that it doesn't even look like a forwarded e-mail. You do want people to read it, don't you? If what you're Forwarding is truly worthy of being passed on, then you shouldn't be ashamed of titling it something that would meaningful to your friends.

Step #4: Once you have all of the e-mail addresses you wish to send this message to entered into the BCC: space, simply click "Send" and wah laa... you're done! You've just sent your very first Forwarded e-mail... the right way. And the recipients of your message will appreciate that you're not tossing their email out there into the hands of potential Spammers who like to gather as many email addresses as they can from these forwarded emails in order to re-Spam and re-forward emails over and over again.

Here's a funny video that describes the art of forwarding an e-mail message!

How To Send An Email To Many People At Once

Question: What do you do when you're not "Forwarding" an e-mail message per se, but rather you have a list of 3... or 5... or 20... or even a hundred people that you want to send a personal e-mail to?

Answer: Simple. You "hide" all of the e-mail addresses as explained in Step #2 above.

Your friends will thank you for it.

For the record, I continue to be amazed by how many professionals (we're talking "big" people in "big companies" -- even those who are familiar with computers & the Internet) who continue to exploit the privacy of their friends & clients simply because they insist on putting all of the e-mail addresses in the TO: line, instead of "hiding" them in the BCC line.

SPAM is SPAM... Don't do it!

Want to encourage someone to stop sending forwarded emails, but don't exactly want to hurt their feelings? StopForwarding will send an anonymous email for you!