Many home business owners use email as one of their primary forms of communication with their customers and clients. On one hand this is great: it cuts down on phone time, your customers can easily send a request at any time of the day and, emails are much “greener” than traditional faxes.

However, there is a downside. If you overlook one email from a regular client or customer the relationship could suffer. Therefore organizing your email inbox is as essential as organizing your desk, if not more so.  Here are a few ways you can manage your emails more efficiently:

Set up regular times to check your inbox: Checking your inbox twice an hour wastes precious time that could be spent far more productively. Set a schedule for checking emails and it’s not a bad idea to let others know what it is, so they know when to expect a reply.

Use Folders to manage communication: Some emails cannot be dealt with right away, or you may need to refer back to them several times during the course of a project. Setting up folders within your email program helps keep clutter out of your inbox and still ensures you can quickly access an important missive with just the click of a mouse.

Respond to Emails promptly: Just as you might expect a phone call to be returned promptly your customers and clients will expect the same with an email reply. Even if you do not have the time to answer a query or request immediately (or you need to do some research first) send a quick acknowledgment. Letting your customers know you “are on it”  will give them peace of mind – at least temporarily:)

Make use of the signature line: Too many miss the marketing opportunity that exists in the signature line of their email. Have a website? Add that to your signature. If you are one of the many home business owners using social media sites for promotional purposes add those links too. Another trick is to add a memorable quote to the end of your emails. If it is clever, inspirational or funny it will stick in people’s minds and they will begin to associate the sentiment behind it with you and your home business.