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Everyone is swamped with e-mail to read and process information deluge. Making e-mails effective is one way to show that we respect others' time. Use following simple rules to keep e-mails effective and spread this discipline.

• Include bullet points or numbering to convey important items
• Use highlighting and fonts to bring attention to important items
• Use colors also to indicate issues
• Keep the e-mail crisp and avoid long winding stories.
• Set priorities for e-mails by using e-mail application features.
• Use To and CC lists carefully. Use TO list only for people who are primary recipients of the e-mail. CC list should be as short as possible. Think twice before including each member in the e-mail distribution list.
• While replying to others' e-mails remove unnecessary threads from the e-mail so that overall message remains short.
• Select subject to convey priority or context of the message. Change the subject if needed while replying to existing threads.
• Do not include bulky documents or multiple references in single e-mail. If possible use hyperlinks to documents located on intranet or shared folders.
• If you can not avoid sending long e-mail, summarize at the end of the e-mail.
• When expecting responses for your e-mail state the date and content you are expecting clearly so that you can avoid multiple roundtrips.
• Use persons' names in e-mail to bring attention to respective persons. One's name is easiest to recognize in any amount of text.

I have read quite a few books about communication and these are some tips which I picked up from these books. Think about the other communication media like Newspaper, Magazines, Ads and so on. They have perfected the art of communication. Take tips from them and implement them.

Overall make e-mails interesting to read