Email marketing works. It works so well, everyone is doing it. The low cost of sending emails has flooded our mailboxes with junk, which is getting harder and harder to avoid.
Industry service providers are a part of the problem, but they at least (usually) allow you to opt out of all emails they send. Most service providers also do not sell your email address, they sell the service of emailing you. So, the bigger issue is vendors getting your personal email address.
Here are three ways to get your email under control:
1. Use the spam button liberally.
If you get an email from someone and they didn’t get your permission, hit the “report spam” button either in the email or using your spam software.
If it is someone you did business with, then…
2. Unsubscribe
If it is a reputable vendor, this works well and will reduce your junk.
If you feel you might someday want to keep them, then…
3. Use rules
In most email clients, you can use rules to filter email. Just have any emails you may want to keep filtered to a folder, such as “supplier specials.” This folder will keep all of your emails and you can search through them at your leisure.
- Outlook makes it easy. Right click the message and click “rules,” then set up the option to either forward messages from this sender or the topic being sent.
- Gmail: Click the email and choose “filter messages like these,” and enter your criteria
I recommend two folders:
- Junk: This is a filter for junk that is otherwise hard to get out of your inbox, and I move messages from constant senders that somehow get past my other efforts here by default and hardly ever look at them.
- Offers: This is a filter for emails like discounts or other offers. The nice thing about filtering emails here is that in addition to not interrupting you all day, you have a folder with all your specials, making them easier to search.
Email marketing is here to stay because it is inexpensive to do, and it gets results. Try one or more of the above methods to help reduce how much email interrupts your day.
Geiger CIO Dale Denham, MAS+ provides practical insights on how you can benefit from technology in no nonsense terms. Follow him on Twitter @GeigerCIO.
