Online Business Q&A

QUESTION:

I have so much junk mail I can't find my real email! How do I get rid of all my junk email?!

ANSWER:

Here are a few things you can do to help curb the flood of garbage and let you get on with business:

1. Set up appropriate filters. For instance, you can automatically delete all messages containing certain words or phrases... or you can even blacklist entire domains. I use the MailWasher software to do this for me -- it allows me to set up both a blacklist and friends list, as well as a whole bunch of filters.

   Within your email software (Outlook, Eudora, etc), you can also set up filters to automatically 'file' messages into the appropriate folder. This will help you prioritize your mail.

2. Create templates. If you often get a lot of the same questions, create a standard answer template that you can easily load into a new message and then customize to suit the inquiry. This can be a huge time-saver.

3. Offer a list of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) with the answers. Include a link to your FAQ on every page of your site. Make it easily browsable or even searchable.

4. Don't feel obliged to answer all of your email. Not all email requires an answer and there are only a certain number of hours in a day. For instance:
   • Don't answer abusive messages (resist the temptation!).

   • Put certain types of email on 'low priority', or don't reply to them at all -- for example, people who are simply trying to engage you in conversation because they're bored, lonely, etc... or 'freebie- seekers' who constantly ask questions or seek help and yet are unlikely to ever become a paying customer.

   • Weird or nosy questions. I've gotten some strange stuff over the years! Just exercise the 'delete' key.

5. Use contact forms instead of displaying your email address on your website (if your email address is already on the spammers' lists, though, this probably isn't going to make any significant dent in the amount of junk mail you receive). A free feedback form is available here.

6. If you must, change email addresses. This can cause all sorts of headaches, so use it as a last resort. However, if you use a 'catch-all' address (one where every single message gets delivered to you, regardless of who it's addressed to at your domain - ie. support@yourdomain.com, asdf@yourdomain.com...etc)... then consider getting rid of it and only accepting messages sent to legitimate addresses.