Acronyms in email - what they are and where they came from

Article from June, 25th, 2003.

Acronyms are an important part of the office culture. Acronym is a word formed from the initial letters of a name. The example is AIDS, which stands for acquired immune deficiency syndrome. Some acronyms became so popular that they are now a part of our spoken language, such as ASAP (as soon as possible). Others are mostly used in printed documents. Recently, with chat and email becoming popular, a lot of new acronyms have appeared. Some you may know, while others you may see for the first time. What are acronyms are doing in the email marketing newsletter? Just FYI acronyms IMHO can be used as an effective tool for marketing, when targeting a younger audience. I think I already see BEG. Well, if you are tired of DBAU, why not try something new.

Here are some rules for using acronyms - try to use informal but commonly known acronyms, such as LOL (laughing out loud). Also, provide an explanation of what the acronym means, just like I did it in the previous sentence. Best of all, come up with your own acronyms that your users will like or laugh at. For example, one acronym you can use is TLPA (the lowest price around). In fact, you can create an entire message composed of acronyms and provide a full explanation below - you readers will probably be surprised a bit, but the curiosity will take over and they will read the entire message.

GL

Some popular acronyms:

AFAIK as far as I know
AFK away from keyboard
ASAP as soon as possible
B4N bye for now
BBL be back later
BBS be back soon
BEG big evil grin
BFN bye for now
BG big grin
BRB be right back
BTA but then again
BTDT been there done that
BTW by the way
CU see you
CUL see you later
DBAU doing business as usual
DQMOT don't quote me on this
EG evil grin
EOM end of message
F2F face to face
FAQ frequently asked questions
FWIW for what it's worth
FYI for your information
G grin
GA go ahead
GD&R grinning, ducking and running
GL good luck
GMTA great minds think alike
HT hi there
HTH hope this helps
IAC / IAE in any case / in any event
IANAL I am not a lawyer
IHU I hear you
IIRC if I recall / remember / recollect correctly
IMHO in my humble opinion
IMO in my opinion
IMS I am sorry
IOW in other words
JK just kidding
JMO just my opinion
JTLYK just to let you know
KISS keep it simple
LOL laughing out loud
NP no problem
NRN no response necessary
OIC oh, I see
OTOH on the other hand
PM private message
ROTFL rolling on the floor laughing
RT real time
SYS see you soon
TA thanks again
TAFN that's all for now
TIA thanks in advance
TPTB the powers that be
TTYL talk to you later
TU thank you
UW you are welcome
VBG very big grin
WB welcome back
WFM works for me
WTG way to go
WU? what's up?
YBS you'll be sorry
YMMV your mileage may vary
YW you are welcome

Next week: Building a successful newsletter. Part I (Operation Antispam.)
Prev week: Do it yourself - software for a complete cycle of e-mail marketing

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