How do you know that the e-mail you send to clients, prospects, or other salespeople is really being read? Without special tools, you don't. And in today's world of overwhelming spam, your important messages can easily get tossed out with the garbage and you would never know —until now!

ReadNotify.com is one of those services that I always wished someone would create. No matter what kind of e-mail software you use (Yes, even AOL or Web-based e-mail like HotMail or Yahoo! Mail), it will track the following information in real time for each e-mail you send:

• When the recipient opened it and for how long

• How many times it was re-opened and for how long each time

• How many times it was forwarded

• What links within the message were clicked and when

• A map of the likely general geographical location of the recipient

• What kind of e-mail software your recipient uses

CLICK HERE to see an example of the tracking history report of the e-mail I sent to Brian Hickcox regarding this issue's Success Story.

At this point I need to elaborate a bit about what it means to track the "opening" of an e-mail message. Most e-mail software like Outlook, Outlook Express, Eudora, etc. allows you to preview messages by simply clicking on their header in a list. As far as tracking is concerned, a recipient inadvertently previewing your message will constitute an opening event and will be tracked as such. In other words, just because a recipient "opened" your e-mail doesn't necessarily mean they read it. However, if ReadNotify indicates that a link within your message has been clicked, then you know that your message had to have been read.

With a few clicks of your mouse, you can configure ReadNotify to let you know when your recipient opens your e-mail via your pager, SMS message to your cell phone, or online Instant Messenger. In addition, it also has some very advanced e-mail delivery features that include "self-destructing" e-mails, certified proof of delivery (that can be used in a court of law), message retraction (you can call it back, even after you sent it), and many others. CLICK HERE to see the full list of its comprehensive capabilities.

You are probably wondering at this point why you need this kind of service when e-mail receipts are built right into most professional software like Outlook and Outlook Express. First of all, e-mail receipts are totally unreliable because they depend upon the action of the recipient to acknowledge the receipt before they work. Also, e-mail receipts don't even come close to tracking the kind of information that ReadNotify can. For example, the ability to track clicked links is worth the price of admission.

And speaking about price, this service is very reasonable. As of this writing, the option I suggest is 350 e-mails sent per month for US$3.99. And, if you exceed your limit you can purchase additional capacity as needed. This pricing structure is quite fair for tracking individual e-mails sent on a daily basis. However, it can get pricey in a hurry if you use it to track bulk e-mail, which I don't recommend —especially since many of the bulk e-mail systems today offer some sort of tracking (though, typically not as comprehensive as ReadNotify).

Getting started is easy as downloading and installing a free taskbar plug in. ReadNotify also has plug ins specifically for Outlook and Outlook Express, however I try to stay away from anything that will modify my e-mail software. The taskbar plug in is totally separate from Outlook and does not in any way interfere with its operation.

This simple yet elegant service has changed my entire relationship to e-mail —for the better! I use it everyday and continue to be amazed that I no longer have to wonder if people have received and read my e-mails. Thanks to the very smart folks at ReadNotify, you no longer have to actually call someone to see if they received your message —what a concept! Now if they could just figure a way to get rid of all that spam...