Dealing with unsolicited e-mails is a constant battle for millions of people in today’s busy Internet-driven world. Although many of the factors contributing to unsolicited messages are beyond our control, there are a few easy steps that you can take to help guard yourself against an overwhelming inbox and hours of time wasted digging through it.
First, never post your personal e-mail address on any forums, guest books, news groups, or other websites. Spammers comb the Internet with intelligent bots that collect valid e-mail addresses, either for their own use or to sell to other marketers.
Second, try to choose prudently between the messages you reply to and which you simply delete. In the past, “unsubscribe” links were often tricks to further entrap people, but laws have been enacted to protect the consumer. However, it is wise to continue to scrutinize the validity of these messages and only unsubscribe when it seems like a suitable action.
One of the best steps to take, however, is to create a separate account from your primary address. Reserving your primary e-mail account for friends and family, your secondary address protects it from the hands of spammers. One Email a Day not only offers a secondary address (address@oneemailaday.com), but also sorts your e-mails and sends a single report to your primary address daily, saving you the hours that it takes to wade through the messages yourself. You can adjust how often One Email a Day sends your reports. Messages from trusted sources can also be sent directly to your primary address, reserving your One Email a Day account for dealing only with unsolicited mail. Otherwise, you can route all of your mail through your One Email a Day account, separating out messages from trusted sources in the daily breakdown.
The One Email a Day service is completely customizable for your needs. To learn more about One Email a Day, or to start a two-week trial period, please visit oneemailaday.com.
