Properly preparing an e-mail begins with gathering and organizing your thoughts beforehand. Consider the following questions when you are preparing your thoughts:

• Is an e-mail the most appropriate and effective way to communicate your message?
• What is the message that you want to communicate?
• What is the purpose of the message? State the purpose at the beginning of the e-mail.
• What do you want the reader to do, know, or feel as a result of the e-mail? Define the reader's expected action and state it clearly in the beginning of the e-mail.
• Are your thoughts organized before you begin writing? Take the time to do this.
• What does the reader need from your communication, and how might the reader react to your e-mail? Understand the audience and write accordingly.
• What is the most effective way to organize the content? Do not just mentally organize the content, but list the content prior to organizing it. Use the same approach that you do with presentation organization: chronological, topical, problem-solution, hierarchical, and so forth.
• What is the most important piece of information in the e-mail? Place this information at the beginning of the content.
• What can you write that will capture the reader's attention quickly?