Simple Ways To Limit Spam
Spam seems to be getting worse. I received so much spam at my work email address that I have to deal with it daily. My husband is getting so much spam to his old primary address that he set up filters in Outlook to delete emails with two specific words – and it eliminates 90% of the email in that account.
Even Bill Gates is not immune. He said, "Like almost everyone who uses e-mail, I receive a ton of spam every day. Much of it offers to help me get out of debt or get rich quick. It would be funny if it weren’t so exciting."
Except it’s not so exciting anymore.
Free! Gimme Free!
Have you ever noticed how much free stuff is out there? Give them an email address, and you’ll get ebooks, infographics, coupons, discounts, pre-launch access, recipes, or any number of free things.
(I know this, because I give my email address out. And I also am on the other end of it, which is where I give free stuff out in exchange for an email address.)
The thing is, it’s never just the free thing. In addition to your free thing, you will also be put on an email list and receive other things. Email newsletters. Pitches to buy products. Pitches to buy courses. Other coupons and discounts and pre-launch access.
It’s not spam, because we’ve voluntarily given our email addresses (mostly – we’ll talk about when we don’t later in the article).
When my mother died and I took over her email, I spent almost a month getting her unsubscribed from all of the free lists she had signed up for. I was lucky that the lists she had signed up for were good and unsubscribed her.
Unfortunately, not everyone is as good about removing you from email lists as they should be. Or maybe you don’t know if you want to receive more email from this organization or person.
So what is a person to do? Wade through the swamp of email every day? No. There are better ways to handle this.
Strategies for Signing Up For Things
There are three strategies I use when signing up for things:
- Use an email address just for mailing lists. There is no law that says you can only have one address. I use my Yahoo address for mailing lists. I don’t care of Yahoo gets filled with junk, since it’s not my primary email address.
- Use individualized "plus" email addresses. You can use the plus trick if you use Gmail and Outlook (joe+flowers@gmail.com = joe@gmail.com).
- Use a disposable email address. There are many services out there, as the article How to create disposable email addresses gives us.
How I Choose What Address to Give
So when do I use these? It comes down to a few criteria:
- Do I think this will resonate? Do I regularly read this person’s website? Do I like the information they provide? Or am I just browsing to see what the freebie is like? If I am regularly engaged with the person, I will give them my Yahoo address. Otherwise it’s a disposable.
- Do I trust the person? Bloggers will state if they don’t sell the email addresses (I won’t). Do I trust the person not to spam me? Or are they on the prowl to make a quick buck? All bloggers get my Yahoo address, and then I move them over to my real Gmail address if they prove themselves trustworthy.
- Do I trust the person’s mailing provider? I know that Infusionsoft, Kit, MailChimp and AWeber are very particular about how people get signed up to the email, and are also very good about allowing people to remove from the list. If it’s a blogger I trust and read regularly, and they’re using one of the above services, I will give them my Gmail address.
- Are they a brick-and-mortar? I have had really poor experiences with brick-and-mortar businesses and email. It took me nearly 5 years to get off the Gardener’s Supply mailing list because their change address/unsubscribe form couldn’t handle the "+" in the email address…plus they sold that address to 5 other companies. All companies automatically get the Yahoo address.
What About Companies That Sell The Address?
What about companies who sell the address? That’s one good thing about using a disposable or unique address: you know when the address has been sold. For instance, I gave my email address to Gardener’s Supply as x+garden@gmail.com. And when I started getting email to that address from two seed companies, two bulb companies, and a magazine, I knew exactly who was responsible.
My daughter’s school routinely gave my email address to the national PTA as well, and every year I had to call the school and let them know that this is not OK.
It is not OK for anyone to sell or give away your email without your permission. Remember that.
It’s Not Spam, But It’s Not Valuable
I want to categorically state that if you do not get value from being emailed by someone, myself included, you need to unsubscribe.
I routinely unsubscribe. The value I receive from a mailing has to be consistently high, or I’m taking it out of my flow.
In Conclusion
Managing your email flow doesn’t have to be complicated. By using different email addresses strategically, being selective about who gets your real email address, and regularly unsubscribing from low-value content, you can keep your inbox manageable. Remember that your email address is valuable – treat it that way, and don’t be afraid to protect it. The time you save by implementing these strategies will be worth the initial setup effort.
