Send email message from AOL account

Sending an email from an AOL account is a fairly simple process. Obviously, you first need to get an AOL email address, right? Assuming you’ve done that, jump right in.

Note for the beginner:
If you are completely new to online communication, I suggest knowing more about the different features of an AOL email account – click that link. That short introduction will quickly walk you through some of the important aspects of the service. The next step is to get familiar with the AOL webmail – the browser interface – which is probably the easiest way to access the email account.

Once you have the basics tucked nicely inside your pocket, you would be ready to send the first email message from the AOL account.

Requirements to send an email message

Primarily, there are just two things you require to send an email – an email account and the email address of the recipient – the person to whom you are sending the message.

All email addresses conform to the format SOMEONE@SOMEWHERE. The SOMEONE part is the username, sometimes also referred to as the ID, while SOMEWHERE is the domain name. For example, if you make a free AOL email account from the global web site, your email address will be CHOSEN-USERNAME@aol.com.

Before I tell you how to send an email from your AOL account here are a few things you need to know:

• An email can have both text and multimedia files (like images, video etc.).
• The message can be sent to multiple recipients at one go (more on this below).
• All incoming email will arrive at the “Inbox“. You can, however, change this default functionality by creating filters in your AOL email account.
• Messages sent from your account (all new email, replies and forwards) will be stored in the “Sent” folder.
• You can always save incomplete emails in the “Drafts” folder and return to them later.

Step by step instructions on how to send email from AOL account

The instructions below will walk you through the simple process of sending an email from your AOL account. You’ll learn how to compose a message and then dispatch it to the recipient. The screenshots have been worked out on the Standard AOL webmail interface. If you are using the Basic or Accessible version, please make the shift now!

1. Go to the AOL login page and enter the username and password [Slide 1].
2. You shall now get to see the email account [Slide 2]. The bulk of the web browser window is occupied by what known as the “AOL Today” section and it features titbits and latest news. Ignore it for the time being and direct all your attention to the task at hand – sending an email from the AOL account.
3. Click on the large “Email” button. You can also use the Alt-W keyboard shortcut [Slide 3].
4. The page will change and you’ll get a blank email form [Slide 4].
5. Type the recipient’s email address in the “To” field [Slide 5].
   To make it more interesting, call up friends and family members and get their email addresses. You can have the same message sent to several people by adding their names one after the other, separated by the comma, in the “To:” field.
6. An email subject is generally a phrase or a line that succinctly describes the contents of the message. Type one in the “Subject” field [Slide 6].
   Tip: For reasons detailed below, never EVER send an email without a subject!
7. Now start typing the actual email contents in the large box [Slide 7].
8. Slide 8 shows a typical email message which is ready to be sent.
9. When you’ve finished composing the message, click on then”Send” button or use the Ctrl-Enter keyboard shortcut to dispatch the email [Slide 9].
10. On success, AOL notifies you of the same [Slide 10].

A few more points in sending an email message

Now that you would have sent an email, here are a few more points. Please note, they are all optional.

1. The top-left corner of the email composition section shows the display name [Slide 11]. The AOL service lets you quickly change this – click on it and type in a different one [Slide 12]. However, this will also result in the display name being changed under the “Mail Settings”. But, you can always revert to the previous one when you compose the next email message or from the settings.
2. You can specify which email address you want to send the message from [Slide 13]. Clicking on the default address will display a list [Slide 14]. Pick a different one if you want.
3. The Cc and Bcc fields
   Use “Cc” and “Bcc” [Slide 15] to send copies of the email. Click one of these to bring up the corresponding blank text field [Slide 16] and type in email addresses separated by the comma. FYI, Cc and Bcc stand for Carbon copy and “Blind carbon copy, respectively. This, as you can understand, is a great way to send invitations for the “I’ve a new AOL email – let’s celebrate!” party.
   FYI, there is an important difference between Cc and Bcc; the latter ensures that individual recipients do not know that the message has also been sent to others.
4. Clicking the “New Window” link at the top-right [Slide 17] opens the email composition form in a new window [Slide 18]. This is a great feature if you want to keep the message list opened.

Why is the email subject so important?

I can think of two important reasons why an email message should ALWAYS have a subject. Firstly, the recipient will know exactly what the email is all about. And secondly, messages with a blank subject may be marked as spam and placed in the Junk folder, which means the recipient will not get to see it in their inbox. This would result in a delayed response because, let’s face it, how many people regularly check their Junk/Spam folders?

Send better email messages through AOL

OK! These were the basics instructions. You can also embellish the message with stationery and attach images or other documents; refer the links below.

• The AOL email toolbar: Change the font, increase size of text, apply emphasis, change text and background color, include small emoticons (aka smileys) etc.
• Send photos with email from AOL – email attachments.
• Learn how to use AOL email stationery.