There are four different email fields. Most people know To and Cc but there is also the From and Bcc fields.

 

From: Unless your email client is setup for multiple email accounts you won’t have to worry about the From field. However, if you are part of a shared email account or have multiple email accounts configured, you’ll want to make sure you select the correct From address that corresponds to your audience.

 

To: This field is not as simple as it sounds. Most of the time you can just enter the person you are trying to contact to either ask them a question or give them information. However, if you're sending out a broadcast email to more than just a few recipients it's advisable that you enter the persons email that you want to receive the replies. For example, if someone is recently hired, promoted, had an anniversary, passed a certification or some other congratulatory email you’ll want to put that person in the To field and everyone else in the Bcc field. If you are sending out information like this email etiquette information or an email the recipients are likely to have questions about either put yourself in the To field or the person that you want to answer those questions in that field.  The To field is either for the people you are expecting a response from or the ones you want to receive all the email replies.

 

Cc: First, please don’t Cc everyone and their neighbor. Does their supervisor and their supervisor’s supervisor really need to know? What you are essentially telling the person in the Cc field is that here is some information that might interest or be relevant to you but don’t feel obligated to respond. The Cc field is great for introducing someone or helping someone make a connection. If you are recipient in the Cc field of the email, only reply if you think you have something to add about the subject they may be missed of overlooked, otherwise treat it as a for you information email.

 

Bcc: This field is great for hiding addresses. If you’re emailing a group of people you can do so without exposing their email address. This is especially nice if it's their personal email address as you'll be able to add them without getting their permission first. Use this field also if you want to be an email H-E-R-O! as these people will see the original email but not all of the email threads to follow (Reply All) emails. 

For example if your supervisor introduces you to someone, when you reply to the person you’ve been introduced to simply move your supervisor to the Bcc field so that your supervisor knows you have followed up on the introduction but is not included on the flood of back and forth emails to follow.

 

If you need assistance finding the Bcc or From field please feel free to call the IT Helpdesk at 574.472.7375 or open a ticket at http://helpdesk.goodwill-ni.org so we can schedule a time to go over how to access these sometimes hidden fields.