Many of us spend hours every week (or maybe even every day!) dealing with email. Make sure yours makes a good impression.

Your email address may be the first thing some people learn about you. What image does yours present? If you are using the same account for business and personal email, make sure your address is professional. I don’t think I want “HotBabe@whatever.com” as my accountant, thank you.

When recipients download an email from you, does your name or business name appear as the sender? Or is it a meaningless string such as “hrt5478@something.com?” Check “Options” or “Set Up” to put your name or company name there.

Make your subject meaningful, too. I can’t tell you how many spam messages I get with subjects such as “Hello!” or “I’ve been trying to reach you.” If you want me to open your email and not delete it assuming it’s an ad, say what the message is about in the Subject line.

If you are sending the same message to multiple recipients, use the Bcc: field for the addresses instead of the To: field. I get email where I have to page through multiple screens of other people’s email addresses before I get to the message. Most of the time, I won’t bother. It also annoys me that my email address is being given to all of the other people who got the message.

Think before you send. Do you really need to forward that latest Osama bin Laden joke to everyone you know? Chances are, you’re not the only one sending it to them.

That goes double for any message you get telling you that you should immediately forward it to everyone you know. Chances are, it’s a hoax that has been floating around the Internet since Al Gore was a baby.

Don’t send attached files unless the recipient is expecting them. Most people won’t open an attachment because of virus fears. And, someone with a dial-up connection won’t appreciate spending 20 minutes downloading the cute animal video you just had to send.

Do you use an email address through the company you use to access the Internet? If you are “@aol.com,” “@earthlink.net,” or whatever, you may be tied to your Internet Service Provider (ISP) even if you want to dump them. To maintain continuity, no matter how you access the Internet in the future, get your own domain and use an email address through your domain. I like the fact that my email address will always be “cathy (at) idealady.com” because I own it.